Oregon quarterback Dante Moore has gotten off to a blistering start in his first season as the Ducks’ starter.
He’s toppled four weak opponents to get Oregon to 4-0, throwing for 962 yards and 11 touchdowns to just one interception. The former UCLA transfer’s 74.7% completion rate is fourth in the country thus far.
Playing Penn State in the White Out this Saturday will be a test unlike Moore has seen in his college career. Not only will the Nittany Lion defense be the best he’s faced, but the Beaver Stadium atmosphere, for perhaps the most anticipated White Out in history, should cause challenges.
You might not realize, though, that the redshirt sophomore has actually been to a White Out before.
Moore was one of the nation’s most sought-after quarterbacks in the 2023 recruiting class. A five-star prospect from Martin Luther King Senior High School in Detroit, Moore traveled to Happy Valley for the 2021 White Out against Auburn, a 28-20 Lions win.
“A young man that we recruited the heck out of,” James Franklin labeled the gunslinger this week.
Will that experience make dealing with the atmosphere easier for Moore in this weekend’s top-six matchup?
He said earlier this week that he plans to reach out to a former Ducks QB who just so happened to be the opposing QB that same night: current Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix.
Nix started his career at Auburn before finishing at Oregon.
Similarly, Moore started his career at UCLA, and after losing the starting job as a freshman, he transferred to Oregon and learned behind Dillon Gabriel for a year.
“The stadium was really loud,” Moore said of his Penn State visit. “I hope I have the chance to talk to (Nix) and hear his thoughts. It’s going to be a great week; It’s going to be a great game. It’s going to be a hostile environment. But I’m going to reach out to Bo for sure to see what things he has to tell me.”
Penn State has been impressed with Moore and his offense, which is averaging more than 50 points per game to start 2025.
“He’s a throw-first guy, very accurate, can extend plays,” Franklin said. “Has a ton of playmakers around him.”
Moore’s performance will be one of the biggest X-factors in the outcome of Saturday night’s showdown. Oregon has been doing all it can to prepare for the environment, blasting the oft-used “Mo Bamba” song throughout practice and pumping in crowd noise.
We’ll find out at 7:30 p.m. Saturday if it’s enough.