Dylan Raiola may be playing the long game by transferring to Oregon Ducks

Dylan Raiola was the starting quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the last two seasons.

As such, it stands to reason that he transferred to the Oregon Ducks with the intention of being the next in line in Dan Lanning's scheme. He could have landed anywhere in the transfer portal, but one would imagine he went to Oregon for the chance to start for one of the best programs in college football.

That may not necessarily be the case, though, at least in 2026.

Dante Moore still has one year of eligibility remaining with the Ducks, and he just decided to forgo the 2026 NFL Draft. He'll come back to Oregon for one more year of "seasoning."

Now that it is official, Raiola would clearly be the backup quarterback in Eugene, but college football analyst Josh Pate has a feeling this might have been intentional by Raiola and his camp all along.

Keep in mind, he had said this before Moore's decision came out, but the sentiment still remains. 

“I saw a lot of reaction out there. As soon as Dylan Raiola signed and that went official, that, ‘Oh, that must mean Dante Moore is going to the draft.’ I can’t emphasize this enough: No one knows what Dante Moore is going to do. The mock drafts have him in the Top 5, but no one knows what he’s going to do," Pate said on a recent episode of his show (h/t On3). "So it looks like Dylan Raiola’s comfortable with that no matter what. Remember, Dante Moore did this. Dante Moore transferred from UCLA to Oregon and everyone’s like, ‘You know we already have a starting quarterback here?’ He’s like, ‘That’s fine. I need to sit anyway.’"

Dylan Raiola may have transferred to Oregon with the intention to sit in 2026 

Moore transferred from UCLA to Oregon for the 2024 season despite knowing that the Ducks had Dillon Gabriel on the roster, who was locked and loaded to be the starter.

He sat behind Gabriel, though, and was arguably the better quarterback in 2025 because of it.

Raiola, who is far from a finished product after two up-and-down seasons in Nebraska, would be smart to be content to take the same route.

Remember, he's coming off a broken fibula that he suffered in early November of this past season. Taking time to fully rehab may not be the worst option for Raiola, and there's even a world where he could maybe swing a medical redshirt and get an extra season of eligibility.

Either way, Pate is reporting that there are people in Raiola's circle who believe sitting behind Moore is ideal.

“There are some people in Dylan Raiola’s camp that would be totally okay with him sitting for a year, if it means sitting behind Dante Moore," Pate said.