Video catches USC announcer's take on targeting call

That's what many were asking regarding longtime USC football radio play-by-play announcer Pete Arbogast's reaction to Oregon quarterback Dante Moore being knocked out of Saturday's 41-27 Ducks ' victory at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The play occurred in the second quarter when Moore scrambled and slid. USC linebacker Desman Stephens II then put his shoulder into Moore's head, knocking him backward into the turf.

Moore lay on the field for several minutes before being taken off on a cart and loaded into an ambulance.

Stephens celebrated the hit even after being flagged, leading to a skirmish with several Oregon players.

Meanwhile, up in the radio booth, Arbogast said the play did not appear to be targeting and claimed Moore didn't slide feet-first.

Arbogast went on to claim that Stephens went in helmet first and ran into Moore who "ducked into that hit."

"I saw him dive forward," Arbogast claimed.

Radio analyst Shaun Cody, who played defensive line at USC (2001-2004) and spent eight seasons in the NFL (Detroit and Houston ), clearly disagreed.

"He's laying feet first," Cody responded.

But Arbogast countered, "Well, he is now because they spun him around."

Cody disagreed again, and Arbogast said he wanted to see the replay, which clearly showed Moore sliding feet-first and Stephens going in head-first, with his right shoulder striking Moore in the head.

"Yeah, not a feet-first slide, it's more of a knee slide," Arbogast claimed while watching the replay.

While it's one thing not to see clearly a live play from high up in a radio booth, it's another to watch the replay and claim to see something that didn't exist.

Cody immediately smirked at Arbogast's viewpoint; then Arbogast added, "It didn't look like targeting on the replay to us."

In response, Cody looked directly into the camera, eyes wide, and nodded, clearly disagreeing with Arbogast's assessment.

Homerism? Maybe. Potential advertising fodder for local optometrists to encourage thousands to update their eyeglass prescriptions? Absolutely.

Oregon backup quarterback Dylan Raiola replaced Moore and passed for 289 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Moore was later diagnosed with a concussion; he has entered concussion protocol and will be out indefinitely . Moore released a statement saying he would soon return.

No. 15 Oregon (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) hosts No. 23 UCLA (4-0, 2-0) at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 10.

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