The Oregon Ducks walk into a late evening Autzen Stadium game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers without senior starting quarterback Dante Moore, who was announced as "out" on the Wednesday Big Ten Conference availability report.
With coach Dan Lanning sharing during his pregame press conference that every position is a weekly battle, including quarterback with "hard evaluations" to come after junior Dylan Raiola turned over the ball three times in the Ducks' 17-15 loss at home against the No. 12 UCLA Bruins.
With the decision for Oregon's leader in a state of flux as Lanning and crew determine who will take the reigns after this weeks' practices, its time to evaluate one of the potential starters at quarterback: fifth-year senior Brock Thomas.
No. 1: Brock Thomas Shows Consistency
In a must-win game for the Ducks, Oregon's offense is looking for a quarterback that brings consistent production and level-headed decisions.
As Thomas boasts three seasons with the Ducks under his belt, there's more of a knowledge of the Ducks' line depth and playing alongside these linemen longer compared to Raiola. Thomas burned his redshirt during the 2025 season after contributing to the Ducks' 56-10 road blowout of Rutgers and went on to record contributions in six games that season.
Thomas' numbers certainly aren't comparable to Raiola's two starting seasons with the Cornhuskers, but enough to show he's got a familiarity on the field.
“Yeah, I mean, it definitely helped. Just like gaining experience in playing, that's how you kind of get better as a player. And I think, yeah, I definitely thought about that a little bit, but it was more just going in there trying to operate," Thomas said specifically of his performance against Wisconsin in 2025.
No. 2: Brock Thomas Earned Bob Chesney's Respect
Its hard to say there won't be an emotional aspect for Raiola when it comes to playing against his previous team, plus there might be lingering feelings for Raiola regarding his abysmal performance against the Bruins.
On the other hand, Thomas doesn't have those emotional connections to this game, and is coming off a commendable performance against the Bruins under an impossible situation of being brought in for the fourth quarter. Thomas' 11-15 passing accuracy with 156 passing yards and one touchdown amongst consistent pressure from UCLA earned accolations from UCLA's coach Bob Chesney after the game.
"I thought that their guy did a great job. You know, the young kid that came in," Chesney said. "He took some hits. Got up, picked himself up off the mat. Just kept doing what he needed to do. But I do like the game plan we had going."
No. 3: Brock Thomas' Oregon Ties
It's also hard not to acknowledge Thomas' ties to the Ducks team and the region the team is from. Thomas is a native of Eugene, Oregon, and graduated from Sheldon High School (the same as Oregon star and Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert) with the class of 2023. At this point, its fair to say Thomas' aspirations for the NFL can be seen as lofty, but there's a connection to this team and a proven loyalty Thomas will play for.
Though his in-game numbers are quite minimal from 2025, there's something to be said for why Thomas was the go-to pick for being Moore's back-up last year in comparison to previous Duck backup quarterbacks Luke Moga and Austin Novosad. Lanning commended Thomas' dedication in practice after Brock became the clear No. 2 quarterback in 2025.
"Over time he's just done a really good job in practice," Lanning said of Thomas last season. "He's operated well. [Austin Novosad and Luke Moga] have done a really good job as well, but there's not necessarily anything that Brock hasn't done to earn those reps. He's earned them in practice. We talk about rent is due in football every single week, and he's been a guy who's been paying rent and doing what he's supposed to do."
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