ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit saw the same scary scene everyone else did when Oregon quarterback Dante Moore went down against USC. But rather than immediately blaming the Trojans defender involved, Herbstreit asked viewers to look at the play from the other side.
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“It was really tough to see,” Herbstreit told fellow analyst Joey Galloway on the Nonstop Podcast. “Anytime a player struggles like that, it’s always difficult to see, and automatically we assume dirty hit. But put yourself on the other side of it as a defensive player.”
Herbstreit said he had “no problem at all” with USC linebacker Desman Stephens II making the tackle, even though Stephens was ejected for targeting and later suspended one game. His comments put him at odds with Oregon coach Dan Lanning and several Ducks players, who took a much harsher view of the collision.
The play came in the second quarter of Oregon’s 41-27 victory at USC on Saturday. Moore had escaped the pocket and turned an 11-yard run into a trip to the USC 12-yard line before sliding at the end of the play. Stephens came toward him at full speed and struck Moore in the head and chest with his shoulder.
Moore went down and was eventually carted off before being transported to a hospital. Lanning later confirmed that Moore had suffered a concussion, although his MRI and CT scans were clean and showed no further injuries. For Herbstreit, though, the circumstances of the play made the collision difficult to avoid.
“If I’m a safety or a linebacker and I see a quarterback with the athletic ability and dual-threat ability of a Dante Moore, I see him taking off, and I’m coming up 100 miles an hour…I’m thinking I’m taking him down.” Herbstreit added on the Nonstop Podcast.
The former Ohio State quarterback explained that a defender cannot necessarily slow down while trying to anticipate exactly when a quarterback will decide to slide. By the time the defender realizes the quarterback is going down, the collision can already be unavoidable.
That split-second timing was a big part of his argument because inside the pocket, Oregon’s linemen can protect Moore, but once he takes off and runs, he’s a ball carrier in open space, and at that point, it’s on him to protect himself.
Herbstreit also referenced former Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett’s infamous fake slide as an example of why defenders can hesitate to trust a quarterback’s movement. The NFL and the college game have continued to wrestle with how defenders should react when quarterbacks initiate a slide after appearing to run downfield.
“It’s almost impossible to ask a defender to not finish that play,” Herbstreit said. “But the quarterback’s sliding down, and it’s a bad situation. If I’m coaching a safety that’s coming up to make that play, I don’t know what I’m telling him differently than what that guy did.”
Herbstreit did separate Stephens’ tackle from what happened immediately afterward. Stephens appeared to celebrate while Moore was still on the ground, prompting Oregon players to confront him. The USC linebacker later apologized.
Stephens also addressed the incident, saying he was “deeply sorry” to Moore, his family and everyone who saw his reaction.
USC suspended Stephens for the tackle and his celebration, meaning he will miss the Trojans’ home game against Washington on October 3. Moore, meanwhile, remains in concussion protocol with no set timetable for his return.
Oregon turned to backup quarterback Dylan Raiola after Moore left, and Raiola completed 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Moore’s status for Oregon’s Oct. 10 matchup with UCLA remains uncertain.
For Herbstreit, the concern is ultimately about Moore’s health. He said he was “terrified” for the quarterback and relieved that the subsequent medical imaging did not reveal more injuries. But his view of the tackle itself remained unchanged.