LOS ANGELES − Dante Moore suffered a serious injury against Southern California.
The play happened with just over 10 minutes in the second quarter. Moore scrambled on a play and when he took a slide, USC defender Desman Stephen II hit him late with a forearm to Moore's head, and it hit the grass hard. A flag was thrown and Moore was not immediately moving but his body was twitching as the Oregon support staff rushed to attend to him.
Oregon players immediately got in the faces of USC defenders and a near brawl broke out as the officials and coaches tried to break it up. A targeting penalty was called on Stephen and offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct flags were assessed to both teams for the scuffle after the moment.
OMG terrifying hit on Dante
Moore as he's sliding, hope he's ok pic.twitter.com/btSngnriAZ
— gmannVOLS (@gmannVOLS) September 27, 2026
Moore stayed on the ground for an extended period of time and didn't appear to be moving. The Oregon team huddled together while Moore was attended to, and USC quarterback Jayden Maiava came over to check on him.
After minutes of being down, Moore was put onto a stretcher and when he did, the entire Oregon team rushed to him to check on their star player. After he was taken off the field, Moore was put inside a waiting ambulance. Moore didn't appear to move and he didn't give a thumbs up to the crowd.
Prayers to Dante Moore who was carted off after a scary hit.
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 27, 2026
Dylan Raiola is now in the game.
📺: NBC pic.twitter.com/r2l8I3zMKG
Dante Moore injury update
It's unknown what exactly happened to Moore, but he appeared to suffer a serious head injury and will be heading to a nearby hospital to be evaluated.
It's a devastating injury for Oregon as Moore is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He could have been a top five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but decided to stay for the chance to lead the Ducks to their first national championship on a highly talented roster.
The UCLA transfer became the full-time starter in 2025 and led the Ducks to the College Football Playoff semifinal, throwing for 3,565 yards with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in the 13-2 campaign. Moore had thrown for 849 yards with nine touchdowns in three games this season entering the game against USC.
Moore was 8-for-10 with 77 yards prior to the injury.
Who is Oregon backup quarterback?
The new Oregon quarterback is a familiar face: Dylan Raiola.
The former Nebraska quarterback transferred to Oregon in the offseason, knowing he would be the backup to Moore. He played two seasons with the Cornhuskers, starting 22 games for the offseason. His 2025 campaign ended early after he suffered a season-ending injury against USC on Nov. 1, 2025.
Last season, Raiola completed 181-of-250 passes for 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns. His 72.4% completion percentage was fourth-best in FBS.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dante Moore injury: Oregon QB takes scary hit to head, carted off field, put in ambulance
