Dylan Raiola Makes His First Oregon Start vs. UCLA: What the Ducks Get With Dante Moore Out

Dante Moore is out for Saturday, and Dylan Raiola gets his first start as a Duck. No. 13 Oregon hosts No. 21 UCLA at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

Moore has not played since taking a hit at USC on September 26. Oregon had a bye after that game, so Saturday is the first time the Ducks have had to answer the question.

Raiola Has Already Done This Once

He replaced Moore in that USC game and went 19-of-25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-27 Oregon win. That is a quarterback playing well on short notice in a hostile building, not a backup simply hanging on.

For the season he has thrown 36 passes for 413 yards. Small sample, excellent efficiency.

Dan Lanning set the bar exactly where it should be. “We don’t need anything special from Dylan, other than doing what he’s been doing,” he said. That is a coach telling his quarterback not to try to be Dante Moore.

The Path That Got Him Here

Raiola spent two seasons at Nebraska before transferring to Oregon. He arrived as one of the most hyped recruits of his class and leaves Lincoln having not quite delivered on it, which is a familiar story for quarterbacks who get ranked before they get coached.

Now he is the starter at a top-15 program with a playoff path in front of him. Transfer portal arcs do not usually produce this kind of second chance this quickly.

Moore, for his part, has not disappeared. Oregon’s A’Mauri Washington said of him: “That dude, he out there working already.” Moore had thrown for 926 yards with nine touchdowns and no interceptions on 69-of-99 passing before the injury, which is why Oregon wants him back.

UCLA Is Better Than Its Ranking Suggests

Bob Chesney has the Bruins at 4-0 and 4-0 against the spread, which is the more telling number. UCLA has been beating expectations every week even as people question the schedule that produced the record.

Oregon is favored by 11.5 with a total of 58.5. That line says the market expects Raiola to be fine and expects Oregon’s defense to control the game.

Take Oregon, but not comfortably. A first start is a first start, and a 4-0 team that nobody respects is exactly the kind of opponent that turns a quarterback transition into a bad afternoon. The Ducks should win. They should not expect it to be clean.

There is one sourcing wrinkle worth noting. Yahoo reported Moore as out, while On3 framed Raiola as expected to start according to sources. The practical effect is the same either way, and Oregon has not disputed either version.

If Raiola plays like he did at USC, Oregon’s playoff case does not take a hit at all. That is a remarkable thing to be able to say about a backup making his first start.