Dylan Raiola’s Nebraska reunion takes major turn as Oregon benches former Husker
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Oregon will turn to a former walk-on at quarterback with its College Football Playoff hopes on the line Saturday night, sidelining Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola in a matchup against the program he left last winter.
Senior quarterback Brock Thomas is set to make his first career start when Nebraska visits Autzen Stadium at 11 p.m. ET, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. Thomas replaced Raiola in the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s 17-15 loss to UCLA and nearly rallied the Ducks to a win.
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Why did Oregon bench Dylan Raiola?
Oregon has played without starting quarterback Dante Moore since he suffered a concussion on a late hit at USC on Sept. 26, and the Big Ten availability report ruled him out again this week.
Raiola threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns in relief during that 41-27 win, but he completed 6 of 19 passes for 43 yards against UCLA with two interceptions and a lost fumble. Oregon coach Dan Lanning pulled him with 13:31 left and the Ducks trailing 17-6.
“He wasn’t good enough today. I think he can acknowledge that. But we didn’t prepare him to be good enough today,” Lanning said after the loss.
Lanning said during the week “everything is being evaluated,” and Thomas, Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. all took practice reps.
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Brock Thomas gets first career start
Thomas took most of the first-team reps this week, CBS Sports reported. The Eugene native played at Sheldon High School, Justin Herbert’s alma mater, and walked on at Oregon in 2023 over scholarship offers from smaller programs.
He sat behind Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Moore and had 36 career pass attempts entering Saturday, 15 of them against UCLA, where he went 11 of 15 for 156 yards and a touchdown.
Lanning credited a schematic change for that production. “I think we made some adjustments in getting the ball out a little quicker, creating some more open pictures that allowed Brock to do that,” Lanning said.
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What does Nebraska bring to Eugene?
The Cornhuskers arrive at 5-1 after a 20-17 loss to Indiana. Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea has thrown for 1,405 yards and 13 touchdowns against three interceptions while running for 296 yards. Nebraska also landed in my Week 7 upset watch for this game.
Raiola went 13-9 as a two-year starter at Nebraska before transferring to Oregon after the Cornhuskers fired his uncle, offensive line coach Donovan Raiola. “This game, of course, it’s going to be an emotional game for Dylan, being the place he came from,” Lanning said Monday.
Oregon is 3-2, with losses to Oklahoma State and UCLA, and another defeat would give the Ducks their first consecutive home losses since 2016, when Nebraska beat them. Lanning hasn’t set a timeline for Moore’s return, so Thomas could keep the job past Saturday by protecting the ball.
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