When Nebraska takes on Oregon on Saturday night, will it face Dante Moore, Dylan Raiola, or Brock Thomas at quarterback? It’s not just that the Ducks' head coach, Dan Lanning, is keeping it under wraps. Lanning likely doesn’t know right now either.
Ideally, Oregon would love to send Moore out there. Despite a rocky 2026 season so far, he’s been considered the best quarterback in the sport more often than not. Had he gone pro after last season, most analysts believe he would have been the No. 1 overall pick.
However, there’s still doubt about whether Moore will be ready to face Nebraska after suffering a severe concussion against USC. Moore is said to be on the road to recovery, but Oregon clearly isn’t confident he’s ready to return to the game yet.
The way Raiola played against USC in relief of Moore made it look as though he was the heavy favorite to get the start against his old teammates on the Huskers. However, he followed that strong outing against the Trojans with a career-worst game against UCLA in a 17-15 loss.
Dante Moore, Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas remain options against Nebraska football
Raiola completed just 6 of 19 passes for 43 yards and 2 interceptions. He also fumbled and contributed to half of Oregon’s 6 turnovers. He was benched in that game, and his replacement, Brock Thomas, came in and played very well against the Bruins.
Thomas almost led a comeback run that ended when the Ducks couldn’t complete a two-point conversion on what would have been the tying score. Still, Thomas completed 11 of 15 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. Of course, there was a reason Thomas was the 3rd string quarterback. It doesn’t seem like Oregon has much confidence in him to play that well on a daily basis.
Lanning has a fourth option against Nebraska. Akili Smith Jr. is on the roster and has enough talent to cause problems for Rob Aurich and the Huskers’ defense. Of course, if the Oregon legacy is 4th string, the argument against him is the same as with Thomas. If he wasn’t higher on the depth chart before, giving him his first career start against Nebraska doesn’t seem ideal.
The Ducks could start tipping their hand on Wednesday night when the first injury report is due. However, this guessing game will likely go to Saturday, and Moore will be classified as “questionable” rather than out. It works in Oregon’s favor if they can keep Nebraska in the dark as long as possible.
Add us as a preferred source on Google