The I-5 Thoughts: Goodbye Washington, Hello Penn State
Checking in on Monday of Big Ten Championship Week.
EUGENE — The game ended with Dante Moore’s knee on the ground.
It’s not an uncommon spot for a backup quarterback on the nation’s No. 1 team. Moore and fellow backup Austin Novosad have been the No. 1 Ducks’ victory cigars throughout a 12-0 season — they’re brought in when the lead’s big enough to squeeze out the remaining seconds of the clock.
Until Saturday, Moore had attempted just four passes on the season. For those on the outside, it’s not nearly enough of a sample size to lay judgment on a 19-year-old who started five games for UCLA in 2023 as an 18-year-old.
However, the Ducks gave him a little to work with on Saturday. Moore played two drives, and while the final one was the typical run-out-the-clock assignment, his first helped put the Ducks in that position.
Subbing in for Dillon Gabriel after the senior’s 209 passing yards and three total touchdowns with 9:51 to play, Moore led the Ducks on a nine-play, 74-yard scoring drive that ate up four minutes and 49 seconds of clock — Oregon’s longest possession of the game.
And while it was Da’Juan Riggs who ultimately punched the ball in from a yard out for the touchdown, the drive was coolly — and almost electrifyingly — spearheaded by Moore.
The Detroit native was 3-of-3 for 27 yards on the drive, with his most impressive pass falling through the hands of Traeshon Holden along the left sideline on a play that was whistled for defensive holding.
Moore looked calm. The ball flies out of his hands and his feet look confident.
It’s still not enough of a sample size — Moore is 7-of-7 on the year for 49 yards — but the dataset is growing.
Here are five more thoughts as we embark on Big Ten Championship Week.
Boettcher has become one of those Ducks
Devon Allen was at the game on Saturday.
The Olympic hurdler who moonlit as a pretty damn good receiver during UO’s last run to the College Football Playoff is as revered as anyone here not named Mariota or Ionescu, and the Autzen crowd responded as such with a thorough ovation when the former-UO two-sport star was put on the Jumbotron.
It was almost as big as the ovation Bryce Boettcher received when he was announced for senior day. Oregon’s modern-day two-sport star came out of the tunnel swinging an imaginary baseball bat as the crowd went nuts. Then, the centerfielder-by-spring and linebacker-by-fall took a sledgehammer to the Huskies. In his last regular season game at Autzen, Boettcher led the Ducks with 11 tackles, tallied two tackles for a loss, forced a fumble and added one of Oregon’s team-record 10 sacks.
In an era where the Ducks are pulling five-star talent from every nook and cranny of this country, it’s been a walk-on from South Eugene High School who has been the heartbeat of this hounding Oregon defense.
And yes, he said it felt good to beat the Huskies.
“In the weight room we've got videos of every single game we've played against them and when you're pumping weights you see them," Boettcher said. "That's the beautiful thing about football is you can use that to fuel you and it definitely did this week. I'll forever remember this one."
Like Allen, the Oregon crowd will forever remember this Duck, too.