Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti wasn’t afraid to give Oregon’s redshirt sophomore quarterback Dante Moore his due praise ahead of the Hoosiers’ matchup at Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
“He's playing really well,” Cignetti said in a press conference Monday. “As he's played more, you can see he's building on his success, confidence, belief, and he's one of the great quarterbacks in the country. There's no doubt about it.”
Cignetti raved about Moore’s athleticism, arm talent and pass timing. He highlighted the quarterback’s ability to extend plays and improvise outside of the pocket. However, Cignetti kept quiet about an aspect of Moore’s game the Hoosiers could potentially exploit — his inexperience.
The former five-star recruit began his career at UCLA in 2023, where he split time as a starter during his freshman year. Moore appeared in nine games with five starts as a Bruin, but never cemented himself as the No. 1 option.
Last year, he transferred to Oregon and redshirted behind current Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Finally, this season, Moore was given the opportunity to be the Ducks’ everyday starter — a role he’s excelled in through the first six weeks. Through five games, he’s tallied 14 touchdown passes to just one interception while averaging 242 yards per game on a 74.6% completion percentage.
If those statistics aren’t enough to convince you, well, he’s also the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Still, there’s an aspect of Moore’s game that hasn’t been tested. His ability to play under duress. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Didn’t Oregon beat Penn State on the road during a White Out?” You would be correct, that did happen Sept. 27 — and despite the Nittany Lions’ shocking loss to a winless UCLA on Oct. 4 — I still believe it’s one of the best wins any team’s had this season.
When I say duress, I don’t mean a tough environment. That won’t be a problem for the Ducks, who will have the luxury of home-field advantage against the Hoosiers. No, what I mean is that Moore hasn’t faced much pressure from opposing pass rushes this season.
Oregon’s offensive line has done an incredible job protecting its signal caller. The Ducks rank first in the country with just one sack allowed this season. They didn’t give up a single sack and allowed just one tackle for loss in their 30-24 overtime win over the Nittany Lions.
Since becoming the starter, Moore has benefited from his airtight protection up front. The beauty of the transfer portal era of college football is that we can see how players fared in other circumstances. In 2023, UCLA allowed 42 sacks. Moore threw nine interceptions and had completed just 53.5% of his passes that season.
That was two years ago, sure, and Moore has undoubtedly grown since his true freshman campaign. Still, he’s prone to making mistakes under pressure. Indiana can take advantage of that.
The Hoosiers’ defensive line is one of the best in the country. Redshirt senior edge rusher Mikail Kamara’s decision to return to Bloomington has stacked Indiana’s pass rush with proven talent. The Cream and Crimson lead the Big Ten with 49 tackles for loss and have amassed 16 sacks through five games.
Although the Hoosiers recorded just one sack last time out against Iowa, their presence in the backfield ultimately sealed the Hawkeyes’ fate. If that same dominance in the trenches can carry over this Saturday, Moore may just make the mistakes Indiana needs to pull off a crucial upset.
Conversely, protecting redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza will be paramount for the Hoosiers. The University of California, Berkeley transfer struggled to find a consistent rhythm last week during a narrow road win in a hostile Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. That was largely due to Iowa’s heavy blitz packages flustering the Hoosiers’ offensive line.
Indiana’s redshirt junior guard Bray Lynch and redshirt sixth-year senior tackle Kahlil Benson routinely lost in the trenches, leading to negative plays in both the run and pass game.
When Mendoza had a clean pocket, he shined. The one time he didn’t — the Hoosiers nearly lost.
On Nov. 25, 2023, Moore and Mendoza squared off in the Rose Bowl for a regular-season rivalry matchup between UCLA and Cal. The Bruins dominated in nearly all statistics — total yards, turnovers and first downs included. Regardless, the Golden Bears had one major advantage. They dominated in the trenches with six sacks.
Mendoza’s Cal trounced Moore’s UCLA 33-7. Nearly two years have passed. The circumstances have changed. Still, Indiana has its blueprint.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
