“I love what he showed.” The praise for Dylan Raiola came straight away from the Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders. That too, after Matt Rhule’s quarterback got to share the last laugh after defeating Coach Prime’s boys. The 2023 revenge of the 36-14 defeat by Colorado was hereby taken. Rhule’s squad defeated the Buffs in their heroic 28-10 feat. But somehow, that did not count in the long run. Poor Rhule, Nebraska, wrapped up the season with a 7-6 overall record. Raiola created enough panic channeling off a Patrick Mahomes’ doppleganger look. However, at the end of the season, people started to feel ‘empty vessels make the most noise’ for Rhule’s quarterback. But now the head coach feels content about Raiola’s growth. Meanwhile, the Huskers got lucky with the Bowl bid. Was it easy? Not at all.
Do you remember that day from the Huskers’ training camp in Omaha? As soon as Raiola stepped in, the fans went like ‘What’s Mahomes doing here?’ The same broccoi hair, shorts, Oakley glasses, and Rhule’s quarterback ticked off all the boxes to become a Patrick Mahomesque quarterback. Eventually, it turned out to be all clickbait. In his debut against UTEP, Rhule’s quarterback completed 19 of 27 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in less than three quarters of action. From afar, it looks all good. But diving deep, one would find that Rhule’s quarterback was sacked 27 times. However, the head coach looks pleased with how far Raiola has pushed himself. For instance, during their 28-10 road victory over Purdue.
Credits: Imago
On the May 27th episode of the Big Ten Football podcast, host Rick Pizzo asked the head coach about how Raiola reached that ceiling. Rhule then shared a glimpse of his quarterback’s growth. “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.” Freshman Raiola in that game turned in an efficient outing, completing 17-of-27 pass attempts for 257 yards, which included a touchdown pass to Jahmal Banks in the third quarter. In the meantime, social media has also changed. Fans found Rhule’s quarterback copying Mahomes’ pregame ritual. The quarterback, towards the fully-packed stands with his arms raised in the air and fingers imitating a gesture for them to rev up their cheering chants.
That’s when trolls started to pour in. However, eventually, how you cope is what matters. As Rhule shared, “He was resilient, he was tough, he earned his teammates respect. I think coming into year two, he knows better what college football is all about.” To the head coach, Raiola has been impressive lately with his physical development and hard work during practices. Raiola credited his physical breakthrough to weeks of effort, which culminated during spring break. “Went on spring break, came back about nine or 10 pounds lighter.” Even though Nebraska did not have the picture-perfect ending to the 2024 season, they broke a seven-year drought.
How has Matt Rhule built a winning culture?
In just his second season, Rhule did something that has become foreign to thousands of Nebraska fans: Win a bowl game. The Yankee Stadium got filled with “Go Big Red” chants as Raiola and co. steamrolled the Boston College Eagles with a 20-15 Pinstripe Bowl victory. The Eagles clawed back from down three scores to make the game interesting, however, Nebraska held on. Nebraska’s trip to the Pinstripe Bowl marked the 54th bowl trip in school history and the Huskers’ first since the 2016 postseason. It was indeed a big victory, but it had cost Rhule’s blood, sweat, and tears to inject a winner’s mentality within the boys.
As he shared, “I think when you come into a program that hasn’t been there in a long time, you’re trying to teach the guys amongst anything how to be positive, how to work so hard and believe.” This victory could not have happened without the all-around effort from the Huskers’ defense. Thanks to Rhule’s Blackshirts, limited Boston College to a measly 1.8 yards per carry and recorded three sacks. Plus, Rhule’s team had 10 different receivers catch a pass and were constantly switching personnel to strain Boston College’s defense.
The head coach continued, “While it’s not the ultimate step it’s a really positive step that the guys had a chance to accomplish something go experience something that’s part of college football.” Unfortunately, as Matt Rhule and co. are riding high with confidence, entering the 2025 season, Nebraska got battered in the spring transfer portal. In this offseason, they have lost a number of rising defensive stars, Keona Davis and Dwight Bootle II, along with a couple of others. Let’s hope Rhule plugs the leaks just in time to set sail toward a successful third campaign.
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