UCLA won’t face Oregon QB Dante Moore as recovery continues
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was ruled out for the Top 25 matchup against UCLA this weekend. Moore remains in concussion protocol and won’t play when his…
The UCLA Bruins were probably ready to spend a week game-planning around Dante Moore’s arm, but they’ll instead get a look at Dylan Raiola. That’s not the story, though. The story is that Moore is sitting out because of a late, ugly hit from USC’s Desman Stephens that put him in concussion protocol.
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Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was ruled out for the Top 25 matchup against UCLA this weekend.
Moore remains in concussion protocol and won’t play when his team hosts the Bruins Saturday. Instead, the Ducks will deploy backup Dylan Raiola, who took over at the Coliseum when Moore was hit late by USC linebacker Desman Stephens on Sept. 26.
Moore was placed on a stretcher and left the game in an ambulance, while Stephens smiled and celebrated. The Trojan linebacker was later suspended by head coach Lincoln Riley for his actions and issued an apology.
Raiola will get the starting job against No. 21 UCLA at Autzen Stadium. The backup quarterback transferred to Oregon after starting two seasons at Nebraska.
Thus far, he’s thrown for 413 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions in two appearances this year. Saturday’s matchup against UCLA will be Raiola’s first start for the Ducks.
Unlike No. 13 Oregon’s volatile relationship with the Trojans, both Bob Chesney and Dan Lanning have exchanged pleasantries ahead of the matchup.
“That there are no weaknesses in this team,” Chesney said of Oregon. “And if you leave them something to expose, they will expose it.”
Lanning revealed the UCLA head coach offered to check on Moore while he was hospitalized in LA after exiting the USC game early.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him and his program,” Lanning said of Chesney and the Bruins.
It appears Saturday’s matchup won’t feature any spiteful banter between programs, it’ll simply be a hard fought battle between admired opponents.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The UCLA Bruins were probably ready to spend a week game-planning around Dante Moore’s arm, but they’ll instead get a look at Dylan Raiola. That’s not the story, though. The story is that Moore is sitting out because of a late, ugly hit from USC’s Desman Stephens that put him in concussion protocol. That kind of play has no business on a football field, and it shouldn’t take a star quarterback getting hurt for officials and coaches to say so.
Raiola stepped in at the Coliseum and didn’t embarrass himself. He’s a solid backup, and Oregon is still a Top 25 team with him under center. But the bigger lesson is about how we handle head injuries. There was a time when a player would be told to shake it off and get back in the huddle. The right call is to sit him, no matter the ranking or the matchup. Concussion protocol exists for a reason, and it deserves credit for being taken seriously, even when a playoff spot might be on the line.
The real problem in this week’s story is Stephens and the mentality that makes a defender deliver a hit well after the ball is gone. Players deserve better than to be put in harm’s way by cheap shots. UCLA may catch a break, but that’s not the takeaway. The takeaway is that player safety actually mattered more than the spectacle of a Top 25 clash. That’s a good thing, and it’s worth saying out loud.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.