Oregon Midseason Mysteries: What Questions Remain for the Ducks?

We are now firmly in the back half of the 2025 season, and the Oregon Ducks are currently sitting at 6-1 with only 5 games to go. The Ducks have played very well in 85% of their games this year, with only the one stinker against Indiana, but there are still some lingering questions that remain unanswered after 7 games.

Let’s take a step back after this blowout win over Rutgers and figure out the biggest questions facing the Ducks for the rest of the 2025 season.

Who is the Backup Quarterback?

Most fans and journalists would agree that the QB rotation is one of the most perplexing developments of the 2025 season. Before the year started, I think most Duck fans felt pretty confident that Oregon had a solid QB rotation of Dante Moore and Austin Novosad, with Luke Moga as a fun third guy off the bench for the wildcat.

Since that first game against Montana State, however, we haven’t seen Novosad register a single snap, Moga hasn’t played since Northwestern, and 4-star legacy Akilli Smith Jr. hasn’t seen the field all season. Only one guy has been consistent for most of the year, and that’s former walk-on Brock Thomas.

Why Brock Thomas? This has been a question that Duck fans have been asking since week four against Oregon State. Where is Austin Novosad? What happens if Dante has to sit down for any length of time? Would Novosad play?

What is the Status of Austin Novosad?

This is what we do know: Novosad was injured. Head Coach Dan Lanning shared this after the Oklahoma State game, “More precautionary, probably, than anything,” Lanning said. “I think Austin can go, but his Lat has been bothering him a little bit. He’s been able to practice, but we’re just trying to limit him and get him into a position where he can go again.”

Since then? Nothing. Crickets.

Novosad wasn’t on the availability report for the game against Rutgers. He hasn’t appeared on that report since week 3 against Northwestern. He was listed as questionable in that game and against Oklahoma State. Nothing else has been provided by Lanning since week 3. So is he healthy? Is he planning on transferring? We have no answers.

Also, why Brock Thomas? Do the Ducks feel that he’s the best option right now at QB2 if Novosad can’t go? We all know that Moga is really more of a running QB, and Oregon needs a QB that can throw the ball if Moore were to go down.

Thomas has been with the team since 2023 so he knows the system. He hasn’t played badly when he has seen snaps. Against Rutgers he had 4 dropbacks and he completed 3 of 4 passes for 45 yards. PFF gave him an offensive grade of 73.8 for that game and he had an NFL passer rating of 111.5, so maybe Oregon feels most confident with him under center right now.

Hopefully we can get some clarity from Dan Lanning during his Monday press conference. It would be interesting to hear if Novosad is still hurt or if he’s trying to get an injury redshirt for this season. Or is he transferring? That could be a major development if Dante Moore goes pro.

Is Matayo Uiagalelei in a slump?

Before the season started, Matayo Uiagalelei was one of the most promising players in the country. He was widely seen as a top 10 or top 15 prospect in the draft. As a true sophomore he was named to the All-Big Ten first team by the media and the All-Big Ten second team by the coaches. He was also named an AP preseason All-American second team at the edge position. 

Since then? He has played okay. He’s not playing badly. But has he lived up to the hype and cemented his place in the draft? Definitely not.

Right now PFF has him as the 49^th best edge rusher in the FBS, with a 84.3 pass rush grade. He’s ranked 96^th in overall defense with a 79.5 grade. These are not bad grades. In 2024 he had an overall grade of 75.5 and a pass rush grade of 76.7, so he has improved.

Where have things gone wrong for the junior? He simply isn’t having the impact that we all anticipated.

The most noticeable are his sacks for the season. He had 9 last year and he’s only at 4 currently after 7 games. He could make those up in an afternoon, but I think we all hoped for him to build on his sophomore season.

While sacks are down, hurries are up with 16 already this year when he only had 18 all of last season. He has already nearly matched his total pressures for last season, with 25 this year. So he’s getting to the QB and having an impact, but he isn’t getting home as much this year.

This is where the glaring holes start to pop out.

Uiagalelei’s tackles are way down, with 24 last season and only 7 in 2025. His missed tackle percentage is way up (the worst of his career) at 37.5% for the season. His defensive stops are also way down, with only 10 this year compared to 24 last season.

One Possible Reason for Uiagalelei’s Dip in Stats

What is the cause for his regression? One possible explanation is that Matayo is now the man. Last season he had Jordan Burch, Derrick Harmon and Ja’Maree Caldwell to occupy defensive coordinators. The year before he had Burch and Brandon Dorlus. Now he’s the primary focus of an offensive line, and other Ducks are reaping the benefits.

Teitum Tuioti is having a heck of a year so far. He’s currently the top defender on the Ducks, with an 82.9 grade from PFF. He’s leading the team in sacks with 5, he has 18 tackles and only a 7.7 missed tackle percentage. He has 20 stops and, 12 hurries, and 19 pressures. He has the 46^th best defensive grade according to PFF, and he’s ranked 66^th in pass rush.

It will be interesting to see if Uiagalelei and Tuioti return for their senior seasons next year. Neither player are currently graded as first round talents for now, and both have the talent to play themselves into more favorable draft positions. It might be worth it for them to play one more season to boost their stock.