Oregon QB Dante Moore leaves game vs. USC with apparent head injury after violent hit

Oregon’s Dante Moore was injured in the second quarter of the No. 20 Ducks’ game against No. 12 USC after he took a hit to the head while sliding on a scramble.

Moore’s head violently hit the ground after he went into the slide on a hit by Desman Stephens II that drew an immediate flag. The teams had to be separated after the hit as Oregon players were furious and other flags were thrown.

After training staff attended to Moore on the field for several minutes, he was taken to a waiting cart on a backboard. Moore was greeted by numerous teammates after he was loaded onto the cart and, per the NBC broadcast, was moving his arms.

OMG terrifying hit on Dante Moore as he’s sliding, hope he’s ok pic.twitter.com/btSngnriAZ

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— gmannVOLS (@gmannVOLS) September 27, 2026

Stephens was ejected for targeting. The entirety of both Oregon and USC’s teams were assessed personal fouls for the post-hit kerfuffle.

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p style=”text-align:left”>Moore was replaced by Dylan Raiola. The former Nebraska QB transferred to Oregon in the offseason.