The Oregon Ducks continue to take the football field without Dante Moore.
Injury has limited Moore’s ability to keep Oregon in contention this season, and that will be true again on Saturday. The Ducks are playing Illinois in another Big Ten clash, and Moore is again missing out on a chance to play due to injury.
Oregon is 4-2 entering its game on Saturday at Illinois, and it’s really a situation where the Ducks can’t afford to slip-up.
There are scenarios where a two-loss team out of the Big Ten makes the College Football Playoff. But in this 12-team field for one more year, it’s incredibly unlikely Oregon could get in with three losses, even if the committee factored in Moore’s absence.
The Ducks escaped a week ago without Moore, subbing in Dylan Raiola for Brock Thomas late in the game for a winning touchdown drive.
That created a tough QB decision for the Illinois game as now both Raiola and Thomas have each started one game with Moore out.
Saturday is the third game Moore is missing, and Oregon has split the first two.
For the Ducks to make an eventual Moore return relevant, they’ll need to hold things together while he remains out.
When is Dante Moore Coming Back?
It’s not yet clear when Moore is coming back.
He was never really a candidate to play on Saturday. The Big Ten’s availability report listed him as out already on Wednesday.
Moore sustained a concussion when he took a late hit against USC on Sept. 26. It hasn’t been made clear by Oregon coach Dan Lanning if Moore has cleared concussion protocol and is being held out for other or precautionary reasons, or if he’s still dealing with effects of the concussion.
Raiola subbed in for Moore in that game and then played well. The next time out, Raiola struggled against UCLA and was benched for Thomas. And then after Thomas started against Nebraska, he was subbed back out for Raiola.
It’s been musical QB chairs for Oregon without Moore.
Dante Moore Could’ve Been in NFL
The oddest part of this saga for Moore might be the fact that he could’ve been in the NFL right now.
He was a candidate to be taken as high as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Some speculated that he didn’t want to go to the New York Jets if they took him in that spot.
There are any number of reasons that Moore could’ve returned to Eugene, though.
The tough reality is simply that it hasn’t been the season he would’ve wanted when he chose to play one more year for the Ducks.
When is Dante Moore Coming Back? Injury Timeline for Oregon QB Uncertain