Dante Moore is the No. 1 QB, but Dylan Raiola gives Ducks a new kind of insurance

Dante Moore wore pajama pants again.

One can’t fault the Oregon starting quarterback for feeling comfortable.

He did his year behind Dillon Gabriel in 2024, proved himself in 2025 and is back in 2026 after throwing 30 touchdown passes and leading Oregon to the College Football Playoff semifinal.

His third spring game with the Ducks was a relative breeze. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown, looked in sync with star receiver Dakorien Moore and was the one leading the charge toward the student section to dance during “Shout.”

“I feel like we’re all one whole unit,” Moore said after the game, looking relaxed in a Nike T-shirt and cartoon pajama bottoms. “The fans, the city of Eugene — when we’re all rolling together, we’re unstoppable for sure.”

The city of Eugene is certainly familiar with the feeling of having an elite quarterback return for one last ride up a mountain of expectations. Marcus Mariota did it in 2014, Justin Herbert in 2019 and Bo Nix in 2023 — in each instance taking the Ducks further, with better personal stats, than the year before.

It’s Moore’s opportunity now. He’ll be trying to improve on 13 wins and one of the better statistical seasons in Oregon history with an offense that returns many of its key pieces.

Mariota, Herbert and Nix knew that pressure.

The experience for Moore, and the 2026 Oregon Ducks, will be unique, however.

And you could tell just from the way Dylan Raiola looked earlier sitting in the same seat as Moore after the spring game.

“I felt comfortable,” the Nebraska transfer said. “There’s still room to grow.”

A backup with bark

Recent Oregon greats have rarely had to look over their shoulders.

Mariota’s backup was Jeff Lockie. Herbert’s backup was an 18-year-old Tyler Shough. And while Nix’s backup, Ty Thompson, had a five-star pedigree, he’s now finishing up his playing career as a tight end at Tulane.

Moore was a more-than-capable backup in 2024, but it was to Dillon Gabriel, one of the most statistically accomplished quarterbacks in college football history. The hierarchy was never challenged, even if Moore turned some heads behind the scenes.

“He had some plays in that first spring where it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” former Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein said. “It was apparent that he was special. He was unique.”

He just didn’t have much seasoning.

Raiola has bark.

He’s started two more games than Moore, has more career completions, a higher completion percentage and knows what it’s like when a fan base’s hopes and dreams are placed upon young shoulders. He’s had his personality and appearance dissected. He’s been a talking point.

He was also sacked — a lot.

Raiola was taken down 53 times in his 22 starts at Nebraska, including the play last November against USC that ended his season with a broken leg.

That leg has since been medically cleared, and Raiola showed off what he can do with a little bit of protection. In the spring game, he led all players with 146 passing yards, including a 76-yard connection to Evan Stewart.

“He just came back from injury. … We did,” Raiola said. “It was kind of a cool moment to connect like that. Just running down the stadium and hearing everybody cheering, I was very grateful. Very emotional in the moment. Everything that’s happened since last November to now, God cannot put me in a better place.”

The Ducks can say the same about their quarterback room.

Moore should be better in 2026 with last year’s experience under his belt. And while Brock Thomas played admirably when he was needed to fill in last year when Moore was hurt against Wisconsin, Raiola isn’t just the quarterback in waiting for 2027. He’s a failsafe in a season where the loss of elite quarterback play could be the difference between winning a national championship and falling short again.

Thomas was good enough to get the Ducks past the Badgers. Only a few players in the country can make the throw Moore did two weeks later on the road to beat Iowa, though.

Thomas isn’t one of them. Raiola might be — and he’s a backup who said he’s made enough mistakes in his career to not be paralyzed by the fear of making one.

“I’m very grateful for the time I had at Nebraska,” Raiola said. “You can’t emulate game-speed reps.”

It’s undeniably a good position for Oregon to be in. It’s also one that comes with a new sort of temptation.

Avoiding controversy

The Ducks are 48-8 in coach Dan Lanning’s four seasons at Oregon. They’ve won a Big Ten championship, the Fiesta Bowl and the Orange Bowl, and twice reached the College Football Playoff. It’s one of the best starts to a coaching career in college football history, and also one that comes with some of the greatest expectations.

After a 30-year rise to the near-top of college football, the only thing Oregon hasn’t won is a national championship. In this era of Duck football, a season’s success or failure is decided by whether the Ducks are still playing in mid-January.

And there’s a chance Moore struggles.

Yes, he was stellar in 2025, but he was far from perfect. His 10 interceptions were the most by an Oregon quarterback since 2006, and while Indiana completely outclassed the Ducks in the Peach Bowl, Moore’s pick-six on the first play of the game was the first crack in the foundation.

Fans weren’t calling for Thomas to replace Moore then.

The scenario could be different in a must-win game when the backup has a pedigree.

Alabama benched Jalen Hurts for Tua Tagovailoa in the 2018 national championship game. Texas temporarily benched Quinn Ewers for Arch Manning when the offense fizzled in a 2024 regular season game against Georgia. 

Both instances turned into big national stories. 

The hope for Oregon is that they don’t become one of them.

The best version of the Ducks’ 2026 season is still the obvious one: Moore builds on what he did last fall, Raiola spends a year getting healthy and comfortable and Oregon enters 2027 with another potential star already in place. 

That’s the version Raiola is planning on. 

The rest is just in case.

“You have to humble yourself,” Raiola said. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take a couple of practices to get used to it. At the same time, it’s all learning and eventually achieving the goal of mine — and obviously of Dante’s right now.

“That’s the whole room’s goal is to get Dante to where he wants to go.”