No. 2 Oregon rolling behind latest transfer QB in Dante Moore after standout effort at Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Oregon coach Dan Lanning believes Dante Moore is the best quarterback in college football.

The Ducks’ talented signal-caller sure looked the part on Saturday night, leading the No. 6 Ducks to a gritty win in one of the sport’s toughest venues against one of its most violent defenses.

Despite a steady, 115-decibel drone from over 111,000 white-clad fans in Beaver Stadium, Moore was unflappable.

“The dude breathes excellence, man,” Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher said. “He’s just very composed, too. He’s 20 years old and the maturity out of him is incredible.”

Moore used a snappy release and multiple arm angles to complete 29 of 39 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns around Penn State defenders in Oregon’s 30-24 double-overtime win. Oregon climbed to No. 2 from No. 6 in the latest AP Top 25 and heads into a bye week before the Ducks host No. 11 Indiana on Oct. 11 in another Big Ten showdown.

It also served as notice to the rest of the Big Ten. The reigning conference champions have their quarterback.

“I think we have the best quarterback in college football,” Lanning said.

After the game, Moore met with reporters with a travel pillow firmly snugged around his neck, ready for the long flight home. He was comfortable long before the game started.

He feels like he’s come a long way from his true freshman season at UCLA when he made his second career start on the road at Utah. He completed just 15 of 35 passes in a 14-7 loss.

“It was an electric environment,” Moore said of that game. “I had a lot of mistakes and one thing I was thinking about is, I wasn’t confident. Wasn’t confident in the game plan as a player, not knowing everything.”

Once he ran out to boos in Happy Valley, however, Moore was fully ready to command Oregon’s multiple-look offense.

“There could be 200,000 fans, but they can’t make a block,” Moore said. “They can’t make a catch. They can’t make a play. So it’s really just 11 on 11 football at the end of the day.”

If Moore sounds like a seasoned vet, it’s because he’s learned from a few at Oregon. It’s specifically why he chose the Ducks when he transferred from UCLA at the end of 2023.

Then, he had watched as Bo Nix transferred from Auburn and put together a standout season in Oregon before yielding the spot to Dillon Gabriel, himself a transfer from Oklahoma and UCF.

Moore didn’t come to Oregon with the experience Gabriel and Nix had. The former Oregon QBs had started 49 and 34 games, respectively, for their previous programs. Moore had started just five games for the Bruins.

A former five-star recruit out of Detroit, Moore completed 114 of 213 passes for 1,610 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a freshman at UCLA. With his pedigree and early experience, he likely could’ve transferred anywhere. He chose to sit behind Gabriel.

“It tells you a little bit about that guy we’ve got playing for us,” Lanning said.

Moore played sparingly in relief last year. He appeared in just three games and threw the ball just eight times. Through five games so far this year, Moore is fourth among FBS quarterbacks in passing touchdowns (14) and sixth in completion percentage (74.6%).

“Following up after Dillon Gabriel and Bo Nix, that’s no easy shoes to fill and he’s obviously his own person and leads in his own way and I love it,” Boettcher said.

His teammates also love how Moore will put his head down and scrap for tough yardage. That was a theme against the Nittany Lions, who did all they could to slow Oregon’s quarterback on the Ducks’ multiple third-and-short and fourth-and-short tries.

Penn State linebacker Amare Campbell delivered a massive hit as Moore dove for the first-down marker trying to extend Oregon’s second possession. lt forced a turnover on downs, but the Ducks kept trying and Moore would go on to convert five third downs and three fourth downs, six with his arm and two with his legs the rest of the way.

“He took some hits, man,” Lanning said. “That guy is tough as nails. But we felt like, hey, we’re going to have to play 11 on 11.”

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