Dylan Raiola vs Nebraska: Off the Bench, the 17-14 Winner | Oregon QB

Updated October 31, 2026 | Sources: GoDucks.com, 247Sports, SI Oregon (2025-2026)

Availability Dylan Raiola is currently listed Available. The full picture, with who said what and when, is on the injury report.

Quarterback, as of October 31, 2026: Dylan Raiola started at quarterback against Northwestern on Oct 31 and threw every Oregon pass: 22 of 31 for 336 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in the 34-26 win, his first win in three starts at Oregon. Dante Moore is out for the rest of the season: Dan Lanning said on Monday, Oct 26, that Moore has no medical clearance after the concussion at USC on Sept 26 and that “for him to be out there on the field for us, that’s not gonna happen.” Oregon has not named a starter for Ohio State on Nov 7. Injury tracker · Depth chart

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Against Nebraska (Oct 17, 2026): The program he left came to Autzen, and he started the night on the bench. Oregon was down 14-6 when Raiola replaced Brock Thomas on its first drive of the fourth quarter. He went 11 of 18 for 59 yards with no turnovers, led a 17-play drive that ended in a Gage Hurych field goal, then a 20-play, 82-yard drive that ended with his 4-yard touchdown to Jamari Johnson with 28 seconds left, and threw the two-point conversion to Hudson Lewis. Oregon won 17-14. Not pretty, and it did not need to be. Sources: ESPN box score and play-by-play; Oregon official box score (Oct 17, 2026). Nebraska recap → Against UCLA (Oct 10, 2026): This was a bad game, and we are not going to dress it up. In his first start for Oregon, at Autzen, Raiola went 6 of 19 for 43 yards, 2.3 yards a throw, with two interceptions and a lost fumble on a sack. Three of Oregon's seven turnovers were his, and both UCLA touchdowns came on the drive right after one of them. Oregon pulled him for Brock Thomas on its first drive of the fourth quarter, down 17-6, and Thomas went 11 of 15 for 156 yards and a touchdown. Dan Lanning did not hide it: "He wasn't good enough today, I think he can acknowledge that." He also put part of it on the staff: "But we didn't prepare him to be good enough today." Both are true. Sources: ESPN box score and play-by-play; Oregon official box score; On3 (Thomas Goldkamp, Oct 10, 2026). UCLA recap → At USC (Sept 26, 2026): With Dante Moore hurt in the second quarter, Raiola came in cold on the road and threw a 3-yard touchdown to Evan Stewart on his second snap. He finished 19 of 25 for 289 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and after USC tied it 27-27 with 12:41 left he led a 75-yard drive that ended with the go-ahead 29-yard touchdown to Dakorien Moore. Oregon won 41-27. Lanning's favorite part was not the stat line: "one of the best things Dylan did... is redirect protections, get it pointed in the right direction, get it picked up, which is hard at times with teams like that that disguise." His last college start, for Nebraska against USC on Nov 1, 2025, ended with a broken fibula. Sources: ESPN box score and play-by-play; Associated Press (Sept 26, 2026). Full recap → Dylan Raiola transferred to Oregon after two seasons at Nebraska, bringing 4,819 career passing yards and 31 touchdowns across 22 starts. He broke his fibula on November 1, 2025 against USC, was managed carefully through spring practice, and was cleared. Raiola received permission to wear #8, Marcus Mariota's iconic number. He came to Oregon as the insurance policy, the proven backup and the 2027 successor, and on Sept 26 at USC the policy paid out: with Dante Moore hurt in the second quarter, Raiola threw a touchdown on his second snap and finished 19 of 25 for 289 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, including the go-ahead throw to Dakorien Moore after USC tied it 27-27 (ESPN box score). Against the program that ended his last season. On Sept 26 that looked like the rarest quarterback depth in college football. On Oct 10, in his first Oregon start, it did not. The honest read is somewhere between those two games, and the next one he plays will move it.

Week 9 vs Northwestern, Oct 31, 2026

Started against Northwestern and threw for 336 yards: 22 of 31, three touchdowns, no interceptions, 10.8 yards a throw, in a 34-26 win. His first win in three starts at Oregon, and Jay Johnson's first game calling the plays.

ESPN box score and play-by-play, Oct 31, 2026

4,819

Career Pass Yards

At Nebraska

31

Career Pass TDs

22 starts

#8

Jersey Number

Marcus Mariota's number

Jr

Eligibility

2 seasons remaining

Dylan Raiola Nebraska Career Highlights

Benched against UCLA. A week later, off the bench against his old team, and the game-winner with 28 seconds left. Marcus Mariota's number.

Via YouTube

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The wolf came out, and we made sure that our prey... felt what we were preparing for all week.

Dylan Raiola

After the 41-27 win at USC, Sept 26, 2026 (Oregon Athletics postgame press conference)

What UCLA Showed

The numbers are not close. 6 of 19 is a 31.6 percent completion rate, and 43 yards on 19 throws is 2.3 a throw. His longest completion went 16 yards. The stat crew charted 17 of his 19 attempts as short, so this was not a quarterback missing deep shots; it was short throws UCLA got to, with six pass breakups. The protection was not the main story on the chart, one sack and two hurries, and the one sack was a fumble on third-and-3 at the UCLA 43. A quarterback with 22 college starts has to protect the ball there. This is about one game of football, not about who he is. At USC he won the game. Against UCLA he was not good enough, and his coach said so. A week later he answered. Against Nebraska on Oct 17 he came in for Brock Thomas on Oregon's first drive of the fourth quarter, down 14-6, led a 17-play field-goal drive and a 20-play, 82-yard touchdown drive, and threw the winner to Jamari Johnson with 28 seconds left (ESPN play-by-play).

What USC Proved

Oregon brought Raiola in for exactly this night. Oregon lost Austin Novosad to the portal, and behind Dante Moore the cupboard was bare. Raiola arrived with 22 college starts. On Sept 26 at the Coliseum he came in cold with Moore on his way to the hospital, threw a touchdown on his second snap, and after USC tied it 27-27 he led the 75-yard drive that won it. That is the whole case for carrying a quarterback with 22 starts as a backup: Oregon did not have to shrink the offense to survive the night. Two weeks later, starting, he could not do it again.

From the Fibula to the Coliseum

Raiola broke his fibula on November 1, 2025, playing for Nebraska against USC. Oregon limited his spring reps, and his first publicly tracked Oregon throw came at the April 25 spring game: a 76-yard touchdown to Evan Stewart on the run. His next meaningful snaps came against the same opponent that ended his 2025, eleven months later, and his first touchdown pass in a real Oregon game went to the same receiver.

The Mariota Number

Wearing #8 at Oregon is not something you just do. That is Marcus Mariota's number. The only Heisman winner in program history. Raiola asked for permission and received it. That tells you two things: Raiola understands the weight of the number, and the program believes he is worthy of carrying it. When he takes the field in #8, 54,000 people at Autzen will remember what that number meant. If Raiola becomes the starter in 2027, that number becomes his story too.

Watch List for 2026

1

Brock Thomas got the Nebraska start on Oct 17 (ESPN play-by-play). Whether Raiola plays again this season, and when an availability report clears Dante Moore.

2

Third downs on his drives: the plays that decide whether an offense keeps its shape with a new quarterback.

3

The ball: three turnovers against UCLA, after none at USC. His longest completion against UCLA went 16 yards; at USC it was the 62-yard catch and run by Dierre Hill Jr.

4

The 2027 question sits behind all of it: Raiola is listed as a junior on Oregon's official roster, so he can come back in 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

He went 19 of 25 for 289 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions after coming in for the injured Dante Moore in the second quarter on Sept 26, 2026. His first pass, on his second snap, was a 3-yard touchdown to Evan Stewart, and his 29-yard touchdown to Dakorien Moore with 8:35 left put Oregon ahead for good in a 41-27 win. Oregon had 270 yards and four touchdown drives in the second half (ESPN; Associated Press).

Dante Moore was hurt with 10:06 left in the first half, hit late at the end of a slide by USC linebacker Desman Stephens II, who was ejected for targeting. Moore did not return. His availability is on the injury tracker.

Yes. He started on Oct 10 with Dante Moore OUT (Oregon's official box score) and went 6 of 19 for 43 yards with two interceptions before Brock Thomas replaced him on Oregon's first drive of the fourth quarter. UCLA won 17-15. The full game: the UCLA recap (ESPN box score, Oct 10, 2026).

Dylan Raiola started at quarterback against Northwestern on Oct 31 and threw every Oregon pass: 22 of 31 for 336 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in the 34-26 win, his first win in three starts at Oregon. Dante Moore is out for the rest of the season: Dan Lanning said on Monday, Oct 26, that Moore has no medical clearance after the concussion at USC on Sept 26 and that “for him to be out there on the field for us, that’s not gonna happen.” Oregon has not named a starter for Ohio State on Nov 7. He is listed as a junior on Oregon's official roster.

Raiola entered the transfer portal after two seasons at Nebraska. Oregon offered the combination of a proven program under Dan Lanning, a clear path to starting in 2027, and the chance to compete for a national championship.

Raiola wears #8, Marcus Mariota's iconic number. He received permission from the program to carry it. Mariota is the only Heisman Trophy winner in Oregon history.