What on Earth was that, Dylan Raiola?
The backup quarterback made his first start in an Oregon Ducks uniform on Saturday, as QB1 Dante Moore remains sidelined after sustaining a nasty, cheap shot by a USC defender a couple of weeks ago. Moore is still recovering from concussion related injuries, so Raiola was QB1, until he wasn't.
The former five star recruit got benched in the Ducks' 17-15 loss to UCLA. Raiola threw two interceptions, against only six completions (in 19 attempts), for just 43 yards on 31.6 percent completion.
His yards-per-pass was a laughably low 2.3 which almost matched his QBR (of 2.4), which was so awful, you might have thought that this number was a typo at first.
The Nebraska transfer was then benched in favor of third-stringer
Brock Thomas. Credit Raiola though, for actually meeting with the media after the game. Quarterback is the most scrutinized and over-analyzed position in all of sports, by far. Most QBs, after having performed that egregiously awful, would not go and face the music directly afterward.
He actually did, and that showed maturity.
"I owe the respect to you guys," Raiola answered, when asked why he met with the media in postgame. "I owe the respect to the fans and everybody that's incorporated with this thing."
"I've got a younger brother, and he looks up to me.
"I mean, this isn't just football, this is life, and tough situations happen. You gotta own them. There's no running around 'em. There's no dodging 'em. The product we put out there — the product I put out there — I gotta live with that. I gotta own everything, take it on the chin, and move forward. We've got a quick turnaround."
The fact that he showed up and took accountability for his dreadful game is why we're rating him "Hold" instead of "Sell" or even "Strong Sell."
As brutal as it may have been, it's only one game, and taking accountability is the first step towards making improvements. Raiola transferred in knowing that he would be Moore's back-up this year, and that he would then be the alpha dog in 2027.
He's a 2028 draft prospect, not a 2027. Also, while his 2024 season was statistically mid, his 2025 season was statistically stellar, so we've seen mixed results so far.
Raiola may not be living up to the 5-star hype as of yet, but you can't call him a bust either. No, it did not really work out in Lincoln, but he still has all the potential to develop into a star someday.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: NFL Draft stock report- hold: Dylan Raiola, QB, Oregon
