Dante Moore’s season is over, and Oregon’s quarterback now has a new choice to make.
Head coach Dan Lanning said Monday night that he does not expect Moore back this season, adding that the redshirt junior has not been medically cleared after the concussion he sustained on a hard hit against USC one month ago.
The timing puts Moore in a tricky spot, especially after he passed on the NFL Draft in January. Instead of heading pro, he chose to return for another year at Oregon, and now the NCAA’s updated eligibility rules have created another path for him to stay in college.
That path is open because Moore is eligible for one more season. Under the NCAA’s “5-for-5” rule, players have five seasons to use within a five-year window, with some age-based exceptions. For Moore, that means a return in 2027 would be his fifth college season, and he would not need a waiver to make it happen.
What he does next is still unclear. Lanning did not say Moore’s time at Oregon is finished, which leaves the door open at least a crack on a possible return.
The NFL remains a major option, but this would hardly be an ideal year to jump. Moore has dealt with a rough stretch on the field and now an injury that cost him most of the season.
If he comes back, there’s another layer of uncertainty waiting for him: Oregon’s offense. The Ducks have already seen that unit crater after offensive coordinator Will Stein left, and Lanning missed on Stein’s replacement. If Moore returns and the offense again looks more like 2026 than 2025, that could work against him by the time the 2028 draft comes around.
The transfer portal is in the mix too, but starting over somewhere else carries its own risks. Oregon also figures to have the resources to keep him.
For now, the NFL is still the most obvious choice. But until Moore shuts the door, a return to college remains very much on the table.
In Other News...
Bo Nix And Bucky Irving Kept Oregons NFL Buzz Alive
Former Oregon standouts kept the Ducks pro pipeline in the spotlight over the weekend, with Bo Nix and Bucky Irving both turning in performances that will resonate back in Eugene. Nix sparked the Denver Broncos with a 62-yard touchdown run and finished with 222 passing yards and a touchdown, while Irving gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a jolt on the ground with 106 rushing yards and two scores.
Tez Johnson also found the end zone for Tampa Bay and added rushing yards, adding another layer to Oregons presence across the league. On the defensive side, Dillon Thieneman and Noah Sewell helped the Chicago Bears in their win over the New England Patriots, a reminder that the Ducks NFL footprint is stretching well beyond the usual spotlight names. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons Scoring Problem Just Put Dan Lanning Under Real Pressure
After a 21-10 loss to Illinois, Oregon made a change on the offensive side that had been building for weeks, parting ways with offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer in his first season on the job. For a program that came into the year expecting more from its attack, the move underscored how quickly patience can disappear when the offense stalls and the losses start to pile up.
Dan Lanning did not immediately name a replacement play-caller, leaving the Ducks with an obvious next question as they try to steady things before the season slips further. The timing makes the decision as much about urgency as accountability, and it puts the spotlight squarely on how Oregon plans to fix an offense that has struggled to find consistency. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons Trip To Ohio State Suddenly Feels Like A Real Opportunity
The calendar has finally put Oregons visit to Ohio State on the board, with the Big Ten announcing kickoff time and TV details for the November 7 matchup. It is a game that already carried plenty of weight, but the atmosphere around it has shifted noticeably in recent days as both teams head into it with questions that were not on the table when the schedule was first drawn up.
Ohio State will have to adjust without starting quarterback Julian Sayin, who is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury, and backup Luke Fahey is expected to get the nod. Oregon, meanwhile, comes in unranked at 4-3 after parting ways with offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer, but Dylan Raiolas recent improvement has at least given the Ducks a clearer path into a game that now feels far more open than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]