After a 7-6 finish last year, capped off by their first bowl win since 2016 in the Pinstripe Bowl, Matt Rhule’s Huskers are looking to take a bigger step forward. CBS Sports even ranked Rhule as the 32nd-best head coach heading into the season, which is decent but also a bit of a ‘meh’ considering the trajectory fans hope for. The Huskers’ record has been somewhat of a rollercoaster—5-7 in 2023, then 7-6 in 2024—and sure, progress is progress, but it’s the kind of progress that makes you squint and question whether you’re truly moving forward or only shuffling the pace.
The unit’s record in close games has been a thriller—0-8 in games where bowl eligibility was on the line before last season’s victory over Wisconsin, and even then, they allowed the air to get out of their sails by losing to Iowa shortly after. Talking about the offense and the future, you can’t discuss Nebraska without bringing up Dylan Raiola, the quarterback who has more eyes on him than a cat in a room of rocking chairs. The offense, led by new OC Dana Holgorsen, gave us some sparks, particularly when Raiola passed for 293 yards in a game against Wisconsin, his second-highest passing yards total ever. But how good does Nebraska need to be before we feel Matt Rhule’s got this thing going in the right direction?
On3 analyst J.D. Pickell aptly summarizes what the Big Ten coaches have to say about Nebraska on the May 29th episode of his show. One coach stated, “The expectation is they break out and finally compete among the top level in the league.” So basically, the patience is wearing thin. PicKell says, “There’s been optimism, and I’m not telling you that optimism has been misplaced. Expectations are earned. Excitement is generated in-house. Excitement you can have when you landed Dylan Raiola via the recruiting trail.”
Getting Dylan Raiola wasn’t simply another recruitment victory; it was as if Nebraska grabbed the golden ticket. Raiola is perhaps the most buzzed-about QB prospect in years, and landing him as a commitment is the type of news that has fans thinking about glories. But why is Dylan Raiola so much under the gun? He’s a former five-star, one of the most touted prospects in recent history, and he set Nebraska freshman records for passing yards and completion percentage last year.
Well, imagine this: the young man arrives in Nebraska with the burden of a fan base that has starved for a champion since, well, eternity. Everybody’s waiting, hopefully, he’s the magic bullet. PicKell says, “There is real reason for expectation for Nebraska. When you look across the conference, look at their schedule. It’s all there. Like, Nebraska is no longer this lovable loser.”
The organization has afforded Matt Rhule a couple of years to put the mess together, bring in his boys, and establish the culture. It’s now time to play the charm in season three. With a couple of recruiting classes, some transfer portal wizardry, and a new shiny quarterback, the expectation is that Nebraska ceases being the lovable underdog and becomes an actual threat to its rivals. “But it’s not fun when you do it for the second year in a row and the third year in a row and it’s like man can we get past the six-win mark, seven-win mark, can we actually go win something here? That’s the expectation. Does it happen? A lot of that is going to be on the shoulders of Dylan Raiola,” PicKell adds.
When coaches say Nebraska is going to ‘break out,’ they’re not referring to winning the national championship tomorrow. They’re referring to Nebraska finally being in the discussion late in the season, perhaps even making the Big Ten title game interesting rather than being a punchline. But it seems like Matt Rhule is confident with his QB1 this season. So that automatically makes Raiola Nebraska’s Knight in shining armor.
Dylan Raiola’s got the weight of Nebraska on his shoulders
Matt Rhule, always one not to beat around the bush, essentially put on record what he thought about Dylan Raiola’s freshman season. “I think, the first step was playing him as a freshman; that’s not really the way of college football nowadays. You have to be willing as a young player to live, be resilient, and live through the highs and lows, the ups and downs, take criticism.”
Sure, Raiola had his rookie stumbles (27 sacks, yikes), but he also established Nebraska freshman marks for passing yards (2,819) and completion percentage (67.1%). Not too shabby for a guy who spent half the season running for his life behind an O-line that at times resembled turnstiles at a county fair. But he has managed to become the “10 steps ahead” guy for Rhule.
Nebraska fans have been roaming the college football wasteland for years, and now they look to Raiola as their oasis. He’s got the arm, the swagger (he even mimicked Mahomes’ pregame thing, which got the trolls mad at him), and the hype. Each snap he takes is a referendum on the “New Nebraska.” If he doesn’t deliver, it’s not just a bad game—it’s the failure of hope. Rhule’s attempts to create a culture in which “expectations are earned.’ Raiola is the poster child for that. So Rhule’s confession is both a pat on the back and a reality check. Raiola is doing well; he is performing exceptionally, but the wait for a top program is on his shoulders.
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