Retour
As the Oregon Ducks prepare to host the Northwestern Wildcats on Halloween inside of Autzen Stadium, Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff are reportedly turning to quarterback Dylan Raiola to start with the Ducks offense once again.
According to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, Raiola will be starting for Oregon against No. 20 Northwetssern on Saturday.
Raiola has not yet led Oregon to a win when starting for the Ducks, but he has led the team to two victories coming off the bench, first relieving Moore against USC and then entering in relief of quarterback Brock Thomas against Nebraska. However, against UCLA and Illinois, Raiola and the Ducks offense scored a total of 25 points in the two games.
With assistant quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson calling plays for Oregon against Northwestern, what should fans look for out of Raiola's performance? With Moore sidelined, Raiola could be the quarterback that leads the Ducks through the rest of the season.
While footwork concerns are likely not going to be solved in a single week, seeing Raiola step into more throws seems to be an easy coaching point to look for. Lanning even highlighted Raiola needing to step up in the pocket rather than rolling out and attempting to make a play with his legs during an episode of Ducks vs. Them.
Oregon's offensive line play has not done Raiola or any of the Ducks quarterbacks favors when it comes to consistently clean pockets, but Raiola has had time to throw, only taking four sacks in five games.
Against USC, Raiola seemed to handle pressure in the pocket with poise. The UCLA and Illinois games were different stories. Raiola completed 31.6 percent of his passes against the Bruins, and he completed 65.9 percent of his passes against the Fighting Illini. More consistent completions can help Oregon stay ahead of the chains, sustain drives, and give the Ducks defense a helping hand when it comes to time of possession.
Raiola missed too many receivers against Illinois, and the Ducks can't afford to miss chances when only scoring 10 points. No. 20 Northwestern's defense will likely look to pressure Raiola into making bad decisions, and his ability to keep the offense in rhythm and protect the ball will be key.
When discussing the staff changes on Oregon's offense, Lanning also spoke about what the Ducks would like to see out of the quarterback position, whether Raiola or Thomas will be filling in for Moore for the rest of the season:
"Consistency. And again, we got to be able 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. “Finding out why that is. In the last game again, we did start off really well, and it just didn't we didn't finish well. But I think again we have to find the rhythm that we can, and we need competition at that position, as well as other positions on the field.”
“Like, there's some spots that guys are playing at the level that we need to be able to play to play winning football, and then there's some spots where we got to take a step up and step up a notch. But there's so much external pressure on that position specifically because everything run on offense runs through that position.”
“So, does that mean that we simplify? Does that mean that we make things really clear and concise? And some of those moments, I think, are happening. We just got to be able to operate a little bit better, but it has to happen on the field. “And we have guys that are capable for us to be able to have success on the field. We're not the only team in the country that are playing with a different quarterback, right? So, we have to be able to do that at a high level. I think we have guys that can do that," Lanning continued.
Raiola will have a chance to prove himself and his ability to play consistently against Northwestern with kickoff between the Ducks and Wildcats set for 12:30 p.m. PT on Halloween.