QuickTake:

Dante Moore was taken off the field on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. Dylan Raiola showed poise taking Moore’s place. And suddenly the Ducks are doing what was expected of them heading into the season.

Dan Lanning has done a lot in his five seasons with the Ducks.

The Missouri kid turned Big Ten bully has smoked his cigars, ditched his shirt and talked his smack as his Ducks have won more games over a four-year span than any past version of the team.

But until Saturday evening in Los Angeles, no one had ever seen Dan Lanning skip.

He did it after No. 20 Oregon’s 42-27 win over No. 12 USC.

This wasn’t just a 15-point win. It was a win for an Oregon program under the microscope before kickoff, and one suddenly dealing with something far bigger than its playoff positioning after star quarterback Dante Moore was stretchered off the field early in the second quarter.

USC held a 10-3 lead. The Ducks had just lost two weeks earlier at Oklahoma State.

Goodbye, playoffs. Hello, Alamo Bowl.

And yet, the Ducks pulled away.

When it ended, Lanning shook hands with Lincoln Riley, who picked up a loss as damning for USC as this one was affirming for Oregon, then turned toward the Ducks fans along the stadium’s railings.

First he walked. Then he ran. Then he skipped, thundering forward with his hands up in the air.

That was new.

So was the feeling surrounding this win.

Because for all the joy spilling out of Oregon’s sideline, there was something else hanging over the night. The Ducks had just saved their season. Their coach was skipping toward the stands. Their backup quarterback had authored a standout performance of his college career.

And their starting quarterback was gone.

A message for Five

Dylan Raiola had something to say before the questions came.

The one-time Nebraska starter, the player viewed as Oregon’s future, was forced into the present when Dante Moore left the game with a frightening injury in the second quarter.

It was just 10 months earlier that Raiola’s career with the Cornhuskers came to an end against these same Trojans with a broken leg. He transferred, recovered and threw 11 passes last week against Portland State before being dropped into the red zone Saturday, with Oregon down a score and the Ducks’ season hanging in the balance.

He led them back.

He put the Trojans in the rearview with four consecutive scoring drives, finishing the game with 289 yards, two touchdowns and just six incompletions.

How?

Raiola would answer that, but first, he had a message for Moore.

“I just want to say, for my brother Five, seeing him like that shook the whole team,” Raiola began. “But at the same time, we knew that was our brother, and we were going to fight for him. And I just want to say this for Five: Love you, brother. Get better. We’ll hold it down for you. Wish you nothing but the best, brother.”

It was a continuation of the poise and leadership Raiola had displayed out on the turf.

Yes, this was a triumphant win — one of the best of the Lanning era — and it produced postgame shots at USC’s attendance and 0-3 record against his Ducks.

“I guess if you’re interested in winning football games and you’re from this area, you should go to Oregon,” Lanning said. “If you want to go to a Chris Brown concert, you should go here.”

There was no love lost in Los Angeles.

The rivalry game began with USC getting off the bus wearing shirts reading “Lock the Gates.”

Then Moore was knocked out of the game on a hit that resulted in a targeting call on Desman Stephens II. Then some Trojans, including Stephens, celebrated in the immediate aftermath. Then USC fans showered the stadium in boos after the call was confirmed — and Stephens was ejected and, on Sunday, suspended for one game — all the while the 21-year-old Moore lay motionless on the turf. 

Moore was still being loaded into the ambulance when Raiola and the offense had to prepare for the next play.

Players had tears in their eyes.

They found the end zone two plays later. 

And after the win, after the validation of his own return from injury and his run through a gauntlet of Oregon fans who slapped his back and chanted his name, Raiola turned the attention back to Moore, who reportedly flew back with the Ducks Saturday night to Eugene, though no further update has been provided by the university.

Raiola knows the work Moore has put in. He knows the grind, the pressure and what Moore gave up to return to Oregon for one more season.

And he knew a lot of players in that locker room were thinking about what happened in that second quarter.

Raiola addressed it, then allowed himself to speak on the three quarters of football that will live long in the memories of Oregon fans — and himself.

“The ultimate goal is to win, no matter how it happens. Sadly, whatever goes down, the game of football doesn’t feel sorry for us,” he said. “We’ve got to step up and keep fighting, and those guys in our locker room did just that. Coming on the road and doing what we did is not normal.”

This story is part of Lookout Eugene-Springfield’s new Sunday Duck Report. For the full report, subscribe to the free newsletter here.

Tyson Alger covered the Ducks for The Oregonian and The Athletic before branching out on his own to create and run The I-5 Corridor. He brings more than a decade of experience on the University of Oregon sports beat. He has covered everything from Marcus Mariota’s Heisman Trophy-winning season to the Ducks’ first year in the Big 10.