Oregon Football Spring Game: Post-Bo Nix Era Begins With Bang

Do the Oregon Ducks have the best quarterbacks room in America?

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel congratulates Luke Moga after a touchdown by Mona during the / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

The Oregon Ducks held their annual spring football game on Saturday in front of more than 40,000 vocal fans at Autzen Stadium. Both Duck defenses dominated the first half, boasting a half-time score of 7-3 in favor of the Green Team. The second half saw examples of the offensive firepower fans expect to see this fall.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s Green Team beat the White Team, 28-17.

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel congratulates Luke Moga after a touchdown by Mona during the / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

More important than the score, Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the rest of his coaching staff had an opportunity to evaluate players in live game action with the pressure of fans watching.  It was all eyes on the quarterback position. A room with so much talent, that one might wonder if this is the best quarterback room in America?

Time will tell, but Gabriel, the likely starter for the Ducks, did not disappoint. He finished 14-of-21 for 163 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. His final passing touchdown was a beautiful 49-yard completion to transfer wide-receiver, Evan Stewart.

Dante Moore finished 11-of-16 for 87 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He did have a long touchdown run at the end of the game, but that was later removed. Third-string quarterback, Austin Novosad, played for both offenses and ended with 12-of-22 for 177 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Novosad might have been one of the biggest surprises in this game. Prior to the game, coach Lanning had high praise for this true freshman. 

“You go from being a freshman coming in having a little bit of a deer in headlights feel to where Austin really knows our offense now,” Lanning said. “He is able to go out there and operate and do it at a really high level. He has had a really good spring.” In fact, some may argue that Novosad has closed the gap in the battle with Moore for the backup to Gabriel.

After the game, coach Lanning was asked about his quarterback play. He said “all our quarterbacks had some really positive plays. I will need to go back and watch the film to get a really clear look. I really like the group we have here and think we have talent in the room.”