Dylan Raiola Praised for What He Did After Oregon’s Loss to UCLA

Dylan Raiola had a truly disappointing outing on Saturday in the Oregon Ducks' loss to the UCLA Bruins. The backup quarterback, who's starting while Dante Moore deals with a concussion, completed just 6-of-19 pass attempts for 43 yards, two interceptions and one fumble. The Ducks overall had seven turnovers in the 17-15 loss to the Bruins.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning opted to bench Raiola at the end of the third quarter for Brock Thomas — that's not what you want to happen when you're trying to prove yourself as a solid starting quarterback option. Despite the known scrutiny he would endure from fans and reporters after the game, Raiola still opted to meet with media members following the loss. Oftentimes when a player from any sport loses, they'll skip the press conference because their head isn't in the right place.

For Raiola, he made sure for his attendance to take priority because his little brother is watching his every move. He wants to be a role model for him and other young athletes. "I got a younger brother, and he looks up to me.

This isn't just football, this is life," Raiola said. There's no running around them, there's no dodging them. The product we put out there, the product I put out there, I gotta live with that.

I gotta own everything and take it on the chin and move forward." Lanning didn't allude to who he will have start next weekend against Nebraska, where Raiola transferred from. It sounds like there's a chance Moore could return from his concussion, but if not, Lanning will have to choose between starting Raiola for a second game in a row, or giving Thomas his first start. Lanning plans to review the tape before making his decision.

"Well, it'd be worth evaluating regardless," Lanning said. "It'd be too early to make a decision there, but you have to go back, evaluate the film, evaluate practice, and see what it looks like, and then see where Dante's at." Lanning did have an inspiring message for Raiola after the game, despite the frustrating outcome. "He wasn't good enough today.