Oregon’s season took another sharp hit Monday when Dan Lanning said Dante Moore is not expected back before the year is over.
That update ends weeks of speculation around the quarterback, who has not played since suffering a concussion against USC on Sept. 26. Lanning was direct when asked about Moore’s return: "I'm not anticipating [Dante Moore] being back this season, no."
For a Ducks team that opened the year with championship-sized expectations, the news lands like a final blow. Moore was the centerpiece of those hopes after he appeared on SportsCenter and said he planned to pass on the 2026 NFL Draft and spend another season at Oregon.
At the time, the Ducks looked built for a serious College Football Playoff run. Instead, they sit at 4-3 at the end of October, and the collapse has come fast.
The USC game now stands as the turning point. Moore’s scrambling play ended with the concussion, and the offense never found its footing afterward. Oregon’s losses to UCLA and Illinois will ultimately be what keeps the Ducks out of Playoff contention, but the season felt like it slipped away in that first half against USC.
Moore’s absence has exposed just how much he meant to the offense. Without his playmaking, the Ducks have struggled to generate explosive plays, and the other issues on the roster have become impossible to ignore. Drew Mehringer’s struggles and the offensive line’s problems were already looming, but Moore’s presence had the power to cover up a lot of that.
Now Jay Johnson takes over the play-calling duties with five games left and no realistic expectation that Moore returns. That means the offense has to find answers quickly, and Johnson will be tasked with making the scheme work for whoever is under center.
There is also a bigger decision waiting for Moore once the season finally ends. He could try to enter the NFL Draft this offseason, where he could be a first-round pick, though the injury complicates how teams may evaluate him. The new 5-for-5 eligibility rule gives him another possible path as well, since a return next season remains on the table.
For now, though, Oregon is left waiting. Lanning said he and Moore have not had the conversation yet about what comes next, and the Ducks will have to finish the year without the quarterback they believed could carry them.
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Oregon's Season Just Became A Much Bigger Dan Lanning Problem
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For Dylan Raiola and the Oregon offense, the challenge is finding room against a group built to squeeze plays at the line and limit clean throws downfield. Safety Robert Fitzgerald, linebacker Braydon Brus and cornerback Ore Adeyi give the Wildcats a spine on every level, which means Oregon will have to be sharp with protection, timing and any chances to create mismatches. It is the sort of test that can tell you a lot about a new-look attack, even before the final result tells the rest. [Read more 🡒]