‘Saved Their Season’ — CFB Analyst Credits Dylan Raiola for Rescuing Oregon After Dante Moore’s Horrific Injury vs. USC
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Dylan Raiola stepped up when Oregon Ducks’ starting quarterback Dante Moore was stretchered off in the second quarter of their Week 4 game against the USC Trojans. Raiola kept the Ducks’ offense purring and helped coach Dan Lanning’s team seal a comprehensive 41-27 win over the Trojans, helping steady their teetering season.
CBS Sports analyst Emory Hunt lauded Raiola for saving the Ducks’ season in such a pressure cooker environment.
Analyst Lauds Dylan Raiola for Saving Oregon’s Season
During Monday’s segment of the “Ross Tucker” podcast, Hunt lavished praise on Raiola’s performance and highlighted the benefits of having a competent QB2 on the roster for Oregon.
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“That’s why I gave on CBS Sports HQ the player of the game to Dylan Raiola,” Hunt said. “Yeah, he was a starter at Nebraska, he had an up-and-down career in Nebraska. But then you go not expecting to play and he looked like he was a starter the entire time. He played I think his best ball of his career in this game. Saved their game, not only the game, but saved their season.
“So, because he played so well in a higher leveraged moment, now you’re looking at him and saying, ‘Well, we don’t have to feel pressed to rush Dante Moore back into the lineup.’ I think that’s a good thing for Dante Moore, Dylan Raiola and also Oregon moving forward. So, what we saw was not just some random, once-in-a-lifetime moment, this was a great thing for Oregon to go through and it helps everybody involved.”
After replacing the injured Moore, Raiola capped his first offensive drive with a touchdown pass and completed 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns against the Trojans.
Before the game against the Trojans, the Ducks were on the brink after losing in Week 2 to the Oklahoma State Cowboys and putting their College Football Playoff chances in jeopardy this early in the season. Moore’s early-game injury against a marquee opponent put Oregon’s season on the line, but Raiola’s heroics ensured a comfortable win.
Raiola’s transfer from the Nebraska Cornhuskers, where he was a certified starter, to Oregon, where he would have to sit behind Moore for a year, was widely questioned by fans and analysts. Raiola had a comfortable career in Nebraska and was an immediate starter as a freshman for the Cornhuskers. His second season, before he transferred to Oregon, was cut short by a broken fibula.
Raiola has courted controversy throughout his career for switching high schools and committing to two different college football programs before settling at Nebraska. Last season, Raiola earned a PFN College QB Impact score of 77.1 (No. 90 in the country) after tallying 2,000 passing yards on 72.4% completion, 18 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
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The quarterback adopting Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes’ mannerisms has also brought him a lot of attention, but in one of the biggest stages in college football on Saturday, he proved his worth for one of the national championship dark horses. He already has 413 passing yards on 83.3% completion and 5 touchdowns for the Ducks in limited game time this season.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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