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Oregon will start junior Dylan Raiola at quarterback this Saturday after starter Dante Moore remained sidelined with a concussion. The switch hands the Ducks a veteran replacement at a position where experienced backups have become increasingly rare.
Raiola will make his first official start for No. 13 Oregon when the Ducks face No. 21 UCLA, stepping in after Moore left the Sept. 26 game against No. 12 USC with a head injury. When he relieved Moore in that game, Raiola completed 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards, threw two touchdowns and avoided interceptions while orchestrating a 41–27 comeback. Oregon’s odds have barely budged: bookmakers list the Ducks as an 11.5-point favorite for the matchup.
What Raiola brings to Oregon
A former five-star recruit in the 2024 class, Raiola arrives with starting experience and a narrative unusual in today’s transfer-driven landscape. He left a starting role at Nebraska and entered the transfer portal last offseason before committing to Oregon on Jan. 12 — just two days before Moore announced he would forgo the NFL draft and return to the Ducks.
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Coach Dan Lanning has been candid about Raiola’s motives. On The Jim Rome Show, Lanning said Raiola “did come here for a discount in comparison to what he could’ve made to go someplace else,” adding that Moore also sought a fresh start. Lanning’s comments underline how both quarterbacks accepted new roles and financial trade-offs to join Oregon.
At Nebraska, Raiola compiled a 13–9 record, throwing for nearly 5,000 yards and 31 touchdowns before a broken leg ended his 2025 season. Now healthy and draft eligible, he has an opportunity to bolster Oregon’s College Football Playoff hopes while also reintroducing himself to NFL evaluators.
“If he can just play like he played last time every single time, I think we’d be sitting in a really good situation,” Lanning told local reporters this week when asked about Raiola’s readiness.
How Oregon ended up with two high-end QBs
The convergence of Moore and Raiola on one roster was shaped by transfers and timing. Moore, who transferred to Oregon in 2024 after beginning his college career at UCLA, spent time as a backup to future third-round pick Dillon Gabriel before assuming the starter’s role in 2025. Raiola’s arrival the following winter created an uncommon depth chart: two quarterbacks with clear starting pedigree competing for snaps.
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables observed the situation and called it atypical. “I think in this modern day of college football, where we’re at right now, that’s an outlier,” he told reporters, noting how unusual it is to find two high-level, experienced signal-callers on the same roster without long-term role clarity.
Raiola himself has pointed to his accumulated reps as a reason for confidence. He said watching tape now lets him process plays faster and implement the offense more instinctively than earlier in his career.
The wider challenge: reliable backup quarterbacks
Oregon’s depth highlights a broader problem coaches say is getting harder to solve: finding trustworthy, game-ready backups. Many programs land elite high-school prospects who can play immediately, but those recruits often lack the seasoning to step in and sustain success when a starter goes down.
“It’s impossible,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said last week when discussing the difficulty of recruiting proven depth through the portal. “I don’t think anybody anywhere is recruiting depth out of the portal. I don’t think people in the portal go where there is an established starter.”
Teams have responded in different ways. Some, like Alabama and Tennessee this past offseason, invested heavily to create two-way quarterback competitions, bringing in established transfers so one would hold the job while the other remained a highly paid, experienced backup. Other programs have paid to keep veteran backups in-house even with a returning starter.
Utah’s use of Byrd Ficklin illustrates creative deployment of backup talent. Ficklin returned despite starter Devon Dampier also deciding to stay; Utah has rotated Ficklin into passing, running and even receiving roles to keep his skill set on the field.
Non-FBS starters as insurance
Another strategy is recruiting successful signal-callers from lower divisions who are willing to accept backup roles at Power Five programs. Trinidad Chambliss, a former Division II national champion at Ferris State, signed with Ole Miss as a backup and later became a breakout star when the starter was injured. That model has been replicated elsewhere; Lane Kiffin brought former Elon starter Landen Clark to LSU to back up Sam Leavitt, and Oklahoma carries Whitt Newbauer from Mercer behind John Mateer.
For Oregon, having Raiola available — a transfer with starting experience and measurable production — reduces the risk that an injury to Moore will derail the Ducks’ season. It also presents a rare roster luxury: two quarterbacks whose résumés suggest NFL potential, competing for immediate playing time.
