In the long tradition of sport revealing character under pressure, Week 4 of college football offered a meditation on resilience and uncertainty: a young backup quarterback named Dylan Raiola stepped into crisis at the Los Angeles Coliseum and led Oregon to a 41-27 road victory over USC, even as his fallen predecessor Dante Moore was carried from the field with a head injury whose full weight remained unknown. Across the country in Starkville, Mississippi State quietly made history, improving to 4-0 with a late-game comeback over Missouri that marked the program's first back-to-back unbeaten s
Oregon stuns USC behind backup Raiola as Week 4 delivers upsets
Oregon QB Dante Moore was stretchered off the field after taking a late hit to the head and was hospitalized for evaluation; he had feeling in his extremities but his condition remained uncertain.
Backup steps in and keeps the Ducks' offense rolling
Mark
So Dylan Raiola comes in cold and throws for 289 yards and two touchdowns. That's not just competent—that's elite-level performance. How much of that is Raiola being genuinely that good, and how much is USC's defense just falling apart?
Mimi
Both things are true, but I'd say the defense collapse is the bigger story. USC gave up 41 points. Raiola was poised and accurate, but he wasn't doing anything USC hadn't seen before. The Trojans' secondary couldn't cover, the pass rush wasn't there. Oregon's receivers had time and space.
Luke
Here's what we don't know yet: how much of Raiola's success is sustainable? He had one half of football. One. We're calling it elite, but we need to see him do this for a full game, then another game, then a season. And we still don't know if Dante Moore's injury is serious or not. That changes everything.
Mark
Fair point. But the narrative is that Oregon's playoff hopes stay alive because Raiola can step in. Is that actually justified?
Mimi
It's justified as a possibility, not a certainty. The Ducks proved they can win a big road game without their starter. That's real. But Moore was their guy—he's the one they built around. If he's out for weeks or the season, Raiola's one good game doesn't guarantee anything.
Luke
And we should be clear: Moore was hospitalized. We know he had feeling in his extremities, which is good, but we don't know the full extent of the injury. The reporting says they're still doing evaluations. That's code for "we don't have answers yet."
Mark
What about Mississippi State? Kamario Taylor's fourth straight game with three touchdown passes—that's a real stat, right? That's not a fluke?
Mimi
That's legitimately impressive. Four straight games with three-plus touchdown passes is rare. And they beat a ranked team for the first time since 2014. That's a program that was stuck, and now it's moving.
Luke
But one ranked win doesn't make them a playoff team. Missouri is good, but it's not like they beat Georgia or Alabama. And they're 4-0 against what schedule? We need to see them sustain this against real competition.
Mark
So the headline is "upsets happen," but the real story is that we still don't know who these teams actually are?
Mimi
Exactly. Oregon showed something real on the road. Mississippi State showed something real at home. But one game doesn't define a season. The next four weeks will tell us much more.
Luke
And Dante Moore's health status will define Oregon's entire season. That's the thing nobody can predict right now.
The Pulse
- Oregon's season teetered on the edge when Dante Moore was stretchered off the field after a late hit to the head, leaving the Ducks trailing and their championship hopes suddenly fragile.
- Dylan Raiola, a Nebraska transfer with no warning and everything to prove, threw a touchdown on his very first snap and never looked back, completing nearly 77 percent of his passes for 289 yards and two scores.
- USC's defense had no answer for what followed — Oregon scored five touchdowns, held the Trojans to 166 total yards in the first half, and turned a crisis into a dominant road statement.
- Lincoln Riley's seat grew hotter with each Trojan possession, as USC's inability to compete with elite programs raised urgent questions about the program's direction ahead of a brutal Big Ten schedule.
- In Starkville, Kamario Taylor capped an 85-yard drive with 3:57 remaining to lift Mississippi State past Missouri 31-24, giving the Bulldogs their first win over a ranked opponent in over a decade and a place in program history.
In the long tradition of sport revealing character under pressure, Week 4 of college football offered a meditation on resilience and uncertainty: a young backup quarterback named Dylan Raiola stepped into crisis at the Los Angeles Coliseum and led Oregon to a 41-27 road victory over USC, even as his fallen predecessor Dante Moore was carried from the field with a head injury whose full weight remained unknown. Across the country in Starkville, Mississippi State quietly made history, improving to 4-0 with a late-game comeback over Missouri that marked the program's first back-to-back unbeaten starts since the mid-1940s. These are the moments that remind us that football, like life, rarely unfolds according to the plans we make for it.
The Coliseum was the setting for one of the weekend's most jarring moments when Oregon quarterback Dante Moore took a late hit while sliding and was stretchered off the field, leaving the Ducks trailing USC 10-7 and facing a suddenly uncertain path forward. What the moment demanded was composure, and Dylan Raiola — a Nebraska transfer who had not expected to play — provided it immediately, throwing a touchdown pass on his very first snap.
Raiola completed 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns, orchestrating five scoring drives as Oregon turned a frightening situation into a 41-27 road victory. His moon ball to Dakorien Moore — a contested catch that seemed to hang in the air indefinitely — captured the improbable spirit of the afternoon. Oregon's defense matched the offense's energy, holding USC to 166 total yards in the first half and stopping the Trojans on a critical fourth-and-7 late in the game to seal it.
For Lincoln Riley, the loss deepened a troubling pattern. USC's offense, led by Jayden Maiava, could never find the consistency needed to keep pace, and the defense generated almost no pressure on the backup quarterback. With Ohio State and Indiana still ahead on the schedule, the Trojans' championship ambitions appeared to be fading fast.
Moore was transported to a hospital for evaluation following the hit, though he retained feeling in his extremities — a detail that offered some relief amid the uncertainty surrounding his condition.
In Starkville, Mississippi State authored its own piece of history. Trailing Missouri late, quarterback Kamario Taylor led a five-play, 85-yard drive and hit a 24-yard touchdown pass with under four minutes remaining to secure a 31-24 victory. Taylor finished with 360 yards and three touchdowns — his fourth consecutive start with three or more scores, a program first. The win pushed the Bulldogs to 4-0 and made them the first Mississippi State team to post back-to-back unbeaten starts since 1944-45. Coach Jeff Lebby, who had managed just one SEC win across his first two seasons, now had two conference victories before October.
Elsewhere, Wisconsin stunned Penn State on a late coverage bust, Florida demolished fourth-ranked Ole Miss 52-28, Georgia forced four turnovers in a 41-13 rout of Oklahoma, and Notre Dame handled Purdue 49-10. The weekend confirmed what college football always eventually insists upon: the landscape is never as settled as it appears.
The Coliseum in Los Angeles saw one of the weekend's most consequential upsets unfold in the second quarter when Oregon's star quarterback Dante Moore took a late hit while sliding and was stretchered off the field, leaving the Ducks trailing 10-7 and facing an uncertain future. What followed was a masterclass in backup quarterback composure. Dylan Raiola, a Nebraska transfer thrust into action without warning, completed 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns, orchestrating five touchdown drives as Oregon dismantled USC 41-27 on the road. The performance was so assured that it provided genuine optimism for the Ducks' championship aspirations, even as questions lingered about Moore's condition. He was transported to a hospital for evaluation after the hit, though he retained feeling in his extremities.
Moore's injury came on a play that will haunt the moment—he was scrambling for a first down when linebacker Desman Stephens II delivered a hit after Moore had already begun his slide. The impact appeared to knock him unconscious, and medical personnel responded swiftly, placing him on a stretcher and removing him from the field. Raiola entered immediately and threw a touchdown pass on his first play, a sign of things to come. By halftime, Oregon had clawed to a 13-10 lead despite the trauma of losing their starting quarterback. The Ducks' defense, meanwhile, limited USC to 166 total yards in the first half, a suffocating performance that set the tone for what became a rout.
The second half belonged entirely to Oregon. Raiola completed 76.5 percent of his passes after taking over, and the Ducks' offense found rhythm against a USC defense that had no answers. One of Raiola's touchdown passes came on a moon ball to Dakorien Moore, a contested catch that hung in the air so long it seemed to defy physics. Oregon's defense also stepped up when it mattered most, stopping USC on a fourth-and-7 attempt at midfield to seal the outcome. For a team with legitimate aspirations of competing for a Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff berth, the win kept those dreams intact despite the injury cloud hanging over the program.
On the other sideline, Lincoln Riley faced yet another difficult postgame conversation. This loss continued a troubling pattern for the Trojans under his tenure—an inability to compete with elite programs in big games. Jayden Maiava kept USC in the contest as long as he could, but the Trojan offense never found the consistency needed to match Oregon's firepower. The defense was particularly vulnerable, unable to generate pressure on Raiola or slow the Ducks' ground game. With Ohio State and Indiana looming on the Big Ten schedule, Riley's seat grew warmer. The Trojans' championship window, which seemed so promising in the offseason, appeared to be closing rapidly.
Elsewhere in Week 4, Mississippi State remained unbeaten with a 31-24 victory over Missouri in Starkville, a win that carried significant historical weight. Quarterback Kamario Taylor orchestrated a five-play, 85-yard drive capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass with 3:57 remaining, giving the Bulldogs their first win over a ranked opponent since 2014. Taylor finished with 360 yards passing and three touchdowns, marking his fourth consecutive start with three or more touchdown passes—a first in program history. The victory improved Mississippi State to 4-0, and more remarkably, the Bulldogs became the first team in program history to post back-to-back unbeaten seasons since 1944-45. Coach Jeff Lebby, who had managed just one SEC win in his first two seasons, now had two conference victories in the first month of this campaign. "We're trying to take the next step and we've got so much out in front of us," Lebby said after the win, a measured assessment of a program that suddenly looked capable of competing at the highest level.
The weekend delivered the kind of chaos that makes college football compelling. Wisconsin stunned Penn State 24-20 with two touchdowns in 2:18 after trailing by 10 points with under four minutes remaining, the game-winning score coming on a coverage bust that left tight end Jacob Harris alone in the secondary. Florida, ranked 21st, demolished fourth-ranked Ole Miss 52-28 in Gainesville, outscoring the Rebels 28-7 after the third quarter to secure the program's first win over a top-5 opponent since 2020. Georgia continued its demolition tour with a 41-13 victory over Oklahoma, forcing four turnovers and scoring 28 points in each of its first two SEC games. Notre Dame, ranked third, showed no mercy to Purdue, winning 49-10 behind CJ Carr's three touchdown passes. The weekend's results suggested that the college football landscape was still very much in flux, with established powers vulnerable and unexpected challengers rising.
Notable Quotes
We're trying to take the next step and we've got so much out in front of us.— Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby
Want the full story?
Read the original at CBS Sports ↗