Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning issues injury report on Dillon Gabriel and Jeffrey Bassa

EUGENE – The No. 3 seed Oregon Ducks narrowly beat the Idaho Vandals 24-14 to open the 2024 college football season. Oregon coach Dan Lanning reacted to the ugly victory.

“Not what we thought… They didn’t give us anything for free,” Lanning said.

“We didn't have any explosive plays on offense… I thought they did a good job of stopping our running game inside. They did a good job of building pressure,” Lanning said.

In quarterback Dillon Gabriel's debut as a Duck, he completed 41 of 49 passes for 380 yards and two touchdowns. He completed an impressive 85 percent of his passes and connected well with wide receiver Tez Johnson and tight end Terrance Ferguson.

Gabriel extended his hand at times and coach Lanning was asked if his hand/wrist was OK. Lanning has not yet received a medical report but said, “I think he's in good shape.”

Senior linebacker Jeffrey Bassa also missed most of the second half of the game, but Lanning said the reason was more because they didn't need him than because of a health issue.

“Jeff can play in the future.”

After the game, Gabriel talked about his hand.

“Hands good,” said Gabriel. “You know, I probably had my real moment when I wasn't wearing the red shirt, but… it is what it is. It's football too, so it's just part of it. A little bit of ice, a little bit of ointment.”

“I just hit him in the head, but I'm fine. I played through. We're solid,” Gabriel continued.

Both Ferguson and Gabriel reached career milestones. Ferguson became the ninth Oregon tight end to ever reach 1,000 career passing yards. Gabriel became the eighth player to ever surpass 15,000 career passing yards.

“Dillon played well on offense … made some good decisions,” Lanning said. “We have to eliminate the pressure and the sacks that were going on.”

“I don't know if it's always smart to run your quarterback when you get the chance,” Lanning said of Dillon Gabriel's running game.

Although the win wasn't pretty, Oregon extended its non-league home winning streak to 33 games – the best in the country.

Running back Jordan James was the Ducks' leading runner with 95 yards on 15 rushing attempts. Ferguson led the team with 87 yards on seven catches, while Johnson had 12 catches for 81 yards.

The Ducks will next host Boise State on Saturday, September 7 at 7 p.m. PT at Autzen Stadium.