With more than six months until the Oregon Ducks kick off their 2025 football season, way-too-early odds were released for the players most likely to win the Heisman Trophy. Oregon's future starting quarterback Dante Moore was given relatively good odds to bring home the trophy, however, one site labeled the Duck as a "pretender" before he ever took a snap as the team's starter.
When CBS shared the odds, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, reporter Will Backus put Moore's status as a 'Pretender' in comparison to quarterbacks like Texas' Arch Manning and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier who were labeled as genuine 'contenders'.
While FanDuel gave Moore +1200 odds to win the Heisman (Nussmeier +800, Manning +900, and Clemson's Cade Klubnik +1000 are the only players with better odds), Backus wasn't sold on the Duck quarterback's viability as an actual contender for the award.
"There's a good chance this projection falls flat on its face, but there's too much unknown around Moore to confidently predict that he'll be in the Heisman conversation," Backus wrote. "He certainly has the capacity, with an ideal frame and a big arm that can deliver the ball to every level of the field. He's also in an ideal situation at Oregon, which has produced gaudy offensive numbers under coach Dan Lanning... Moore has tons of potential, but it remains largely untapped at this point."
The veteran quarterback played his freshman season for the UCLA Bruins before transferring to Oregon and playing behind Dillon Gabriel during the 2024 season. Now, it's Moore's turn to be the Ducks' QB1 as he leads them into their second season in the Big Ten.
Dante Moore career stats
- 121 completions
- 1,659 passing yards
- 11 passing touchdowns
- 9 interceptions
Moore and the Ducks are scheduled to kick off their 2025 season against the Montana State Bobcats on Aug. 31 at Autzen Stadium.