Dante Moore didn’t hesitate when asked to stack up college football’s biggest rivalries. The Oregon quarterback put Alabama-Auburn at No. 1, Michigan-Ohio State at No. 2 and Oregon-Washington at No. 3, a list that says plenty about how seriously he views the Ducks’ showdown with the Huskies.
That’s no small thing coming from Moore, who chose to return to Oregon rather than enter the 2026 NFL Draft, where he was projected as the No. 2 overall pick. The decision made him a national storyline, and with his profile rising, he’s become not just the face of Oregon football but one of the more recognizable names in the sport.
Moore is also one of three cover athletes for EA Sports College Football 2027, alongside Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore and Miami receiver Malachi Toney. In a new EA Sports video, all three players were asked to name their top rivalries, and Ohio State-Michigan was the one matchup every athlete included.
Moore’s inclusion of Oregon-Washington stood out because the rivalry can get overshadowed by the sport’s heavier-hitting classics. But he’s seen it up close. In 2025, he helped lead Oregon to a 26-14 win at Husky Stadium, the Ducks’ first victory in Seattle since 2021.
After that game, Oregon coach Dan Lanning said, "This is a big game. It's big rivalry, one of the best that I've been a part of. So it was fun to go out there and take care of business today,"
Moore’s ranking also fits the way Oregon-Washington has grown since conference realignment pushed it from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. The Huskies still lead the all-time series 63-49-5, but Oregon has won the last two meetings. The Ducks also own the longest run in the rivalry, taking 12 straight games from 2004-2015.
The matchup has been played 118 times overall, and since 1922 the teams have met every year except 1943, 1944, 2001 and 2020.
The next chapter comes Nov. 28, when Oregon hosts Washington at Autzen Stadium. It could be Moore’s final game in Eugene if he declares for the 2027 NFL Draft and if the Ducks don’t host a first round CFP game.
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Instead, each path turned into a reminder that recruiting rankings only tell part of the story. Suamataia barely got on the field before moving on, Thompson never quite found a clear runway at quarterback, and Flowes time in Eugene was slowed by injury and limited opportunity. For Oregon, the sting is not just in what those players were supposed to become, but in how much promise was left hanging when their tenures ended elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
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