Oregon Quarterback Dante Moore Addresses Face Injury

Quarterback Dante Moore stepped up for the No. 9 Oregon Ducks when they needed it the most against the No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes in week 11. Moore led the Ducks to field goal position with less than two minutes remaining and the game on the line to secure the comeback win.

On Tuesday, the Oregon quarterback revealed that he was thinking about Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his ability to put his team in position to win no matter the circumstance.

The Ducks' quarterback also discussed having to adapt with players sidelined due to injury and gave an update to the face injury he suffered against Wisconsin in October.

What Dante Moore Said

oregon ducks dante moore dan lanning malik benson injury will stein college football big ten dakorien minnesota golden gopher — Nov 8, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) warms up before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

On the Two-Minute Drill to Win the Game:

“I was talking to some of my teammates about it. I mean, we do two minutes so many times I practice. You just put us in tough situations. But like I said, I'd never been in a situation where I had to do a two-minute drive with the team to win the game,” he said.

“And during that moment, I didn't feel nervous at all, to be honest. We took the field as a whole huddle, like everybody was looking at me. I tell everybody, take a deep breath. Like, just embrace this moment. Of course, Atticus made a great kick at the end, give all the credit to him. He was on fire that day, especially with the weather, the conditions it was in. But I don't know, I kind of was thinking about Patrick Mahomes too.”

“I was kind of thinking about him during the two-minute drive. I was like, he's one of the greatest ever to do it, and he's always finding a way to win the game. So, I was thinking about him. I said, to make sure I protected the ball, move the ball down the field, be aware of the clock, but Atticus sealed the game for us, and we're thankful for him,” Moore concluded.

What He Saw on His Long Run:

“The highest speed I ever hit was here at practice. It was 21.5. In the game, I think I hit like 20 something. It was a run play, the D-end crashed, so I just pulled it. But my legs started giving out a little bit. It was when I was running. Like players are moving around all game, and I'm in the pocket majority of the time.”

“So, whenever a chance to run for especially a long one, I thought I was running pretty fast, but I kept getting slower and slower. So, I was like, I'm not gonna force anything right here. But yeah, during that moment, like I said, usually coach Lanning runs on the sideline with us as well,” he continued.

“I'm looking like, if he’s with me, I don't know if I'm running pretty fast, but get out of bounds. But overall, it was a great run. We had a lot of great runs, though. I mean, the O-line did a great job, especially running against Iowa's defense, a very tough defense, interior-wise. But that run was pretty funny to be honest.”

If He Impresses Himself with the Throws He Makes:

“During the moment, I didn't know the pass looked like that. More of it's like, I seen one on one out there on the outside. And of course, I have 100 percent trust in Malik (Benson). But after the game, like my uncle kept sending me the video, like, 'This is insane.' I didn't see it until I seen the slow motion. And I mean, the DB made a great play.

“He did a great job the whole game. But I mean, those moments, those passes when it happens in the moment, next play, but after the times you see it on social media, like, 'Damn, that was a good pass.' But overall, I mean, I give most credit to Malik, because he came down with the catch.”

Update on Face Injury vs. Wisconsin:

“When the incident happened, of course, in the moment, I never really broke anything in my life. So little nervous at first, but went to the doctor and talked about everything, but no surgery, no nothing's needed,” Moore said.

“So, I talked to Kenny. He talked to me about different face masks, visors and stuff. So been wearing a visor, but it was raining in Iowa, so came to the two bars on the top, but hasn’t been really much of a distraction or anything. So, I can breathe normally. It feels pretty good. It's just a little sore still.”

The Team’s Approach to Contributing from the Sidelines:

“A lot of players did go down, and that's just the game of football. That’s sports and life, and it's always a next-up mentality. And we're very talented here. We have a lot of depth, a lot of players,” Moore said.

“It's just the people that are out right now, I feel like they helped me on the sideline in that position, when it comes like the Dakorien (Moore) for example, like he's a ballplayer, he's a playmaker for us, but he can be made sure he communicated to Cooper (Perry), he made sure he communicated to Justius (Lowe) about them making them plays, like Kenny communicating to JJ and Roger and Harkey talking to Gernorris and everything,” Moore continued.

“We have a lot of depth, but I'm a big resource for helping out, bringing confidence to the team, but also, like we do a great job here, just making sure everybody's on the same page, and make sure everybody has each other's back.”

The Process of Shifting Game Plan on the Fly Due to Weather or Injuries:

“If you look at the beginning of the year, we're taking shots down the field. We're taking a lot of crazy throws and offenses all wide open. And it's just all these different concepts and things. But sometimes in the game of football, especially as a quarterback, of course, you want to throw for all the touchdowns,” he said.

“You want to do all these things. But at the end of the day, a win is a win. And I feel just in general, when we're playing at here against Wisconsin and at Iowa and these raining tough environment, the run game is needed. And I feel like, just in general, our front five did a great job. Our tight end did a great job making sure they're getting pushed up front,” Moore continued.

“The game plan kind of does change, and that's just the sport, and you just got to embrace that moment. Like, an example, I got to use my legs too at this point. I can't really use my arm as much. But overall, I mean, when players go down as well, it's next man up mentality like we always say. But run game is always important, especially in Big Ten football it's very important.”

The Conversations with Will Stein About Using Him in the Run Game:

“That's a lot of times when people can look at me as a quarterback. I think pro style, just in pocket, always throwing the ball, but game on the line, like always went to coach Stein. I'm like, whatever you have to do to win this game, I'm down for it.”

“If I have to run the ball fourth to one, if I have third and one quarterback run, whatever, I'll do it for the team. Just in general, it's 11v11 football. A lot of times, teams don't expect quarterbacks to run, especially in situations like that,” Moore said.

“Like I said, using my legs has been something powerful for this offense, and I'm glad that coach Stein trusted me. I'm glad everybody on the field trusted me with the ball in my hands. But when things need to get done, touchdowns, first downs let me get it done for sure.”

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How the Offensive Line is Preparing for Minnesota’s Defensive Line:

“Shout out, Minnesota, of course, have great defensive players. The D-line is huge. They're very powerful front. But I feel like at practice, the way we attack against our defensive lineman as well, the way they push our offensive line here, to prepare for anything. But every day is pushing each other, interior’s very tall, very big. So, I feel like we'll be ready for sure. With anybody that's out there on the front five will be prepared for sure.”

Running an Offense When the Formation Splits are Different:

“Offense has changed a ton. But you look at our depth, we have seven great running backs that can do everything we need in this offense, and at the end of day, everybody knows Dierre (Hill) and Jordon (Davison) – thunder and lightning – and with the things they do, but overall, coach Stein is always going to find different pieces for us to move the ball.”

“And at practice during spring ball, fall camp, we kind of felt that during these certain formations or this personnel, we did a great job. So, we're kind of just using our strengths. And we always attack our weaknesses, but that's something our strengths is 21 personnel, and we're going to keep doing it. It's very useful in the pass game and run game. But when you have them type of running backs, I love to be in 21 personnel all day.”

Making Sure They’re Peaking at the Right Time:

“We're to the point where we're getting to the back end of the season and playing at Iowa, tough environment, that was a great win for us. Our mindset every week is to go 1-0, make sure we're pushing ourselves Monday through Friday, on Saturday to get ready for the game. But, these games are important, of course, as well, but the ones in the beginning of the season were important as well, too. So, we kind of don't want to treat these differently. Just want to make sure we go 1-0.”