Overview
- In the second quarter of Saturday’s game, USC linebacker Desman Stephens II was flagged for targeting and ejected after a shoulder-to-head hit on a sliding Dante Moore.
- Medical staff treated Moore on the field, secured him to a backboard with a neck brace, and he was carted to a waiting ambulance before being taken to L.A. General for further evaluation.
- Television crews and multiple reports showed Moore moving his fingers, arms and feet as he was loaded into the ambulance, and an Oregon spokesperson said he was being thoroughly evaluated at the hospital.
- The play provoked a heated on-field confrontation that produced offsetting unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties and forced Oregon to turn to backup Dylan Raiola, who threw a touchdown two plays after entering.
- The incident raises immediate questions about Moore’s short- and long-term availability, potential NCAA disciplinary follow-up under progressive targeting rules, and how the outcome could affect Oregon’s season and Moore’s NFL prospects.