LOS ANGELES -- Oregon got the kind of win that can reshape a season, but it came with a terrifying price.
Dylan Raiola took over after Dante Moore left with a frightening injury and powered the 20th-ranked Ducks to a 41-27 victory over No. 12 Southern California on Saturday night. Raiola finished with 289 passing yards and two touchdowns, and Oregon answered every USC push in a Big Ten opener that turned into a showcase for the Ducks’ depth and poise.
Moore’s night ended in the second quarter when he was taken off the field in an ambulance after USC linebacker Desman Stephens II hit him late on a slide.
Raiola wasted no time settling in. On his second snap, he fired a 3-yard touchdown pass to Evan Stewart.
From there, he kept Oregon moving, especially after halftime, when the Ducks piled up 270 yards and scored on four drives. Dakorien Moore’s 29-yard touchdown catch with 8:35 left put Oregon back in front, and Jordon Davison sealed it with a 2-yard run with 2:03 remaining.
Dierre Hill Jr. added two second-half rushing touchdowns as Oregon reached 504 total yards. The Ducks are 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten, a sharp response after a shaky opening month that included a narrow escape against Boise State and a loss to lowly Oklahoma State that knocked them down from their preseason No. 2 perch.
USC had its own big-play answer, but not enough stops. Jayden Maiava threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns, and the Trojans climbed out of a 10-point second-half hole to tie it on Tanook Hines’ touchdown catch with 12:41 to play. Oregon responded immediately, and after Raiola put the Ducks back ahead, the defense finished the job by forcing USC off the field on downs at midfield with three straight incompletions.
For the Trojans, it was another missed opportunity in a marquee matchup under coach Lincoln Riley. USC is 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, but the defense never did enough to slow either Oregon quarterback. The Trojans have now dropped five straight to their former Pac-12 rival, with their last win over the Ducks coming in 2016.
The takeaway
Oregon: It’s the kind of road win that will linger, especially after the Ducks’ rough start. But Moore’s status will dominate everything that follows.
Raiola showed he can steer a winner, yet Moore remains the centerpiece talent. Oregon still hasn’t lost two games in September since 2016, and it has never lost a Big Ten road game.
USC: Another big stage, another painful finish for Riley’s team. The Trojans hadn’t lost at the Coliseum since 2024, but that streak is gone. Riley is still searching for a defining win nearly halfway through his fifth season, and USC’s defensive issues under Riley and his third coordinator, Gary Patterson, remain as glaring as ever.
In Other News...
USC Injury Trouble Could Reshape Oregons Biggest Test Yet
USCs unbeaten start has turned this weekends matchup with Oregon into one of the early seasons more consequential games, and it comes with plenty of uncertainty attached. The No. 12 Trojans are 4-0 and set to host the No. 20 Ducks at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, with playoff implications already hanging over a meeting that kicks off at 4:30 p.m. PT and airs on NBC.
Oregon enters as a slight favorite, but the bigger question for USC is availability. The Trojans may be without wide receiver Corey Simms and freshman Trent Mosley, injuries that could affect how Jayden Maiava and the offense attack a Ducks team led by Dante Moore at quarterback. For Oregon, it is a chance to test itself on a big stage against a ranked opponent that may not be at full strength, and the roster news could wind up mattering as much as the on-field matchup. [Read more 🡒]
USC Is Hiding A Coliseum Twist Before Oregon Arrives
USC has left one small but notable piece of theater hanging as Oregon prepares to visit the Coliseum: the Trojans have not yet announced who will serve as tunnel captain for the game. It is the kind of detail that usually gets buried under the football itself, but at USC it carries a little extra weight, especially with two familiar names sitting in the conversation in Reggie Bush and Pete Carroll.
Bush, the former Heisman Trophy winner, and Carroll, the coach most closely associated with USCs modern peak, both have deep ties to the program and plenty of appeal in a setting like this. The delay has only fueled the guessing game for a matchup that already has enough energy around it, and the answer will say something about how USC wants to frame the night before Oregon ever takes the field. [Read more 🡒]
USC Heads To Oregon With One Huge Lineup Uncertainty
USC arrives in Eugene with its offense still sorting through the fallout of a growing injury list, and the receiving corps has taken the biggest hit. Trent Mosley and Corey Simms are already out with knee injuries, while Terrell Anderson and Jahkeem Stewart are still hovering in that uncertain range that can force a staff to keep reshuffling plans deep into the week.
For Oregon, the real interest is less about who USC can list and more about how the Trojans will actually line up once the game starts. The return of Madden Riordan gives them a little more depth, but it also underscores how much of the burden is shifting onto players like King Miller and Riley Wormley as USC tries to patch together enough reliable options for a road test that could expose every thin spot. [Read more 🡒]