This is the year. Dante Moore has improved so much under this new offense. He's focused. He's having fun. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a dark horse for the Heisman. -----------Long-enduring internet meme
Bo Nix, of course is pro now with the Denver Broncos. His Heisman contending days are long over, but the Ducks have sent a Heisman finalist to New York in each of the last two years, have three quarterbacks currently working in the pros, and a total of seven drafted in the first round:
George Shaw (1955)
Chris Miller, Falcons (1987)
Akili Smith, Bengals (1999)
Joey Harrington, Lions (2002)
Marcus Mariota, Titans (2015)
Justin Herbert, Chargers (2020)
Bo Nix, Broncos (2024)
Dante Moore inherits a rich legacy in addition to the meme. Great college QBs have come through Eugene, and this list doesn't even include AJ Feeley and Kellen Clemens, who had long careers as NFL backups, or Danny O'Neil, who set aside football after college to pursue a career in the ministry.
Dan Fouts went in the third round to San Diego, played 15 seasons and passed his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Rams picked Webfoot Norm Van Brocklin in the fourth. He won two NFL Championships with Los Angeles and Philadelphia, named to the Hall in 1971.
Bob Berry, quarterback on the Ducks 1963 Sun Bowl team, logged 12 years in the league, went to three Super Bowls as the backup to Fran Tarkenton and made the Pro Bowl in 1969, an 11th rounder in 1965.
Lots of schools aspire to the title Quarterback U. Notre Dame, Alabama, LSU, USC and Washington can all make a case. Moore vaulting to the first round or swiping the Heisman would cement it for the Ducks.
In the Heisman odds at FanDuel, he's definitely in the hunt:
2025 Heisman Odds
Arch Manning Texas +700
Cade Klubnik Clemson +900
Garrett Nussmeier LSU +900
Julian Sayin OSU +1300
Jeremiah Smith OSU +1300
Drew Allar Penn State +1600
DJ Lagway Florida +1700
Dante Moore Oregon +1800
LaNorris Sellers SC +2200
The Longhorns' Manning throws a pretty ball but he's started exactly two games in his college career, against Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State. He wouldn't be this high if his name were Joe Smith, but he is a talented passer with great weapons around him.
Clubnik and Nussmeier face off in a prime time game on ABC on August 30, the opening week of the season. Julian Sayin comes in fourth in the odds in his first year as a starting quarterback having thrown 12 career passes.
A wide receiver hasn't won the Heisman Trophy since DeVonta Smith in 2020. Only five wideouts have, Johnny Rodgers (1972), Tim Brown (1987), Desmond Howard (1991), DeVonta Smith (2020), and Travis Hunter (2024).
Of these, Howard and Rodgers won theirs primarily as explosive returners, and Hunter was a two-way player. If anyone can win purely as a wideout, it's the Buckeyes' Smith, a spectacular player who caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.
In Devonta Smith's Heisman year he grabbed 117 passes for 1,856 yards and 23 scores, otherworldly production and for the trophy, an undeniable resume.
Allar, Lagway, Moore and Sellars would need to capture Heisman voters' attention with great starts in September. Allar and Moore have a showdown in Happy Valley on September 27.
If Moore wants to make noise in the Heisman race, that's his opportunity to start it.