Oregon still doesn’t know if Dante Moore will be back under center next week, but Dan Lanning made one thing clear after Saturday’s 17-15 loss to UCLA: he expects the quarterback to play again this season, even if the timing remains uncertain.
Moore sat out against his former team after suffering a concussion in the first half of Oregon’s game at USC last month. He returned to practice this past week, but he was ruled out when the first availability reports came out Wednesday night. Without him, Oregon’s offense never found its footing and coughed up six turnovers in the loss.
“It’s a continued discussion. I don’t want to put words in my mouth or Dante’s on that.
It’s something we’ve said from the beginning, that we’re going to move with an abundance of caution,” Dan Lanning said of Moore’ status after the defeat. “We’ll continue to get evaluated and checked, but it won’t be just a sprint to say, 'OK, he’s back out there no matter what.'
We’ll continue to have those conversations. He’s been practicing with this team.
I anticipate there’s going to be an opportunity for him to be back out there, but it would be unfair for me to say that right now.”
With Moore unavailable, Dylan Raiola got his first start as a Duck, and the outing turned rough quickly. Raiola completed 6 of 19 passes for 43 yards and two interceptions before being pulled in the fourth quarter. Brock Thomas finished the game and gave Oregon a lift, leading two scoring drives while going 11 of 15 for 156 yards and a touchdown.
That leaves next week’s quarterback picture wide open heading into Nebraska’s visit to Eugene. Moore could be cleared to return, Raiola could get another shot, or Oregon could ride the hot hand and give Thomas his first career start.
“It would be too early to make a decision there,” Lanning said. “We’ll have to go back, evaluate the film, evaluate practice and see what it looks like, and then see where Dante is at.”
Before the injury, Moore had completed 69.7 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and no interceptions. The concussion came after USC linebacker Desman Stephens II was ejected following the second quarter dirty hit, and Moore was taken off the field by ambulance.
Oregon hosts the Huskers next Saturday, though game time and the broadcast partner have not been set.
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UCLAs 17-15 road win over Oregon already had the feel of a game that would linger, mostly because the Bruins leaned on their defense and left the Ducks chasing a result that slipped away in the fourth quarter. The finish turned on a sequence that had everyone in Autzen looking twice, as Oregon came up short on two separate two-point tries while trying to keep pace in a one-possession game.
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