On another site, a knowledgeable poster wrote that it has to be Raiola, and that yesterday was not enough for Thomas to start instead, and noted that Thomas' proven record was insufficient. It wasn't Thomas' first rodeo. Thomas stepped in as the backup quarterback after Dante Moore was injured, leading the Ducks to a 21-7 victory. He completed 4 of 4 passes for 46 yards and one touchdown in that game.

Yesterday, he completed 11/15 when he came in and when they knew we had to throw. Riaola's scoring drive was half a yard. Dylan Raiola completed 6 of 19 passes for 43 yards, with 0 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and he also lost a fumble before being benched in the fourth quarter during the game against UCLA. George Wrightser noted Raiola throws what he called subway sandwiches, and I call balloons. Wrightser noted that he isn't afraid. That might sound like a good quality, but he should be afraid of throwing soft, arching passes that are easy to defend, and he was inaccurate as well yesterday.

The Nebraska fans told us what we were getting. I was very optimistic after the USC game, but there were warning signs. The long TD pass to Dakorien was floated high and short of the open Moore, who saw that before the USC player and went back for it. Wrightser said that he had not been enthused about Raiola coming to Oregon based on what he had seen at Nebraska. Combine all of that with the fact that he is slow and with an inadequate offensive line. Dante has poor pocket presence and escapability, but he isn't slow.

Forget that. Raiola was a Five Star. His size, name, and high school. DB competition got him the stars. He shouldn't have been a five. I will wonder if Raiola starts whether the staff made that decision because they don't want to admit that they wasted big NIL money. Thomas is the better player.

This Duck fan is not ready to throw away or give up on DR. One bad game is not enough for me to make that harsh of a decision.

As painful as it was to rewatch the game, it was obvious that the entire offense played poorly.

The O line was standing up when the ball was snapped. If it was going to be a pass play they immediately lost their leverage. The Bruin D line was 2 yards deep into the protection pocket on their initial rush. DR or any QB needs time to step into their throws. The receivers had little time to get separation.

I feel uncomfortable laying all the blame on just DR. I ask mys3lf, why did Thomas have a better pocket to thow out of than DR?

Also, DR or any QB has nothing to do with the lack of rushing production. Who's responsible to create running lanes? The O line is!

This game was a poor performance by the entire offensive unit, not just DR. Their was no balance between rushing and passing to keep the Bruin D off balance.

I wonder what the coaches were seeing in practice? I ask myself how could a unit be so lackluster and unprepared? Coming out of a bye week......

The Duck Defense came prepared and played a great game. What happened?

Something is not right with the 2026 squad and I hope DL and staff can figure it out.

Go Ducks......

Brock Thomas earned the start. If Dylan was injured, he should have pulled himself. Brock #1, Akili #2, GO DUCKS!

Why not Akili Smith?

5 hours ago, HappyToBeADuck said:

This Duck fan is not ready to throw away or give up on DR. One bad game is not enough for me to make that harsh of a decision.

As painful as it was to rewatch the game, it was obvious that the entire offense played poorly.

The O line was standing up when the ball was snapped. If it was going to be a pass play they immediately lost their leverage. The Bruin D line was 2 yards deep into the protection pocket on their initial rush. DR or any QB needs time to step into their throws. The receivers had little time to get separation.

I feel uncomfortable laying all the blame on just DR. I ask mys3lf, why did Thomas have a better pocket to thow out of than DR?

Also, DR or any QB has nothing to do with the lack of rushing production. Who's responsible to create running lanes? The O line is!

This game was a poor performance by the entire offensive unit, not just DR. Their was no balance between rushing and passing to keep the Bruin D off balance.

I wonder what the coaches were seeing in practice? I ask myself how could a unit be so lackluster and unprepared? Coming out of a bye week......

The Duck Defense came prepared and played a great game. What happened?

Something is not right with the 2026 squad and I hope DL and staff can figure it out.

Go Ducks......

Excellent points. DR and BT stats can't be well compared. BTs stats came most with a prevent defense giving a lot of cushion and little pash rush. I would argue though the extreme lack of consistency from DR is traditionally a deal breaker. DT has shown more consistent poise every time he has been in a game, which is more than a handful at this point.

I want Dylan to have a go at it. Just promise him one half to figure it out.

59 minutes ago, Jemangi said:

Why not Akili Smith?

Because he’s not ready unless we are going to run the read-option offense again.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by OregonDucks

Two problems here...

1. I don't think Koa Ka'Ai is up to the task of being the QB coach at Oregon. He has overseen the regression of Moore and failed to prepare Raiola for UCLA.

2. Mehringer's plan was a failure for UCLA. It forced Raiola to play hero ball... which brings out all his bad habits that he had at Nebraska. The Ducks need to run the ball that opens up the pass that allows Raiola to play within the system. That was why he looked so good against USC. He played within the system. Mehringer failed to make adjustments during the game against UCLA to allow his players to play in the system. Instead they just ran around panicked. They seemed shocked that UCLA dropped 7-8 into coverage at times. They were grossly unprepared. That's on the coaches.

Against the Huskers, Raiola is ready for an all timer of a bounce back game against his former teammates. (I hope 😇)

The guy the coaches want to start is the guy who should start.

Dan needs to know whether Raiola is the USC guy or the UCLA guy. If the latter, Raiola and his bro should be encouraged to play elsewhere next season.

Free up the money for a better QB from the portal. A dual-threat QB who can cover for bad O-line play. If you can't find a dual-threat QB, the money should be spent on quality O-line players from the portal.

It's disappointing that the two stud O-line recruits are not ready to play ball. Disappointing that older players who were highly valued as recruits have not played up to their stars. Disappointing that these guys were overvalued in the offseason.

In fairness to Dante and Dylan, it's difficult to win when you can't run the ball.

Hats off to Thomas, but starting a game is much different than coming in late. And if the O-line can't gain a yard to tie the game, well ...

Brock Thomas is a gamer and deserves the opportunity to show what he can do.

2 hours ago, David Marsh said:

Two problems here...

1. I don't think Koa Ka'Ai is up to the task of being the QB coach at Oregon. He has overseen the regression of Moore and failed to prepare Raiola for UCLA.

2. Mehringer's plan was a failure for UCLA. It forced Raiola to play hero ball... which brings out all his bad habits that he had at Nebraska. The Ducks need to run the ball that opens up the pass that allows Raiola to play within the system. That was why he looked so good against USC. He played within the system. Mehringer failed to make adjustments during the game against UCLA to allow his players to play in the system. Instead they just ran around panicked. They seemed shocked that UCLA dropped 7-8 into coverage at times. They were grossly unprepared. That's on the coaches.

Coaches need thrir walking pspers, and recruit from outside the program. No more hires, just because they are Dsn Lanning buddies.

2 hours ago, OregonDucks said:

Because he’s not ready unless we are going to run the read-option offense again.

I mean honestly with suspect O-Line run blocking a read-option might be the way to go. Defenses are selling out on our run-game exactly because our QBs haven't been a run threat all season and most of last. I'm not saying Akili Smith Jr. is a better passer than any of the other options; but he does give the offense another element that hasn't been seen consistently since Bo Nix.