Oregon’s Dante Moore Has a Tell. What It Is and How Oklahoma State Figured It Out

Moore and the Ducks offense have tells. The Cowboys defense used them to its advantage in the Week 2 upset, and they may have impacted Oregon in their CFP loss to Indiana.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore's pre-snap stance tipped off the Oklahoma State defense as to what type of play was coming. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Life comes at you fast in college football. Oregon went from popular preseason title contender to early season disappointment in a hurry, narrowly escaping a Week 1 upset vs. Boise State, then suffering a shocking Week 2 defeat at the hands of an Oklahoma State team that had underwhelmed in its own Week 1 affair against Tulsa.

One of the most perplexing developments from the Ducks’ loss to the Cowboys, aside from the defense allowing 554 yards, was the struggles of star quarterback and potential top NFL draft pick Dante Moore. Moore was completely stymied in the first half before getting into a rhythm in the final two quarters of the eventual loss.

How was Oklahoma State able to slow down Moore? The Ducks and Moore himself helped the cause.

What is Dante Moore’s tell and how did Oklahoma State figure it out?

Like a baseball pitcher tipping his pitches, Moore has been subconsciously telling defenses what’s coming. It’s not clear whether Boise State knew about this or not in Week 1—no one from their camp has said one way or another—but Oklahoma State sure did.

Cowboys coach Eric Morris, during an appearance on CBS Sports’s Inside College Football, said that two of his linebackers had picked up on the tell.

Oklahoma State Head Coach Eric Morris tells @JonesN4mo how they identified Dante Moore tipping run plays and pass plays.#ICF pic.twitter.com/f71kowyAZG

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 16, 2026

“Yeah I think it was our linebackers, Ethan Wesloski and Tate Romney,” Morris said. “Super, super sharp kids. Played a ton of football … Coaches are always paranoid. We’re paranoid about, ‘Are we getting our signals stolen? Are we tipping something off by a stance, offensive linemen, by the way the quarterback stands.’

“So, we always live in a state of paranoia. Those things help a little bit but execution is still the most important thing in this game.”

The tell, and credit goes to Andrew Nemec of West Coast Biased Sports for first pointing this out, involves the pre-snap stance of Moore’s feet when the Ducks are in the shotgun. When Moore’s right foot was staggered significantly behind his left foot—and it was a pronounced difference—the Ducks were about to pass. When there was no stagger between Moore’s feet or a less pronounced stagger, the Ducks ran the ball.

Here’s a look at Moore’s tell from the game vs. Oklahoma State.

Oregon QB Dante Moore has a Run/Pass Tell and it’s all about his stagger

Credit to @AndrewNemec for finding this pic.twitter.com/ClBhF7BUr2

— LandonTengwall (@LandonTengwall) September 14, 2026

Unsurprisingly, this knowledge seemed to give Oklahoma State an advantage defensively. The Cowboys held the Ducks to just 101 yards of offense in the first half, and Oregon scored a defensive touchdown, as well as a one-yard rushing touchdown following an interception.

Unfortunately for Oregon, the tell goes beyond just one game.

Did Indiana know about Oregon's tells in Peach Bowl blowout?

If you go back and watch the tape of Oregon’s 56–22 loss to Indiana in the Peach Bowl, Moore’s exaggerated stance is apparent on the first play of the game, a pass play in which then-Hoosiers cornerback D’Angelo Ponds jumped an out route and intercepted the pass, returning it to the house for an early score. On Oregon’s second drive of the game, Moore’s pre-snap stance aligned with the Ducks’ corresponding play, whether it be a run or pass.

Here's Moore's pre-snap stance before the first play from scrimmage, a 25-yard interception return touchdown for the Hoosers.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore lined up pre-snap during the Peach Bowl vs. Indiana. | Screengrab YouTube @collegesportsarchive via ABC broadcast

And here is Moore's pre-snap stance before the fourth play on Oregon's second drive of the game, a three-yard rush to the left.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore's pre-snap stance during the Peach Bowl vs. Indiana. | Screengrab YouTube @collegesportsarchive via ABC broadcast

Comments from former Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher in an excerpt from an upcoming book on the Hoosiers' title run co-written by Michael Niziolek and Zach Osterman seemingly confirm what the tape shows.

“They gave away a lot,” Fisher said. “Some on run downs but passing downs, especially. We knew a lot of the routes they were running, just off of who was lined up where, and where they were lined up on the field. There were just a lot of tells that we were able to pick up on.”

If Fisher’s comments weren’t concerning enough for the Oregon coaching staff, the fact that the Ducks may have more tells than just Moore’s pre-snap stance should be. After the Oklahoma State loss in Week 2, Romney told reporters that the respective stances of the Ducks’ offensive linemen revealed whether the upcoming play was a run or a pass.

Aside from confirming that the Cowboys defense is filled with film junkies, these tells are certainly an indictment of Oregon’s self-scouting process.

Oregon’s tell is out there. Now what?

So the cat is out of the bag. Now what happens? Well, now that Oklahoma State has made this common knowledge, the Ducks, in theory, can begin to correct some of the more revealing aspects of their pre-snap offense.

And the first step towards doing that is by actually acknowledging the issue, which both coach Dan Lanning and Moore did earlier this week.

“Yeah, every player has tendencies,” Moore said Tuesday. “ It can be to the NFL, it can be to college, it can be anybody. You know, that's why there's coaches on staff that find little details. And, I mean, I’m glad they brought it up. I’m glad that they, you know, got it all into the media.

“And, I mean, I haven’t been on it [social media] much, but people have been telling me about it. I mean, it just shows me as a player that, you know, I have things that I need to fix, and every player has it, you know. It can be a great thing for a team, and I got to make sure I don't show it to a defense to help them get into a better check.”

Lanning didn’t mince words, acknowledging the need for the Ducks to nip these tendencies in the bud.

“In general, you have tendencies,” Lanning said. “At times, they’ll show up. We have to do a better job policing that, for sure. It’s something we have to search for and make sure we do a good job of. That’s something we have to be better at. Really simple.”

Interestingly enough, both Lanning and Moore spoke about the potential for Oregon to utilize the knowledge that teams have of their tells to their own advantage, by changing up looks to attempt to throw off the defense.

“Yeah, you can look at it in both ways. I mean, to fix it and, like you said, use it, you know, as an advantage,” Moore said. “So just got to find the clues, the tips, and just make sure that you can, you know, don’t keep doing the bad things. But, like you said, you can play it both ways. So it's a good point right there.”

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and coach Dan Lanning both acknowledged the tells that gave Oklahoma State an edge in Week 2’s upset. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bottom Line

As in baseball, just because the hitter knows what’s coming doesn’t mean they are automatically going to connect on the pitch. They still need to execute. And the same is the case when it comes to Oregon’s offensive tells.

The defense, based on pre-snap alignment, might be able to ascertain whether the upcoming play is a pass or run, but they may not necessarily know what type of pass or run play.

So despite these tells, the Oregon offense has been able to put up 34 and 31 points in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively, while Moore has yet to throw an interception in 2026.

It’s concerning that opponents reached these conclusions before anyone inside Oregon’s program. But the fact that this came to light so early in the season could allow Moore and the Ducks coaching staff ample time to correct it.

That said, this is just one of several areas where the disappointing Ducks need to self-correct early on.

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