Oregon is turning to third-string quarterback Brock Thomas in place of Dylan Raiola with its College Football Playoff hopes on the line against Nebraska, according to Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer of CBS Sports. It will be the first start of Thomas’ career. Thomas took the majority of the first team’s reps in practice all week; He will have his first career start on Saturday. In his midweek press conference, Ducks coach Dan Lanning explained the factors that went into the quarterback’s decision with Dante Moore still recovering from a concussion.[Saturday’s performance] everything goes into effect, and all of this week’s work goes into effect. They asked me why not make the change before the game; I think that’s fair. On the same note, I think that some of the positions we put forward [Raiola] There weren’t any successful opportunities either,” Lanning said. “I think we made some adjustments to get the ball out a little quicker, creating some more open looks that allowed Brock to do that. “But you have to be able to protect the ball, that’s part of it, and like I said after the game, Dylan is also a guy who played very well against USC and you have to be aware of that as well.” After throwing his second interception (and completing just 31.6% of his passes), Raiola was picked in favor of Thomas against the Bruins. Thomas, a senior and Eugene native, has been at Oregon since joining the program as an assistant in the 2023 recruiting cycle. Despite his age, Thomas has very little game experience. His 15 pass attempts against UCLA represent nearly half of his 36 career attempts. In that small sample size, Thomas completed 72.2% of his throws for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Who is Brock Thomas? Coming out of high school, Thomas was Oregon’s No. 96 quarterback and No. 10 player in the 2023 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. He received scholarship offers from smaller programs such as the Air Force, Army, Eastern Washington and Portland State. Instead of accepting one of those offers, Thomas decided to move on to Oregon and the Eugene native became a Duck. Thomas has stayed with the team ever since, despite being far behind other quarterbacks such as 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 set the world on fire. The senior made smart decisions in the passing game, which was an improvement over Raiola, although he fumbled the ball on a key fourth-and-1. Now, in a surprising turn of events, the Eugene quarterback will have the opportunity 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 Raiola Went Wrong 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 restart a career that had been derailed at Nebraska. Two weeks later, Raiola was watching from the bench as Thomas tried to lead Oregon to victory. Against the Trojans, Raiola looked composed, confident and precise. He completed 76% of his passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. In fact, Raiola played so well that there were even 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 sloppy and inaccurate in trying to do too much on several key plays. As bad as Raiola played against the Bruins, things got worse for him in his second year at Nebraska. Entering college as a five-star recruit, Raiola reached his full potential at Lincoln and broke his fibula, limiting him to nine games last season. With a rift between Nebraska and Raiola’s family, the two sides parted ways and he landed in Oregon. The USC game seemed 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 in the future. Oregon CFP confident in life support The Ducks began the season as national championship favorites, but have become the nation’s biggest disappointment. There’s still a glimmer of hope for Oregon, but they’ll probably have to top the table, and this disaster at quarterback won’t make it any easier. Based on what we’ve seen from the Ducks, they can’t be counted on to go 7-0 over the remaining schedule. There’s at least a good chance Oregon has three losses by Sunday. Nebraska is 5-1 and just took defending national champion Indiana all the way, 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 results to make those wins look as good as possible. Maybe that will happen, but Oregon doesn’t want to put itself at the mercy of the Big Ten’s soft middle. Oregon will likely need Moore to return at quarterback this season, which is not a certainty, to have any chance of controlling the depth chart. For now, however, the Ducks’ fate is in the hands of Thomas and an offense searching for answers.
