USC Trojans radio Dante Moore Oregon Credit: Brenna Greene on X
By Matt Yoder on

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The most controversial play of the young college football season happened when USC linebacker Desman Stephens took out Oregon quarterback Dante Moore with a flagrant hit to the head.

Moore was sliding after a scramble, and Stephens launched into the prone quarterback, knocking him out of the game with a concussion. The hit was frightening in real time, but Stephens’ reaction and the USC sideline celebration were also troubling. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning called the series of events “disgusting.” Afterward, USC suspended Stephens for a game, and both he and head coach Lincoln Riley issued statements apologizing for the incident.

Oregon has the luxury of former five-star recruit Dylan Raiola replacing Moore after the injury, and he played well as Oregon won 41-27. It’s unclear how long Moore will be out with the concussion, and his NFL future is still up in the air.

The play also drew some controversial reactions. NBC analyst Chris Simms apologized, admitting that he didn’t show enough thought for Moore and his health. And now the reaction from the USC radio booth is coming under scrutiny.

Pete Arbogast is the longtime voice of the Trojans, serving as the radio commentator from 1989-1994 and from 2001 until now. The booth cam shows that as he called the play in real time, he tried to absolve Stephens by saying Moore did not try to slide feet first, which… is not what happened at all, as millions actually saw.

Portland KOIN sports reporter Brenna Greene shared the clip on social media and called it “just straight embarrassing.”

But the incredible thing about the clip is that while Arbogast is trying to make it sound like a play that wasn’t a dirty hit, former Trojans All-American and radio analyst Shaun Cody’s reaction told the booth cam a very different story.

While Arbogast argued the play shouldn’t be targeting, Cody gave one of the best meme-worthy reactions you’ll ever see from the broadcast booth.

In radio play-by-play, you are trying to paint a picture with words for an audience that most likely can’t see what’s happening. But no matter how much you want to tilt the scales toward the home team, you can’t gloss over a hit like that. But at least it wasn’t a unanimous sentiment in the Trojans broadcast booth.

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