Big Ten Media Days gave Oregon its first real stage of the offseason, and Dante Moore made sure he looked the part.
The Ducks were represented in Chicago, Illinois, by coach Dan Lanning, redshirt junior quarterback Dante Moore, redshirt junior tight end Jamari Johnson, and senior outside linebacker Teitum Tuioti. Moore, as usual, drew the most attention. The redshirt junior arrived looking bigger, more mature, and noticeably different from last season.
Moore said he has added 17 pounds since Oregon’s College Football Playoff semifinal loss to the Indiana Hoosiers at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia, on Jan. 9. That puts him at 220 pounds now, a frame that looks a lot more substantial than it did a year ago.
On College Football Live with ESPN, Moore said this offseason push has come with help from Nebraska Cornhuskers transfer Dylan Raiola, the junior who now serves as his backup. Moore also helped set the tone for that kind of quarterback development inside Oregon’s building, embracing the idea of spending a season learning and growing behind another starter. He did that in 2024 under now-Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel after transferring in from the UCLA Bruins.
Once he finally took over full time in 2025, Moore delivered a strong season: 3,565 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a 71.8 percent completion rate. Even with those numbers, it was still tough to separate himself in a crowded Big Ten quarterback picture, especially with Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza - the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for the Oakland Raiders and a national champion - sitting at the top of the conversation.
Lanning, meanwhile, talked with On3’s Wilson Alexander about Oregon still chasing its first national championship in Eugene, Oregon. That remains the big unfinished business for a program that has been knocking on the door since Lanning took over in 2022.
Now entering his fifth season with the Pacific Northwest program, Lanning is 48-8 across four seasons. Oregon has kept climbing under his watch, and the Big Ten move in 2024 only sharpened the edge. The Ducks have lost just three games over the last two years, and two of those defeats came against Big Ten opponents as their College Football Playoff runs came to an end.
Cleveland.com’s unofficial 2026 Big Ten standings prediction has plenty to sort through, but the top three teams in the media poll all carry the kind of championship profile that makes sense after last season’s finish, roster retention, additions, and coaching quality.
The conference’s preseason team, selected by a media panel, included 12 players from around the Big Ten. Indiana led the way with three selections, while Ohio State, Oregon, and Rutgers each had two.
Oregon also brought another Big Ten transfer into the fold in junior defensive back Koi Perich, who arrived from Minnesota and coach P.J. Fleck. He is now a key piece in first-year defensive coordinator Chris Hampton’s secondary.
In Other News...
Indiana Just Lost A Former Top Recruit At The Worst Time
Indianas edge group took a hit right as the season is drawing closer, with a young defender deciding to look elsewhere before fall camp gets rolling. The move comes after a quiet first year for the former three-star prospect, who redshirted and did not see game action during Indianas national championship season.
Even with the departure, the Hoosiers are not suddenly bare at EDGE. Indiana still has several options in the room, including returning pieces and transfer additions, which should help soften the blow as the staff sorts out its rotation. Still, losing a developmental player at this stage adds another layer of uncertainty to a position group that was supposed to keep building depth. [Read more 🡒]
Big Ten Commissioner Just Said What Indiana Fans Have Waited To Hear
Tony Petitti used Big Ten Media Days to put Indiana footballs rise in a larger light, praising the Hoosiers 2025 national championship season and the turnaround that got them there under Curt Cignetti. The commissioner pointed to the programs strong performance beginning in 2024 as proof the climb was real, and he framed Indianas success as part of the Big Tens continued place at the top of the sport.
For Indiana fans, the public recognition matters because it validates how quickly the program changed after Cignetti arrived and how much traction the Hoosiers have built on Saturdays in Bloomington. Petitti also made clear the conference is pleased with how the story has played out, even as the bigger question now is how long Indiana can keep this level of momentum going. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lanning Just Raised The Stakes On Oregons Title Chase
Dan Lanning used Big Ten Media Days to make the case that Oregons climb is no longer about potential alone. The Ducks coach pointed to the foundation his program has built, from consecutive College Football Playoff appearances to the kind of wins that have turned Oregon into a regular part of the national conversation, and said the team is close to breaking through to the top of the sport.
For Indiana fans, the more pointed part of Lannings message was the company he kept in the discussion of active coaches with championship pedigree. He cited Curt Cignetti as the outlier in that group, a reminder that the Hoosiers now sit in the middle of a wider Big Ten arms race where Oregon is openly talking like a team that expects to contend again soon, even if Lanning stopped short of promising a title. [Read more 🡒]