Oregon Ducks' Dante Moore Snubbed in Heisman Trophy Voting

The fifth through 10th spots in the 2025 Heisman Trophy voting were released on Thursday after the four finalists were revealed earlier in the week.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore did not make the shortlist, despite leading his team to the No. 5 seed in the College Football Playoff and giving multiple clutch performances throughout the season.

Dante Moore Snubbed From Heisman Results?

dante moore oregon ducks dan lanning heisman trophy quarterback college football playoff bo nix dillon gabriel fernando — Oregon quarterback Dante Moore celebrates after the game as the Oregon Ducks take on the Washington Huskies on Nov. 29, 2025, at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon quarterback peaked as the Heisman Trophy odds leader at one point in the season. His odds of winning the award took a significant hit after the Ducks’ loss to the Indiana Hoosiers.

Moore finished the regular season with 25 total touchdowns and 2,733 passing yards on 72.5 percent completion. Beyond just his stats, the quarterback showed up for Oregon when facing adversity. He led the Ducks’ two-minute drive when trailing against the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road to set up a game-winning field goal. He also threw three touchdowns in a double overtime win at Penn State and fought for multiple first downs.

Three of the four Heisman finalists are quarterbacks, with Notre Dame running back Jeremyiah Love being the exception. Five through 10 in the ballot rankings include three quarterbacks, and only three of the top 10 didn’t make the College Football Playoff.

While the Heisman finalists look different every year, Moore finished the regular season with over 10 fewer total touchdowns than both former Oregon quarterbacks Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel did in their Heisman finalist seasons.

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Heisman Trophy Top 10

Finalists (top four): Jeremyiah Love, Fernando Mendoza, Diego Pavia, Julian Sayin

5. Jacob Rodriguez, Linebacker (Texas Tech)
6. Jeremiah Smith, Wide Receiver (Ohio State)
7. Gunner Stockton, Quarterback (Georgia)
8. Trinidad Chambliss, Quarterback (Ole Miss)
9. Caleb Downs, Safety (Ohio State)
10. Haynes King, Quarterback (Georgia Tech)

Dante Moore’s Growth in 2025

Moore’s stats are a big improvement from what he did as a starting quarterback for the UCLA Bruins in 2023. Moore threw fewer touchdowns as a true freshman, while throwing more interceptions. His completion percentage also experienced a huge jump in improvement over the past couple years, and he finished with half the number of sacks in three fewer games.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning hasn’t minced his words when talking about Moore’s growth since he’s been at Oregon.

“I just think the maturity and time. We started this season with a lot of guys, Dante being one of them, that experience had been limited, and we got to see a lot of action in practice, but now that experience is no longer limited,” Lanning said.

“You've seen a guy win a game for us in overtime. You've seen a guy create two-minute drives that turned into success for our team,” he continued. “You see a guy that's won over his teammates. So many people fighting for positions throughout the season, and he's a person that stepped up and has great maturity, a great disposition that I think showed up for us throughout the season.”

The Ducks enter the postseason with a first-round matchup with the James Madison Dukes at Autzen Stadium. A Heisman-winning season isn’t in the cards for Moore, but a chance to be the first Oregon quarterback in program history to lead the team to a National Championship is still up for grabs.