Oregon quarterback Dylan Raiola is reportedly at risk of losing his spot as Dante Moore’s injury replacement.<\/p>\n
CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz reported Friday the Ducks are “trending toward” starting third-stringer Brock Thomas over Raiola against Nebraska this Saturday.<\/p>\n
Moore has been ruled out<\/a> for Sunday after suffering a head injury in a Week 4 matchup against USC.<\/p>\n After a Week 5 bye, Raiola made a Week 6 start in Moore’s absence but was benched for Thomas in the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s loss to UCLA.<\/p>\n Raiola and Thomas were taking reps at practice this week alongside Akili Smith Jr., according to On3’s Pete Nakos<\/a>. Ducks head coach Dan Lanning told reporters<\/a> earlier this week Smith was “absolutely” factoring into the quarterback competition.<\/p>\n When asked if Wednesday if he was considering playing multiple quarterbacks against Nebraska, Lanning said, “I believe in doing whatever it takes to win… all things are on the table.”<\/p>\n Raiola went 6-for-19 with 43 passing yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions through three quarters last Saturday.<\/p>\n That marked a disappointing follow-up to his performance in relief of Moore in Week 5, during which he went 19-for-25 with two touchdowns and no picks to close out a win at USC.<\/p>\n “I think last week we were able to get to our first decision quite a bit. There were some times that [Raiola] was able to evade the pass rush and create successful plays,” Lanning said<\/a> after the loss to UCLA. “We weren’t able to create that today.”<\/p>\n Thomas came in to start the fourth against UCLA. He fumbled on his first drive of the game and settled for a field goal on his next possession before wideout Evan Stewart turned a short pass into a 44-yard touchdown to get the Ducks within two points of tying the game.<\/p>\n The Ducks got halfway down the field on the game’s final drive before conceding the 17-15 loss. Thomas finished the fourth quarter having gone 11-for-15 with 156 yards and one touchdown.<\/p>\n Lanning said shortly after the loss it would be “worth evaluating” whether Thomas should be moved above Raiola in the depth chart.<\/p>\n Thomas committed to Oregon as a three-star prospect<\/a> in 2023 and appeared in seven games for the Ducks as a redshirt sophomore last season. Smith is a former four-star recruit who did not appear in a game as a true freshman last season.<\/p>\n