The news of the Oregon Ducks (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) and senior quarterback Dante Moore sitting out for the remainder of the 2026 season shook the college football news landscape on Oct. 26.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning has not named a starter for the rest of the season, but junior quarterback Dylan Raiola earned the nod in the Ducks' loss to Illinois.

The Ducks await former Oregon head coach and now offensive coordinator Chip Kelly of the No. 20 Northwestern Wildcats (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday, Oct. 31. The pivotal matchup can be viewed at 12:30 p.m. PT on Peacock.

After that for the Ducks, a trip to Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio to take on the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) on Nov. 7.

Lanning was asked on Oct. 27 what is needed to be seen from the quarterback position going forward with five regular-season contests left and a possible bowl appearance.

Lanning's Vision for Quarterback Spot Going Forward

The answer from Lanning is pretty simple, with a quarterback room that has had to shuffle between three different quarterbacks over the last four games, including walk-on senior Brock Thomas.

"Consistency," Lanning quickly said to the media. "And again, we've got to be able to make sure that we can help create consistency with play calls. We've been a really good quarterback room off the bench. We haven't been a very good quarterback room consistently at the start of games.”

A new interim play-caller is now in charge of the Ducks' offense, replacing Drew Mehringer, who was let go from his offensive coordinator role on Oct. 25. That's assistant quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson.

Lanning wants Johnson, who was on the same Georgia Bulldogs staff back in the 2018 campaign, to put together four full quarters of steady and unchanging competition under center.

“In the last game again, we did start off really well. It just didn't finish well. I think again we have to find the rhythm. We need competition at that position, as well as other positions on the field.”

"There's so much external pressure on that position specifically because everything on offense runs through there," Lanning continued.

The New Era of Northwestern's Offense

Under Kelly in his first season with the Wildcats, the offense has the third-highest scoring average in the Big Ten at 34.7 per game.

Kelly helped lead Ohio State's offense as the top coordinator to win the program's ninth national championship in 2025, and the new Northwestern assistant has found this continued success through the ground attack, averaging 204.6 rushing yards per game. That's the second-highest in the Big Ten, trailing just the first-place No. 7 UCLA Bruins (7-0, 5-0 Big Ten) at 233.0 per game.

The main source of that consistent Northwestern production comes from redshirt junior running Caleb Komolafe, who has collected 551 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 88 carries.

It also helps that senior quarterback Aidan Chiles can use his legs in the red zone, leading the Wildcats in rushing touchdowns with nine. Chiles, a journeyman throughout his college football career, previously spent one season with the Oregon State Beavers in 2023 and two seasons with the Michigan State Spartans from 2024-25.