Oregon Makes Decision at QB After Ruling Dante Moore Out Against Illinois

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore will continue to be sidelined this weekend as he recovers from a hit against USC on Sept. 26 that caused a concussion.

Moore has returned to practice and reportedly cleared the concussion protocol before the Ducks beat Nebraska 17-14 in Week 7, but Oregon has opted not to play the quarterback. He missed the Ducks' 17-15 loss to UCLA coming after the team's bye. 

With Moore out, Oregon had to decide between Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas for the starting job against the Illini. Per Pete Nakos of On3, the Ducks are set to give Raiola his second start of the season.

Raiola played the role of hero in Oregon's 41-27 win over USC, throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns. He struggled against UCLA, going 6 of 19 passing for 43 yards and two interceptions before being benched for Thomas.

Thomas got the start against Nebraska, but was pulled in the fourth quarter after going 9 of 20 for 54 yards and one interception. Raiola led the Ducks down the field for a game-winning touchdown. He finished the night going 11 of 18 passing for 59 yards and one touchdown.

Earlier in the week, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning told reporters he wanted to see competition at the quarterback position before playing Illinois.

Sitting at 4-2, the unranked Ducks have an opportunity to improve to 5-2 before hosting No. 24 Northwestern on Halloween. The Wildcats have been one of the big surprises of the Big Ten this season alongside UCLA.

Still, the Ducks cannot look past Illinois. Oregon has not played up to its ability for most of the season and must take every opponent seriously before trying to crawl back into the College Football Playoff conversation.

The Ducks will need to see better quarterback play for them to win out this season and make it to the CFP. Moore would certainly improve the play at the position, but Oregon appears to be dealing with his case with caution.

Before suffering the injury against USC, Moore completed 69.7% of his passes for 926 yards and nine touchdowns, but more importantly, he had no interceptions. The interceptions have been a problem for the Ducks in the last two games.

The Ducks should have the advantage against Illinois on Saturday. The Illini have had problems on the defensive side of the ball all throughout the season.