Oregon is turning to third-string quarterback Brock Thomas over Dylan Raiola with its College Football Playoff hopes on the line against Nebraska, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer. It will be the first start of Thomas’ career.
Thomas took the majority of first-team reps in practice throughout the week; he will get his first career start on Saturday. In his mid-week press conference, Ducks coach Dan Lanning explained the factors that went into the quarterback decision with Dante Moore still recovering from a concussion.
«[Saturday’s performance] all plays into effect, and the body of work this week all plays into effect. The question was asked of me why not make the change sooner after the game; I think that’s fair. On the same note, I think some of the positions we put [Raiola] in weren’t successful opportunities as well,» Lanning said. «I think we made some adjustments in getting the ball out a little quicker, creating some more open pictures that allowed Brock to do that.
«But you have to be able to protect the ball, that’s a part of it, and like I said after the game, Dylan’s also a guy that played really well against USC and you have to be aware of that too.»
After throwing his second interception — and completing just 31.6% of his passes — Raiola was pulled in favor of Thomas against the Bruins. Thomas, a senior and a Eugene native, has been at Oregon since he joined the program as a walk-on in the 2023 recruiting cycle.
Despite his age, Thomas has very little game experience. His 15 pass attempts against UCLA make up almost half of his 36 career attempts. In that small sample size, Thomas has completed 72.2% of his throws for 302 yards and two touchdowns.
Who is Brock Thomas?
Coming out of high school, Thomas was the No. 96 quarterback and No. 10 player out of Oregon in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports. He had scholarship offers from smaller programs like Air Force, Army, Eastern Washington and Portland State.
Instead of accepting one of those offers, Thomas chose to walk on at Oregon, and the Eugene native became a Duck. Thomas has stuck with the team ever since, despite being stuck well behind other quarterbacks like Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, Moore and Raiola.
Thomas didn’t even attempt a pass until September of last year, when he went 0-for-1 in a 66-point win over Oklahoma State.
In last week’s loss to UCLA, Thomas at least gave his team a chance to win, even if he didn’t light the world on fire. The senior made smart decisions in the passing game, which was an upgrade over Raiola, although he did fumble the snap on a key fourth-and-1.
Now, in a surprising turn of events, the quarterback from Eugene will get the chance to lead Oregon to victory after waiting for an opportunity that was never guaranteed. Thomas has the makings of a folk hero if he can seize his opportunity on Saturday.
Where it went wrong for Raiola
Coming out of Oregon’s win over USC, Raiola was heralded as the example of a player who humbled himself and accepted a backup role to reset a career that had been derailed at Nebraska.
Two weeks later, Raiola was watching from the bench as Thomas tried to steer Oregon to victory.
Against the Trojans, Raiola looked poised, confident and accurate. He completed 76% of his passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. In fact, Raiola played so well that there were even faint questions about what Lanning would do if Moore returned from a concussion with Raiola igniting the offense.
Unfortunately for Lanning, that dilemma never presented itself. Moore remained out for the UCLA game, and Raiola looked like the player he was toward the end of his time at Nebraska. The junior was careless and inaccurate as he tried to do too much on several key plays.
As poorly as Raiola played against the Bruins, things took a downward turn for him in his second year at Nebraska. Entering college as a five-star recruit, Raiola approached his full potential in Lincoln and broke his fibula, which limited him to nine games last season.
With a rift brewing between Nebraska and Raiola’s family, the two sides parted ways, and he landed at Oregon. The USC game looked like a big step in the right direction, but old habits emerged against UCLA. As a result, Raiola will have to wait for another opportunity down the line.
Oregon’s CFP hopes on life support
The Ducks entered the season as a national championship favorite, but they’ve become the nation’s biggest disappointment.
There’s still a tinge of hope for Oregon, but it will probably have to run the table, and this mess at quarterback won’t make it any easier. Based on what we’ve seen out of the Ducks, they can’t be trusted to go 7-0 against their remaining schedule.
There’s at least a decent chance Oregon has three losses by Sunday. Nebraska is 5-1 and just took defending national champion Indiana to the wire, albeit in Lincoln.
Even if the Ducks go 6-1 with a loss to Ohio State, they’ll need a lot of help to get into the playoff field. USC, Nebraska, Northwestern and Michigan would all need strong finishes to make those wins look as good as possible. Maybe that happens, but Oregon doesn’t want to put itself at the mercy of the Big Ten’s mushy middle.
Oregon probably needs Moore back at quarterback this season, which is not a sure thing, in order to have any shot at running the table. For now, though, the Ducks’ fate is in the hands of Thomas and an offense that’s searching for answers.
