The uncommon luxury Oregon enjoys in pursuit of their first national title

Dylan Raiola took 54 sacks at Nebraska, starting 22 games over two seasons behind a woeful offensive line. He led the Cornhuskers to a 13-9 record, winning the job immediately as a 5-star freshman from Buford, Georgia.

Raiola gives the Ducks something playoff contenders rarely have in the NIL era: depth at quarterback. Dan Lanning and Drew Mehringer have a proven starter with NFL potential in Dante Moore, an experienced backup in Raiola, and a third quarterback in Brock Thomas who managed the Ducks to a 21-7 win over Wisconsin last October, completing all four of his passes.

With a year to develop, Raiola needs to help himself by getting in better shape. He has a dad bod at 21, something that hurts his endurance and mobility.

Now a redshirt freshman, No. 4 quarterback Akili Smith Jr. reportedly has the strongest arm on the team at 6-6, 230.

In the offseason the Ducks lost Luke Moga and Austin Novosad to the transfer portal after Raiola signed with the team, Novosad to Bowling Green, Moga to New Mexico State, where they'll each have an opportunity to start. Bryson Beaver, the four-star signee in the 2026 class, enrolled in school and attended bowl practices but quickly transferred to Georgia, which needed a quarterback after five-star Jared Curtis flipped to Vanderbilt.

At the Oregon Spring Game Raiola wowed fans with a 76-yard touchdown to Evan Stewart, dropped beautifully in the bucket. He missed on a couple of other deep throws, however.

Raiola's decision to come to Eugene was rare, and far-sighted. In college football, the quarterback market is more volatile than the price of oil. Talented QBs want to start now, grab a share of the NIL millions while grooming themselves for the NFL.

Instead Raiola chose a route chosen by Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Moore, choosing to develop in a program with a strong winning tradition. The elimination of the second transfer window kept him from jumping ship to Texas Tech, badly in need of a quarterback after Brendan Sorsby's gambling suspension.

Raiola might have stayed anyway. He told Will Compton and Taylor Lewan of the "Bussin' With the Boys" podcast,
"I'm trying to just maximize this year on everything. Getting healthy, getting back to a place where I can play and compete and then do all the things that I love doing"

In the NIL/Transfer Portal era, few teams have depth at quarterback

It's a testament to Oregon's roster balance and planning that they enter 2026 with not only national championship hopes, but a built-in insurance policy at QB.

In January FBS coaches voted unanimously for a proposal to extend the redshirt rule to nine games, a proposal that's still under consideration by the NCAA. Should it pass, Raiola's value as a backup ratchets up.

Few teams in college football have a quarterback room as stable and deep as this, and no more than three have a starter of Dante Moore's caliber. At the most important position in college football, the Ducks are primed for success.

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