STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Oregon quarterback Dante Moore entered Saturday night’s White Out game at Penn State having never previously excelled against a quality opponent, let alone in such an environment.
By the end of the Ducks’ dramatic 30-24 double overtime win, Moore had erased any misgivings about his ability to thrive under the pressure, particularly against a team at the level of the No. 3 Nittany Lions.
Moore completed 29 of 39 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns with the game-winner in overtime.
“Dude breeds excellence,” Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher said. “He’s just very composed, too. He’s 20 years old, the maturity out of him is incredible.”
Along the way, Moore had to overcome momentum shifts, setbacks, falling behind, taking some big shots and the intense atmosphere created by 111,015 in Beaver Stadium.
Through it all, Moore said, UO coach Dan Lanning kept him going with encouragement and demonstrations of faith in his abilities.
“That’s something as a quarterback that you love,” Moore said.
Moore’s performance should place him firmly in the Heisman Trophy discussion, if he wasn’t already there after starting the season with 11 touchdown passes and one interception.
Lanning credited Moore’s work ethic and development since transferring to Oregon from UCLA in 2024 and backing up Dillon Gabriel last season for his improvement.
During the season, Moore appeared unbothered by what lay ahead, repeatedly displaying an air of confidence born from being humbled by struggling at UCLA and remaining patient while allowing his preparation to catch up with his many talents.
Saturday was the type of game Moore said he dreamed of playing as a child. And in those dreams, he won.
Heading into Saturday, Moore said he thought back to his freshman season when he struggled during a 14-7 loss at Utah, going 15 of 35 for 234 yards and one touchdown with one interception returned for a touchdown in the first quarter.
“I had a lot of mistakes that game,” he said.
He recalled not playing with confidence in himself or the game plan. He simply wasn’t ready for that level of competition.
Moore appeared unflappable Saturday from the start, following a week of being pushed by Oregon’s defense and ear-splitting noise from speakers inside Moshofsky Center to simulate crowd noise.
Even in the first half when both teams managed to only score a field goal apiece, Moore went 11 of 16 for 91 yards against a strong defense that kept receivers in front of them and bottled up the running game.
In the third quarter, Moore got cooking. On the Ducks’ first drive, he led them on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown on a screen pass to running back Dierre Hill Jr.
Moore went 5 of 5 in the third quarter for 47 yards.
He led Oregon to another touchdown drive that began in the third quarter and ended in the fourth with an 8-yard run from Jordon Davison to put the Ducks up 17-3.
But then Penn State came back. The Nittany Lions scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to force overtime with the score 17-17. They opened overtime with a touchdown to go up 24-17, placing more pressure on Moore than he had ever faced in his career.
He answered the call, leading the Ducks to a game-tying touchdown. The Ducks had the ball first in the second overtime and Moore made arguably his best throw of the game.
Moore evaded a pass rusher, then hit Gary Bryant Jr. on a deep crossing route for a 25-yard touchdown to put the Ducks up 30-24.
Granted, Moore’s pass on a two-point attempt was intercepted. But that didn’t take away from the repeated displays of excellence to put the Ducks up and then rally them back when they fell behind.
Lanning pointed to Moore’s composure, especially on a play called to pass outside but he read it and came underneath for a nice gain.’
“That’s just one example in that game of the poise that he had,” Lanning said.
A hiccup performance from Moore would have been acceptable. Even former Oregon great Marcus Mariota had a few rough moments during a stellar career that culminated in his receiving the Heisman Trophy in 2014.
Through the first 10 games of his redshirt freshman season in 2012, Mariota completed 71.7% of his passes for 2,164 yards and 28 touchdowns with five interceptions.
Then came a home matchup with No. 13 Stanford. The Cardinal held Mariota to 207 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception in a 17-14 overtime win at Autzen Stadium that ultimately cost the 12-1 Ducks a berth in the BCS National Championship Game.
Moore didn’t have nearly as much past success to lean on entering Saturday.
Penn State offered every element of pressure imaginable, other than not having a championship on the line. That could come later for Moore and the Ducks.
Should that occur, nobody can say that Moore hasn’t demonstrated that he can handle such a moment.
“I love that he’s a competitor,” Boettcher said. “and happy to have him on our side.”
Next up: The Ducks, who have next week off, host No. 11 Indiana (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) on Oct. 11. The Hoosiers won 20-15 at Iowa (3-2, 1-1) on Saturday.