LOS ANGELES – After six seasons of college football, three different programs and countless passes thrown, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel has seen and heard it all.

When the 24-year-old senior was asked Monday to respond to criticism about his age and time in college, Gabriel didn’t bat an eyelid. Instead, the former UCF and Oklahoma quarterback fired right back.

“A lot of people are upset that they didn’t get to play until a certain age,” said Gabriel, who received an additional two years of eligibility thanks to a redshirt season and due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The older the player is, I think at a certain point you have to wonder if you’re going to have the biggest interview of your life and someone says, ‘Hey, you can study for six years or three years.'” I think everyone would say six.

As Gabriel and Oregon prepare to face Ohio State in this year’s Rose Bowl Game for a chance to advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals, Gabriel is three touchdowns away from surpassing Case Keenum’s career FBS record of 155 , and four of surpassing Miami’s Cam Ward. who set the FCS and FBS record with his 156th TD pass in this week’s Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Like Gabriel, Ward has played for three different teams – Incarnate Word, Washington State and most recently Miami – and has been in college since 2020. Both he and Gabriel were Heisman Trophy finalists that season. As one of the sport’s elder statesmen, Gabriel believes that quantity is just as important as quality in this case.

“Over the years there is progress, there is improvement, there is development. I feel like I had that chance,” Gabriel said. “I think it has something to do with patience and believing in a person and allowing them to develop and grow. In my opinion, the more options you give yourself in any situation, the more comfortable you are with it. It’s not just football, it’s everywhere in life. “You learn more about the game, you learn more about the people and you can just get better.”

The Hawaii native relished this unique opportunity. In his six seasons, Gabriel has thrown for a total of 18,423 yards (second all-time), but this year was his most efficient as he completed a career-high 73.2% of his passes and led Oregon to an undefeated regular season.

“There are several moments we can point to this season where his experience was on display and he brought us a lot of success on the field,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “I’ve said it several times, but I think one of Dillon’s strongest qualities is his attitude. … The moments in which he appears are moments of pressure.”

Despite being on the verge of holding FBS records, Gabriel has repeatedly said that the reason he didn’t declare for the NFL draft last year and instead transferred to Oregon was to once again achieve his ultimate goal to achieve: winning a national title. Gabriel and the Ducks are just three wins away from accomplishing that.

“If I had wanted individual awards, I would have played tennis or golf,” Gabriel said last week. “But I play football.”