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Oregon QB battle: College GameDay considers whether Dante Moore is the pick

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko07/27/25nickkosko59
USATSI_26021544 (1)
Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The College GameDay Podcast broke down the Oregon quarterback battle with Dante Moore at the top. Rece Davis and Pete Thamel debated if Moore had the job locked up or if Austin Novosad would challenge for the starting role this season.

Moore transferred in last season following his freshman year at UCLA, but sat behind Dillon Gabriel to learn and develop. Meanwhile, Novosad goes into his third year with the program.

Safe to say, both guys are familiar with what’s going on with the Ducks. Moore has the inside track, but there are still questions if Novosad could actually make a move.

“The other one you mentioned, you sent a list of something you were thinking about that I sort of looked at as being settled in Oregon,” Davis said. “Oregon is set with Dante Moore, right?”

Moore appeared in just five games last season and was seven-of-eight for 49 yards. At UCLA, he played in nine games and threw for 1,610 yards, 11 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 53.5% completion percentage.

But Novosad is an intriguing talent behind Moore at the moment. In six game appearances over two years, Novosad is 11-of-13 passing for 59 yards. So, not much experience, but the Ducks like him.

“(Austin Novosad), he was one of the guys, I believe, at Manning (Passing Academy), who popped a little bit,” Thamel said. “There’s some raw talent there. Dante Moore, they paid seven figures to be the backup last year. So they like him, and  they had chances, right? They could have gone after John Mateer. They could have gone after some of these, you know, bigger, higher profile guys, and they and they stuck with him. 

“So it will be interesting … But he did have some struggles (at UCLA) … but sometimes that’s good. I don’t always think struggling is bad, like you know Tom Brady struggled (at Michigan). As you come along, some callous, I think, helps reset your trajectory. I just think there’s enough at stake in Oregon where they’re gonna you know they’re gonna roll the right guy.”

As a member of the Class of 2023, Novosad was a four-star recruit out of Dripping Springs (Texas) High, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 21 overall prospect in the state, the No. 10 quarterback in the class and the No. 113 overall prospect in the class.