Oregon’s season may now hinge on Dylan Raiola.
That’s where the Ducks landed after Dante Moore was taken out in the second quarter against USC on Saturday night, following a heavy hit by USC defensive back Desman Stephens II. Moore was placed on a stretcher, loaded into an ambulance and taken to LA General Hospital.
Before that moment, Moore’s decision to return for another season had been a huge boost for Oregon. It gave Dan Lanning’s team a real shot at chasing a National Championship, and it also meant the Ducks didn’t have to scramble for someone to take over the starting job.
Even so, Oregon added an experienced starter behind him, and that move suddenly looks enormous. Raiola had hoped to follow Moore’s path by spending a season developing as a backup, with meaningful snaps only likely to come in an emergency. That emergency arrived on Saturday night.
Now Raiola is in the center of everything.
The Ducks came into the year with championship expectations, and losing Moore would knock most teams off course. Oregon still has to absorb the loss of a quarterback who was viewed as a potential 1st round pick, but the presence of Raiola gives them a fighting chance to keep rolling.
Raiola brings two years of starting experience to the offense, along with the pedigree of a former 5-star recruit. He has shown plenty at times, but consistency has been the issue.
Oregon’s setup should make life easier on him than the one he had at Nebraska. Dan Lanning doesn’t need him to carry the entire load.
That matters. The Ducks have enough elite playmakers around him that Raiola can function more like a point guard than someone forced to chase big plays on every snap. If he does that, there’s a path for this offense to keep humming.
He gave Oregon reason to believe in the first half against USC. Raiola finished the half 6 of 8 for 63 yards and a touchdown, and he also hit Jamari Johnson on a deep ball that would have been a beauty if not for a holding call wiping it away. He didn’t look overwhelmed by the moment, and he helped send Oregon into halftime with the lead.
How long Moore is out remains unknown. For now, Raiola is the one who will decide how far Oregon can go.
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Iowa Has A Real Shot To Shake Up The Big Ten Again
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Now comes a different kind of test, with Ohio States offense leaning on its running backs and quarterback Julian Sayin against Iowas top-ranked scoring defense. The Buckeyes have had some recent issues on that side of the ball, which only adds to the intrigue for a Hawkeyes team that has already shown it can make the Big Tens title picture a little messier. [Read more 🡒]
Caitlin Clark Got Dragged Into A Viral Hawkeyes Hearing Mix-Up
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The mix-up was easy enough to see once the shorthand got sorted out, but it still sent Caitlin Clark and Iowa into an unlikely political crosscurrent. For Hawkeyes fans, it was just another reminder of how often the program and its biggest star have become part of a much larger conversation, even when the subject at hand has nothing to do with basketball. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Faces One Kinnick Test That Could Change Everything
ESPN analyst Greg McElroy is already circling Iowas Week 5 trip to Ohio State as one of the Big Tens first real measuring sticks, and his breakdown showed why. He pointed to the Buckeyes passing game, led by receiver Jeremiah Smith, while also giving Iowa credit for the kind of defensive structure that usually keeps the Hawkeyes in games well into the fourth quarter. In a matchup like this, the margins tend to be thin, and McElroy made clear that both sides have areas that could swing the night.
For Iowa, the conversation naturally starts with the run game and the red zone defense, two areas that often decide whether the Hawkeyes can turn a close road test into something more. McElroys prediction leans Ohio State, but the bigger question for Iowa is whether those strengths can travel well enough to make the Buckeyes uncomfortable. If they do, this game could look very different from the one many are expecting, and that is exactly what makes it such an intriguing early-season test. [Read more 🡒]