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Nebraska football quarterback Dylan Raiola is just a freshman, but he isn't using that as an excuse for bad play. Raiola is blaming himself for the team's offensive struggles, as the offensive coordinator takes criticism.
“I know Coach Satt’s getting a lot of heat right now of the plays he’s calling, and I think that’s unfair to him. He can’t go out there and make plays and do everything he’s coaching us to do,” Raiola said, per the Omaha World-Herald. “As players, and as quarterback of this offense, I take the responsibility for that.”
Raiola is actually having a pretty good season considering his youth. The freshman quarterback has thrown for 1,744 yards and nine touchdowns. He has struggled however with protecting the football; the freshman has seven interceptions so far this year.
Nebraska is 5-3 on the season, with a 2-3 Big Ten Conference mark.
Nebraska is looking to go bowling for the first time under Matt Rhule
Nebraska football has been stuck on five wins for awhile. The squad has lost its last two games, to Ohio State and Indiana. The team has experienced highs and lows, as it got blown out by the Hoosiers but nearly upset Ohio State.
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Matt Rhule is leading the Cornhuskers, and is in his second season in Lincoln. He's used to rebuilding programs, and he's trying to do that at Nebraska. Rhule posted double-digit win seasons at both Temple and Baylor. He finished 5-7 in 2023.
Raiola is clearly a major factor in this Nebraska football team's success. Raiola's struggles have been with finding the right target on the field, and not turning the football over. In the team's last game against Ohio State, the freshman quarterback finished the contest with 152 passing yards and an interception.
Raiola is getting battered around this season. The freshman play caller has taken 17 sacks in eight games. He's also been sacked nine times in the last three games. In a loss this season to Illinois, Raiola was sacked a whopping six times. He also has -58 rushing yards on the year, due to those tackles for loss. Nebraska clearly has to do a better job protecting its quarterback.
While Rhule hasn't taken Nebraska football to a bowl game yet, there are plenty of people who believe in where the program is headed. One of those people is college football analyst Josh Pate of CBS Sports.
“He's talking about an entire philosophical and cultural shift in a program. He's talking about a collection of humans; players, administration, staff, just top to bottom,” Pate said, per Sports Illustrated. “If you can get a bunch of people who can perform at a high level… to shift the way they fought their whole lives in some cases – from just focusing on outcome to focusing on process, you have unlocked the key to sustainable success.”
The Cornhuskers next play UCLA on Saturday, at 3:30 Eastern.
