Oregon Benefitting From Elite Depth as they Stare Down Unlikely Showdown vs. UCLA

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This year's Cinderella story is by far and away the UCLA Bruins. They were taken over by James Madison head coach Bob Chesney, who led the Dukes to the Playoffs last year. Chesney and his staff have wasted absolutely no time turning this program around, and they have the Bruins humming halfway through the year. 

This sets up what was likely not a game that anyone had circled at the beginning of the year as an incredibly pivotal matchup for both teams in the middle of the season.

At full strength, the Oregon Ducks would have their hands full. However, they are officially down their quarterback, Dante Moore, for yet another week after the vicious hit he took against USC that has sidelined him for the last couple of weeks.

The positive is that thanks to Oregon's resources and the current state of college football, they have elite depth around their entire team. 

The Ducks sub out one of the best quarterbacks in the country for one of the quarterbacks with the greatest potential, Dylan Raiola. Raiola's story basically personifies this era of college football. He committed to several different schools out of high school, took the biggest offer to Nebraska, never got his feet under him, and decided to go to "quarterback rehab" under Dan Lanning and behind Dante Moore.

Well, he was thrust into action early against USC and handled the challenge and opportunity perfectly. He came in and went 19-for-25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Ducks to a hard-fought victory. 

He is in line to start against the Bruins, and the Ducks need him to be the same guy he was against USC.

The really fascinating part about Raiola is that this was the first time he didn't have to act or play like the star on the team. He threw a perfect game and stayed within himself and the offense, leading to an amazing performance that can be easily replicated.

This game would be huge if the Ducks were undefeated and were the No. 1 or No. 2 team in the country. It is nearly 100 times bigger now that they have a loss on their schedule, and they still have matchups with Ohio State, Northwestern, and Michigan.

A resume with two or three losses, including one to Oklahoma State, is not playoff-worthy. 

The Ducks need this win and need it badly. UCLA is a great opponent but thankfully, they have the depth at the quarterback to not only compete, but feel like they can win.

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