Oregon's Dylan Raiola Just Gave Big Ten Program Bulletin Board Material
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The Oregon Ducks are expected to make the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row, and backup quarterback Dylan Raiola recently made some comments that will put a target on their back this season.
While many national analysts believe Oregon can win the national championship, college coaches seemed to back up the hype when they ranked the Ducks No. 2 in USA Today's college coaches poll. (Oregon received six first-place votes.)
There's good reason for the Ducks to be optimistic. Quarterback Dante Moore, who was expected to be a top 5 pick if he came out for the 2026 NFL Draft, is returning for another season in Eugene.
The defense is loaded. As Ducks head coach Dan Lanning said during the Big Ten Media Days in Chicago last week, what separates his talented team from the 2025 roster is that Oregon has more experience.
During an interview with Logan Brown of USA Today, Raiola made some strong comments about the differences between the Ducks and his former school, Nebraska. Raiola bragged that Oregon has more talent than the Cornhuskers.
“There’s not cornfields here," Raiola said. "There’s mountains and trees and I love nature. As far as football, it’s different. With coaches and players, we have a lot more talent than we did at Nebraska. I don’t say that to knock on them, but I think everybody will know that.
"I’m very grateful for my time there. Learned a lot from my coaches, teammates, still have those relationships. But I think that I’m really excited for what Oregon’s going to bring, not only to my life, but for my teammates as well."
Nebraska will certainly remember those comments when they travel to Eugene to play Oregon on Oct. 17. And it likely won't be up to Raiola to back those words up, as he'll be the backup to Moore.
For what it's worth, the Cornhuskers didn't take the divorce with Raiola hard. Per Chris Hummer of CBS Sports, Nebraska was ready to part with the pricey quarterback.
"The Huskers were frustrated by the annual back-and-forth with Raiola and were happy to save money on their $3.5 million-a-year investment in Raiola, who was one of the highest-paid players in college football last season… It's a divorce both sides were comfortable with at the end, per sources, giving each a blank slate to work from moving forward," Hummer wrote.
Oregon should have more than enough talent to overwhelm Nebraska. But the spark has been lit for an upset.
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