The LOVE Index continues; this time, we look at a different Duck. This time we’ll be quacking about their quarterback, Dante Moore! To remind you, the LOVE Index is scored 0-100 and looks at four categories to help us understand the impact of a playoff contender’s schedule on CFF value (see below for details.
0-25 points will be assigned to each of the following:
Losses and Playoff Vulnerability: Likelihood of their team losing an early game
Offensive Consolidation – When the going gets tough, how heavily is this player relied upon?
Volume Delta – The gap between their “coasting” volume and “desperation” volume
Elimination Window – How early and often a team faces an opponent that could ruin their playoff chances
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon
Losses and Playoff Vulnerability
This one has already been discussed thanks to the Dakorien Moore article, but to remind you:
The Ducks have a few bigger names on the docket in the month of September, but they really aren’t going to be threatened. The opener against Boise State would be more exciting if it were 2024 or 2008, but in 2026, this game is a nothing burger. They’re currently 24.5-point favorites in that one. A trip to Los Angeles to face the USC Trojans could be interesting, but it would certainly be a big upset if the Ducks were to lose. There are teams out there with way more intimidating September schedules, but Moore earns just 8 out of 25 points in this category.
**One thing I was looking for was a difference in games we would consider tough versus easy. Dante Moore would seemingly benefit from a softer schedule if last year’s numbers rang true in 2026 (which you’ll read about shortly). Unfortunately for him, there are still 5 games on the docket that should be considered tough or at least should stay within 15 or so points.
Offensive Consolidation
Oregon lost one regular-season game and played four regular-season games decided by 15 or fewer points, in which Moore played the full game. In those 5 games, he threw the ball 30.6 times with a high of 39 and a low of 21. Against Iowa, Moore threw just 21 times in part because they ran just 57 plays, their second-lowest of the regular season. Remove that game, and his average attempt total bumps up to 33. The rushing production wasn’t much, though, with 32 attempts totaling 62 yards and a touchdown. Moore isn’t a volume runner when the game is out of hand, nor is he one when the game is tight. Even in the playoffs, we saw him run for 5, -12, and -28 yards, despite both big wins and big losses.
Having 33 attempts through the air is fine, but it’s nothing to write home about. This would rank him 21st in attempts per game if he were to do this for the full season. And considering the lack of rushing threat we’ve seen so far in Moore’s career, he can’t salvage any passing deficiencies like other quarterbacks can. I’ll give him 13 points for what is an above-average number of attempts but isn’t enough total volume to really love.
Volume Delta
In those other non-competitive games Oregon played last season, Moore threw just 24.2 passes per game. That’s a fairly weak number, but one other item worth noting is that of his 24 passing touchdowns last season, 17 came in those six non-competitive games. That’s a significant number. His efficiency shot through the roof with four games of 75% completion or better to go along with 8.9 YPA in five of the six. The lack of volume isn’t all that impactful because of this. On the ground, we see the same thing with just 3.5 attempts per game. He had big efficiency numbers to go with that, though, with 142 yards on the ground in those six games.
Not surprisingly, we see his fantasy point production is significantly better in these blowouts. He averaged 26.35 fppg compared to 18.13fppg in tight contests. This is a pretty big difference, with the former being an every-week-type performance compared to an average-case option as one of your five
. Moore receives a 13 out of 25 due to his efficiency numbers being so high, with the likelihood of that continuing in 2026 being so high. Now, it’s not great to rely on 9-10 YPA on 75% passing, but considering it’s Oregon and their history, it’s hard to expect we’ll see otherwise. I can’t give him a high score here, though, because the difference between a blowout and a tight contest is pretty significant (6-9 passing attempts depending on Iowa inclusion).
Elimination Window
Again, since this is a team-based item, I’ll share the write-up from the Dakorien Moore article below.
When you think about Oregon and what kind of schedule they might have in 2026, you assume there will be an obvious tough stretch. This isn’t the case, though, this season. The Ducks avoided Indiana, didn’t challenge themselves too hard in the non-conference, and see a big gap between their road contest at USC and at Ohio State in week 10. Sure, Michigan travels to Eugene the week after that Ohio State contest, but if that’s the “gauntlet,” then you’re in a great spot in this 12-team playoff era.
On top of this, even if Oregon did lose to USC in Week 4, you’re likely to still see Oregon not maximizing player usage in preparation for that big Ohio State game. For this, Moore receives just 8 points out of the 25 available.
Total Score: 42
Standings:
1. Bo Jackson – 74
2. Mark Fletcher – 43
3. Dante Moore – 42
4. Dakorien Moore – 41
