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Oregon QB Moore Injured in Targeting Play
Confirmed
In Short: Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was carted off the field and taken to the hospital after a late hit by USC linebacker Desman Stephens II during Saturday's game.
During the second quarter of Saturday's game between Oregon and USC, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was hit in the head by USC linebacker Desman Stephens II as Moore attempted to slide after scrambling up the field.
Moore was initially attended to by the training staff for an extended period while still on the field.
He was then placed on a stretcher, put on a cart, and driven off the field before being moved onto another gurney and into an ambulance near the tunnel.
Stephens was called for targeting and disqualified from the game.
Both teams were given unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for a fight that broke out at midfield following the hit.
Moore, who had thrown for 849 yards and nine touchdowns this season, was able to move his fingers, feet, and rotate his arms while being carted off the field.
He was taken to Los Angeles County General Hospital, roughly four miles from USC's Memorial Coliseum.
Raiola and wide receiver Evan Stewart held up five fingers in support of Moore after the touchdown.
NBC rules official Terry McAulay called the hit on Moore a textbook targeting incident.
The NBC broadcast reported that Moore was moving his hands, feet, and rotating his arms while on the cart.
What this adds
Moore's injury and the subsequent fight between the teams highlighted the intense nature of college football and the risks players face on the field.
What's confirmed
- During the second quarter of Saturday's game between Oregon and USC, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was hit in the head by USC linebacker Desman Stephens II as Moore attempted to slide after scrambling up the field.
- Moore was initially attended to by the training staff for an extended period while still on the field.
- He was then placed on a stretcher, put on a cart, and driven off the field before being moved onto another gurney and into an ambulance near the tunnel.
- Stephens was called for targeting and disqualified from the game.
- Both teams were given unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for a fight that broke out at midfield following the hit.
- Moore, who had thrown for 849 yards and nine touchdowns this season, was able to move his fingers, feet, and rotate his arms while being carted off the field.
- He was taken to Los Angeles County General Hospital, roughly four miles from USC's Memorial Coliseum.
- Raiola and wide receiver Evan Stewart held up five fingers in support of Moore after the touchdown.
- NBC rules official Terry McAulay called the hit on Moore a textbook targeting incident.
- The NBC broadcast reported that Moore was moving his hands, feet, and rotating his arms while on the cart.
What's still developing
- On a first-down play in the Trojans' territory, Moore scrambled up the field before attempting to slide.
- Oregon's players and medical staff gathered around Moore before he was placed on a stretcher, with his head supported by a neck brace.
- Moore was sliding on the scamble play when Trojans linebacker Desman Stephens lowered his shoulder and made direct contact with the crown of Moore’s helmet.
- “As soon as [Moore] starts his slide, he’s defenseless,” McAulay said.
- “The Dante Moore injury occurred about 10 yards in front of me, a devastating scene, (Oregon tight end) Jamari Johnson was visibly shaken and had to be consoled by team staff,” Tappen reported on the broadcast.
- Moore stayed on the ground for several minutes as medical personnel attended to him, removing his helmet and placing a neck brace before loading him on a stretcher as Oregon teammates gathered around him on the cart.
- [ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ] Stephens was charged with targeting and ejected.
- NBC sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen described the emotional scene that unfolded as Moore laid on field coming out of a second-quarter change of possession.
- Moore scrambled on a play and when he took a slide, USC defender Desman Stephen II hit him late with a forearm to Moore's head, which hit the grass hard.
- Oregon players immediately got in the faces of USC defenders and a near brawl broke out as the officials and coaches tried to break it up.