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QuickTake:
With a new starter behind center, the No. 13 Ducks face an unbeaten opponent whose ground game will test Oregon’s defensive front.
Ready or not, it’s Dylan Raiola time.
Two weeks after leading Oregon to a comeback win over USC in relief of the injured Dante Moore, the junior quarterback will get his first start since Nov. 1, 2025, as the No. 13 Ducks host the No. 21 UCLA Bruins at Autzen Stadium.
Raiola completed 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns in Los Angeles, steadying the Ducks after Moore’s injury and answering when the Trojans tied the game in the fourth quarter.
It saved the Ducks’ season. And on Saturday, he’ll get the chance to do it again against an undefeated UCLA team that arrives in Eugene with one of the best rushing offenses in college football.
Missing your starting quarterback is never ideal in a matchup like this. What is ideal, however, is having a backup like Raiola, who has 22 career starts under his belt with Nebraska and has found comfort running with Oregon’s first team over the last two weeks of practice.
“(My sense of calm) comes with the preparation and the film study, the camaraderie with the guys. It’s not a one-man show. It’s a full unit doing their job,” Raiola said. “My sense of peace comes from, one, my Lord and Savior, and then two, my preparation and just understanding what we need to get done with that play. We’ll take it one play at a time and do it that way.”
The Ducks haven’t lost to UCLA since 2017, and their dominance extends even further at Autzen Stadium, where the Bruins haven’t won since 2004.
But this isn’t just any UCLA team. It’s filled with transfers from 2025 playoff team James Madison, who followed their coach, Bob Chesney, to Los Angeles.
And the Ducks are well aware of just how quickly a team’s fortunes can turn around in today’s college football.
“We’re about to play a UCLA team that reminds me a lot of Indiana from last year,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “Why I draw some comparisons to Indiana: a lot of guys that traveled with their coach to the next stop, they’re an extremely well-coached team, you got two coordinators that were with him before so they’ve been together for a while. They have a lot of continuity from that standpoint.”
Oregon couldn’t beat Indiana with Moore in two tries last season.
An Indiana-like team without him? Welcome to the job, Dylan.
How to watch or listen
When: 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, Saturday, Oct. 10
Where: Autzen Stadium, Eugene
TV channel: CBS
Broadcast team: Brad Nessler, Charles Davis and Jenny Dell
Radio: KUJZ 95.3 in Eugene; 105.1 The Fan in Portland
Color to wear: Black
Who’s playing?
Oregon: No. 13, 3-1 (1-0 Big Ten)
Opponent: No. 21 UCLA, 4-0 (2-0 Big Ten)
Depth charts/rosters: Oregon; UCLA
UCLA player to watch: Running back Wayne Knight
If Oregon wants to keep UCLA from making itself comfortable at Autzen, Wayne Knight is a good place to start.
The fifth-year running back has scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of the Bruins’ first four games. His nine total touchdowns put him atop the national scoring rankings, and his 9.08 yards per carry rank second in the country.
And he’s done this before against the Ducks. Knight is one of 10 players on this Bruins team who came over with Chesney from James Madison, whom the Ducks met in the first round of the playoffs in December.
While Oregon won that game 51-34, Knight rushed for 110 yards on 6.5 yards per carry in a loss where the Dukes outscored the Ducks 28-17 in the second half.
“I think the biggest thing for me was just the confidence piece,” Knight said of that game. “And learning that I need to understand how to slow the game down.”
Oregon player to watch: Defensive lineman A’Mauri Washington
A’Mauri Washington and Raiola played one season together at Chandler High School in Arizona, where, the Oregon defensive lineman said Tuesday, the two used to talk about their collegiate futures.
Oregon wanted them both at the time. And while Raiola took the scenic route in getting here, they’re both here now.
And they may just be the two most important players in beating UCLA.
Raiola is a given, but Washington is the 6-foot-3, 330-pound face of an Oregon defense that has a score to settle against these Bruins, some of whom piled up yards against the Ducks last December as members of James Madison.
“I ain’t going to lie, this dude has some juice, though, man,” Washington said of UCLA’s Knight. “What makes it difficult is how low they are to the ground. You really have to really get low on these dudes, like, if you go high, arm tackling is not going to work — especially on a guy like that.”
Knight rushed for 110 yards on 17 carries that night, helping the Dukes finish with 186 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Technique will be paramount for an Oregon rushing defense that’s allowing 150 rushing yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry against FBS competition.
Granted, those numbers are skewed by an Oklahoma State loss in Week 2 that saw Oregon allow 237 rushing yards on 5.9 yards per carry.
The Ducks have been better since — they allowed two yards against FCS Portland State in Week 3, then 120 yards on 33 carries in the road win over USC.
UCLA is different, though.
“I think they have more rushing touchdowns this year than they’ve had the last few years combined,” Lanning said. “So, it speaks to how effective they are running the ball, and when you score. … One of the touchdowns in the Maryland game, I think it was 4th and 1, from over 50 yards. So when you’re scoring from far on runs, you don’t have to throw it in the end zone.”
The Ducks were so upset with their second half against James Madison last year that they took it out on Texas Tech in their next game with a 23-0 shutout. And while the Bruins may not be the Dukes, they’re close enough.
“Even in the fourth quarter, we got to stay on it,” Washington said. “These dudes will just creep up on you anytime. You got to be able to keep your foot on the gas.”
Reads to get ready
On Oregon:
- Lookout: An Indiana-like UCLA team has Dan Lanning’s attention
- Lookout: Former coach, author talks about Ducks’ rise, fall and the era that changed college football
On UCLA:
- ESPN: How Bob Chesney has completely turned around UCLA — Paolo Uggetti goes inside the Bruins’ fast start under their new coach.
- Yahoo! Sports: Bob Chesney has UCLA believing again. Now comes the real test: No. 13 Oregon — Jeff Eisenberg on what Saturday could mean for UCLA’s resurgence.
- Los Angeles Times: Bob Chesney urges surging UCLA to ignore hype, focus on Oregon — Connor Dullinger on the Bruins’ preparations for Autzen.
