Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola had ‘a lot of fun’ in his college debut—so did Husker fans
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - Nebraska opened the season with a dominant effort from their new-look offense.
Dylan Raiola, Nebraska’s much-anticipated five-star freshman quarterback, with all the pressure and expectations of Huskers fans on his shoulders, met the moment in the 40-7 win over UTEP.
“I’ve been waiting for that since I could think about playing football,” he said. “I just try to take it all in. Not be the tough-guy football player. Just enjoy the scene. It was a lot of fun. The fans showed out like I knew they would.”
Raiola was noticeably calm ahead of his college debut. He led Nebraska out of the tunnel. Rahmir Johnson described him as “Zen” in his first huddle. Raiola went on to complete 19 of his 27 passes, throwing two touchdowns and 238 yards, displaying a discipline and a football IQ well beyond his years.
“I think I did pretty good,” he said. “It’s hard to get wins in college football and for our team to get the first one of the season, it’s exciting.”
“For a first game for Dylan, a lot of great things,” Matt Rhule added. “Where’s a lot of things we need to clean up as a staff and we will.”
Raiola’s first touchdown came in the form of a 59-yard bomb to Isaiah Neyor, who had over 100 passing yards by halftime, becoming the first Huskers 100-yard receiver since Trey Palmer in 2022.
But it was Raiola’s second TD, a 21-yard strike to Jahmal Banks in the final seconds before halftime, that stood out to Rhule.
“Eight seconds left to take a shot in the endzone, that is saying we’re going to play him the way we want him to play someday,” Rhule said, referring to his Monday news conference where he said Dylan will not be treated like a freshman quarterback. “I didn’t call a timeout and say ‘Hey, remember this’ – no. Get it up, get it down. He took a shot and boom.”
“A killer mentality,” Banks said of what he saw from his quarterback. “He’s been having that in his eyes since he got on campus. Like ‘I’m humble, but I’m Him.”
Perhaps the most important takeaway? The takeaways. Nebraska winning the turnover margin 2-1 against the Miners. Matt Rhule thought their first-half safety should have been a third takeaway.
“Do they count the safety as a turnover?” Rhule asked to a reporter, who confirmed it does not. “Well, they should. I might do it in our building. Seems like a turnover, does it not?”
The defense gets another up-tempo offense on Saturday with Colorado coming to town. Shedeur Sanders threw for almost 400 yards against the Blackshirts last year. He just threw for 445 in the Buffaloes Week 1 win over NDSU.
Copyright 2024 WOWT. All rights reserved.
