Former Bruin Dante Moore takes brutal hit against USC, is hospitalized

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Following the UCLA Bruins’ mammoth 54-3 win over Maryland on Saturday, the team took a flight back to California where UCLA could relax and watch another Southern California Big Ten in action.

The USC Trojans hosted the Oregon Ducks where the Ducks persevered to a 41-27 despite some scary moments in Saturday’s game. Former UCLA Bruin quarterback, and current Oregon starting QB, Dante Moore was smashed with a hit by USC defender Desman Stephens II. The hit sent Moore to the hospital, with Stephens being ejected with a targeting penalty.

While the hit was egregious enough by itself, it was only made worse by Stephens celebrating and taunting the crowd in the immediate aftermath while Moore was still lying limp on the ground. 

Needless to say, Moore did not return to Saturday’s game. It’s too early to tell if Moore will have enough time over the bye week to return for the Week 6 game against UCLA, so the Bruins may end up facing former Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola. The updates on Moore haven’t been too promising but Oregon head coach Dan Lanning did state that Moore had the ability to move following the scary hit.

"He's in recovery. I don't want to speak too soon, but he is moving, he has the ability to move,” Lanning said. “We'll continue to assess him, but I don't want to make any speculation or further thoughts on that until we have more information on him."

After such a vicious hit and tasteless celebration, it felt like poetic justice that USC did not win the game. USC tied the game at 27-27 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t close out the game, with the Ducks closing the game on a 14-0 run.

It’s a disappointing loss for Lincoln Riley and Trojans, as their struggles against Oregon continue. A fired up Lanning threw some jabs postgame, stating that players in the student-athletes in the area (Los Angeles) who are interested in winning should come to Oregon.

UCLA will have a chance to show Lanning and the Ducks what Los Angeles football is all about when the two teams face off in Week 6 after both teams get a bye week.

This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Former Bruin Dante Moore takes brutal hit against USC, is hospitalized

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