What happened to Dante Moore? Why Oregon QB isn't playing vs Ohio State - USA Today
By some miracle, Oregon is still alive in the College Football Playoff race (No. 23 in the CFP rankings), with a chance to win the Big Ten.
However, that hinges on beating No. 10 Ohio State — and the Ducks will have to go into The Shoe without their starting quarterback.
Oregon will be without Dante Moore against the Buckeyes, as he is out for the entire season, which has played a big role in the disappointing season it's having so far. At 5-3, the Ducks will rely on Dylan Raiola to go into Ohio Stadium and emerge with an upset victory, while Moore will likely be on the sideline looking on.
Moore is out for the entire season after he suffered a concussion in Oregon's Week 4 win over Southern California on Sept. 29.
In the second quarter of the contest, Moore scrambled and attempted a slide when Trojan linebacker Desman Stephens II hit him in the head, resulting in scary scene as the quarterback went into the fencing position: an indication of a concussion. He was taken out of the stadium in an ambulance.
While fearing the worst, Moore was only diagnosed with a concussion, opening the door for him to eventually return. He returned to practice, but coach Dan Lanning consistently said Oregon would not rush his return to play. He was on the sideline in street clothes for Oregon's next three games before Lanning said on Monday, Oct. 26, he is "not anticipating him being back this season."
The coach did not elaborate what went into Moore being shut down for the rest of the season, including whether he or medical professional decided it, but noted "this isn't a selfish decision" from the quarterback.
Moore returned to Oregon for the 2026 season instead of entering the NFL draft after leading the Ducks to the College Football Playoff semifinal last season. His return was the main reason why Oregon was a national title favorite coming into the campaign.
Despite an early loss to Oklahoma State, Oregon was solid in four games with Moore, who threw for 926 passing yards with nine touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Since he has been out, it's been much different in Eugene.
Oregon is 2-2 without Moore, as the offense has regressed tremendously and put the season on the edge of disaster. Raiola and Brock Thomas have handled the quarterback duties, each with spells of inconsistent play. Both signal-callers have been benched at different points, until Raiola locked down the starting role.
There's hope things are improving after Oregon got a ranked win over Northwestern in Week 9, in which the offense came back from a 20-6 deficit to pull off a 34-26 victory — the most points the Ducks have scored in a game without Moore.
Oregon faces Ohio State on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. PT).
