Dylan Raiola's Comments Carry Deeper Meaning After Oregon Win Over Ohio State

COLUMBUS – A year ago, current Oregon quarterback Dylan Raiola sat in front of the media following a game in which he failed to lead his team to a victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. A season later, Raiola found himself back in the same chair, but with a different result, leading his team to victory in front of 103,551 fans, this time in an Oregon uniform.

Oregon Ducks Dylan Raiola Ohio State Buckeyes upset win postgame interview quotes football game 2026 college football — Oregon Ducks quarterback Dylan Raiola (8) high fives fans as he leaves the field following the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 7, 2026. Ohio State lost 41-28. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

“I remember sitting in this exact chair, upset, wondering. We were right there. We were this close to winning, but you know, those are all learning moments for me. And I just, I'm just grateful. Like you look back and you're just grateful for those times because when you're in them, it's like, dang, like why am I in it? Like this isn't fair, whatever it is.

But when you look back at it, like it's everything that happened shaped me into what I am today, and you know things moving forward in the future. So I'm grateful for for everything that's happened.”

The Oregon Ducks' 2026 season has not gone according to script. After opening the 2026 season ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, the Ducks have since dropped three games, lost their starting quarterback, Dante Moore, to injury and fired their offensive coordinator.

Additionally, Oregon's offense has struggled at times amid quarterback instability with backup Dylan Raiola. However, despite those setbacks, with Raiola at the helm, Oregon managed to take down No. 12 Ohio State.

“Our plan was to just go right after them (Ohio State) and we weren't going to go around. We weren't going to try and do it a different way. We were just gonna attack through our DNA.”

And that's exactly what Raiola did. He finished the game with 257 passing yards and two touchdowns while avoiding an interception despite several close calls.

This season has been turbulent for both Oregon and Raiola, but after a win over Northwestern and now a statement victory over Ohio State, the Ducks appear to be finding their identity again.

Everything Oregon Quarterback Dylan Raiola

The Oregon locker room’s resilience after falling behind early

“Yeah, we just, we were confident in our plan. We saw seams everywhere in their defense when we were game planning for them, and a couple of those first couple drives were like self-inflicted wounds, and so we never got down. We were confident when they got up 14, we're like, "Oh, this happened last week, so let's just go do it again." And we just kept stacking play at a time, and I can't say enough of how proud I am of this team.”

Building mental toughness and team execution through practice

“Yeah, I wouldn't say simple because it is hard. Like going down 14 is not easy to stay confident in. But our guys did. Credit to coach Lanning because he just puts us in those positions in practice, and when we get into them in the game, it's like, all right, we've been here before, and let's go execute our jobs at a high level, and we'll look up at the end of 60 minutes and see what the result was, and we just put our heads down and went to work.”

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Navigating second-quarter swings and sticking to the game plan

“Yeah, I mean, obviously, got to be a little smarter with the ball, but we knew we were confident. Like I said, our plan was to just go right after them, and we weren't going to go around. We weren't going to try and do it a different way."

"We were just gonna attack through our DNA, and yeah, there's a couple times that I threw the ball in jeopardy, and I of course want those back because those could have swayed the game a lot different, but they didn't, and so here we are sitting here happy that we won. So we got to go clean those things up, but we'll enjoy this one on the way back.”

how do i get followers on facebook i have followers but also a ton of friend requests — Nov 7, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Dylan Raiola (8) hugs Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day after the game at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Personal adversity and looking ahead to the matchup against Michigan

"But just being able to come to work with these guys and just them to kind of just encourage and lead and allow me to lead from the front, it makes a lot of difference, and like I said, we're just getting started. Like we are doing what we're supposed to do, and we need to keep that going this next game against Michigan.”

Full-circle moments and growth from past losses

“Yeah, I remember sitting in this exact chair, upset, wondering. We were right there. We were this close to winning, but those are all learning moments for me. And I'm just grateful. Like you look back and you're just grateful for those times because when you're in them, it's like, dang, like why am I in it? Like this isn't fair, whatever it is."

"But when you look back at it, like it's everything that happened shaped me into what I am today, and things moving forward in the future. So I'm grateful for everything that's happened.”

Establishing himself as the starting quarterback

“Yeah, I mean, I would say I have not been on social media, so I have no idea what's being said. And I honestly, respectfully, I don't put my value in that. What I do care about is what that locker thinks of me, and what I do care about is what that coaching staff thinks of me."

"And so, I think penciled in is a bold term just because I don't want to be something different than the guys. I just want to be another guy that plays for Oregon and does their job at a high level. And so, yeah, to answer your question, I just want to be a part of the team. I don't want to be an individual.”

Drawing on past road experience in hostile environments

“Yeah, heavy, heavy lean on those, and also sharing with my teammates. A lot of the guys haven't played here before, and the last time I played here, the stadium didn't look how it looked like tonight, and so we knew all along that that's what was going to happen because we believed in each other. We just kept stacking, and we looked up and it was like, wow, there's just green left."

"All the only red left is on the seats, and so, yeah, I'm just proud of this team. Yeah, we've been through a lot, but we're just getting started.”

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