The start of the 2025 Football campaign was a bit more reassuring than 2024. After struggling to put away an overmatched Idaho team last season, the Ducks had no trouble thumping Montana State 59-13.
The game marked the beginning of a new era at quarterback, as Sophomore Dante Moore set up in the shotgun (and, under Center). Originally an Oregon commit as a five star recruit, Moore flipped last minute to UCLA, then decided to return to Eugene and spend a year learning as the backup.
Now was his time
to take over, and it was expected his favorite target would be returning wideout Evan Stewart, who thrived as the second option receiver last season.
Unfortunately, an injury during Spring Ball would sideline Stewart, so enter into the mix five star receiver recruit Dakorien Moore, hailed as one of the best wideout options in the nation.
Saturday was the first glimpse into what could be the DM connection as both started on the offensive side of the ball. Dante was quite efficient, finishing 18-of-23 for 213 yards and three touchdowns. The ball was spread out to ten different receivers, one of them being Dakorien, who showed flashes of brilliance with a 17-yard run, a hurdle, and a pancake block on a touchdown play.
Obviously this was just a small peak into what we could possibly have in store but if the accuracy, speed and athleticism was any indication, this could potentially be quite the duo moving forward.
It’s common in early season games against lower-tier opponents for teams to play somewhat conservatively and not completely open up the playbook, and likely that was the case in the opener. But it will be interesting to see as the games go on how much more the potential DM connection comes into play.
Hopefully some big plays.
