A great day of college football took a scary turn on Saturday night when Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore needed to be taken off the field on a cart after taking a brutal hit to the head.
The Ducks traveled down the West Coast for a huge Big Ten matchup against their old PAC-10 rival USC Trojans.
USC came in at No. 12 in the country, while Oregon came into the week at No. 20. A win for either team would come with some significant movement in the rankings.
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore takes a brutal hit from USC’s Desman Stephens II on Satuday at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
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However, about five minutes into the second quarter, Moore found some space and took off downfield, hoping to secure a first down.
As he crossed the line to gain, he slid to give himself up, but was hit with a brutal shot from USC linebacker Desman Stephens.
Stephens was called for targeting on the play and ejected from the game, but the bigger concern was obviously Moore’s well-being.
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Oregon quarterback Dante Moore gets carted off the field after taking a hit to the head on Saturday against USC. (Photo by Ben Liebenberg/Getty Images)
He remained on the field for quite some time while being tended to by medical personnel. USA Today reported that the senior from Detroit did not appear to be moving.
Moore’s Oregon teammates stood around him before he was carted off the field and into a waiting ambulance.
While the specifics of Moore’s injury have not been revealed, it was reported on the NBC Sports broadcast of the game that Moore was able to move his hands and feet and managed to rotate his arms while being carted off.
You can debate whether Moore slid a little too late or if Stephens should’ve pulled up sooner, but one thing that won’t give Stephens the benefit of the doubt was how he and his teammates handled the situation on the sidelines.
He was seen smiling and laughing while getting congratulated by teammates as Moore was still being taken off the field.
Former Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola took over for Moore under center and completed the drive with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Evan Stewart.
After that, he paid tribute to his teammate.
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The Ducks tacked on a field goal at the end of the half to take a 13-10 lead to the locker room.