Football: Superman Bleeds, So What’s Next?

Like many, I was almost ready to just admit it after Oregon’s win against Penn State.

From what I had seen to that point, I believed we were seeing the best first-season starting quarterback at Oregon since Marcus Mariota.

Dante Moore, who was a Ducks, then wasn’t, then was again, certainly waited for his moment and to start the 2025 campaign, he looked every bit as good as Duck fans had hoped.

Not only that, he looked silky smooth, and downright unflappable in pressure situations.

I mean, he went into one of the most hostile atmospheres in the nation and cooly took down one of the top teams in the nation.

Turns out Penn State is not one of the top teams in the nation. Not even close.

Turns out Indiana is quite a bit better than Penn State. A true Top 10 team.

Turns out…Dante Moore is “flappable” after all.

The Hoosiers picked Oregon apart at the line of scrimmage, and rattled Dante in the process. No longer did he look calm and collected, but more like he was trying to avoid letting something bad happen while simply hoping for something good to happen.

Yes, his early touchdown strike was as pretty as ever, but as the game wore on and Indy continuously put him in pressure situations, his passes became somewhat errant and produced little yardage even if they were completed.

He was sacked again and again, after hardly being grazed for the first five games.

His impeccable decision making in the pocket suddenly turned to “did you not see this guy downfield??”

Granted, this is far from completely on him, but it certainly proved one thing.

He’s human, and very beatable.

Because what really matters is how he responds to this.

Because for the first time since he was down in Pasadena playing in the old Pac 12, he has naysayers and doubters in his fanbase.

Indiana proved they were a top-tier team, and the game wasn’t decided until late in the fourth quarter. This loss, while disappointing and surprising, isn’t the type to implode a season.

It’s more like a learning experience, one that Oregon’s signal-caller can certainly benefit from if he shows the kind of maturity and poise he has thus far the rest of the season.

In 2001, Joey Harrington suffered a heartbreaking home loss to Stanford.

He went on to be a finalist for the Heisman.

In 2007, Dennis Dixon suffered a heartbreaking home loss to Cal.

He went on to become the favorite for the Heisman before an injury took that away.

Seven years later, Mariota suffered a heartbreaking home loss to Arizona. He went on to actually win the Heisman.

An unexpected and demoralizing home loss does not, an inefficient quarterback make.

Moore’s now had his…what’s next kid?