Redemption comes for Oregon football QB Dylan Raiola at Coliseum
· Yahoo Sports
LOS ANGELES – The last time Dylan Raiola was at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, he was wearing a different team’s jersey, and his day had a much different ending.
On Nov. 1, 2025, then the quarterback for Nebraska, Raiola broke his leg in the second half against USC, an injury that ended his season.
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Almost a full year later, Raiola was back on the grass inside the Coliseum, coming off the bench for Oregon after an illegal hit hospitalized Dante Moore.
The junior, and a 22-game starter for the Cornhuskers before transferring in the offseason, Raiola replaced Moore and led the No. 16 Ducks to a 41-27 victory against the No. 12 Trojans on Sept. 26 in the Big Ten Conference opener for Oregon (3-1, 1-0).
Raiola completed 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns in two quarters and 10 minutes.
“Obviously never wish anything bad on nobody, especially my guys, but it’s just a full-circle moment,” said Raiola, whose first chance to get back on field since his injury came last week for the Ducks when he played the third quarter against Portland State and went 11 for 11 for 124 yards and three touchdowns.
“My family, my close circle, knows what this one means to me,” Raiola said. “Last time I played these dudes I left with a broken leg. Just so grateful for this program, so grateful for these coaches, and most importantly these players.”
It was a sensational outing for Raiola, who started the season expecting to sit behind Moore for a season unless tragedy struck, and it did Saturday night when Moore left the game in an ambulance after a hit to the head from USC linebacker Desman Stephens II.
"The ultimate goal is to win," Raiola said. "No matter how it happens, no matter, sadly, whoever goes down, the game of football doesn't feel sorry for us. We've got to step up and we've got to keep fighting. And those guys in our locker room did just that."
That Raiola performed as well as did was a surprise to none of his teammates or coach Dan Lanning, who said Raiola was texting him during the week prior to the game about things he was seeing when watching film of the Trojans.
“Obviously he had an excellent game,” Lanning said. “Every guy on the sideline had faith in him. He was ready for his moment. … This guy prepared for this moment like he was going to out there on the field when his number was called, not knowing that it would be.”
Two plays after Moore was hurt, Raiola threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Evan Stewart that tied the score 10-10 with 9:04 left in the first half.
With the score tied 27-27 in the fourth quarter, he lofted a 29-yard TD pass to Dakorien Moore in the corner of the end zone to give the Ducks the lead for good with 8:35 to play.
“Utmost confidence (in Raiola),” Dakorien Moore said. “He’s been working hard whether he was starting or not. He’s in the locker room acting like he’s a starter, communicating, having fun with us on the field, making plays. It was just in him.”
Lanning didn’t have a long-term diagnosis for Dante Moore after the game, other than to say, “Right now, indications are that he’s going to be, you know, he’s in recovery, so I don’t want to speak too soon. But he is moving. He has the ability to move. So, we’ll continue to assess him, but I don’t want to make any speculation.”
Oregon now heads into its bye week and won’t play again until Oct. 10 when undefeated UCLA (4-0) comes to Autzen Stadium.
If Raiola has to make the start for the Ducks, Lanning said his quarterback will be ready
“The guy operated right,” Lanning said. “That’s the kind of performance you get excited about.”
Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Redemption comes for Oregon football QB Dylan Raiola at Coliseum