Can you believe it? The Huskers just snagged their first bowl game win in eight years. And it was a wild ride for Dylan Raiola this season. At first, he was looking like a superstar, dodging defenders like a kid skipping through a park. But then things took a nosedive, and it felt like Matt Rhule’s dreams of having the next Patrick Mahomes were fading fast. Fans were worried that Raiola’s season would end on a down note, but then they pulled off the Pinstripe Bowl win, and it gave him a chance to show he might still have what it takes to be a top QB!
Twitter was buzzing when they announced, “HISTORY MADE!” Dylan Raiola has broken the record for the most passing yards in a season by a freshman quarterback at Nebraska.
They ended their game against Boston College with a solid 20 points, and Raiola finished his freshman year with an impressive 2819 passing yards, taking the record from Adrian Martinez, who previously had 2617 yards. But Martinez still outshines him in touchdowns—17 to Raiola’s 13. Still, Raiola performed well against Boston, throwing over 220 yards, even though he struggled with turnovers, with one interception that really hurt them.
It seems like he finally started playing more like a college football player instead of trying to impress NFL scouts, which is a good sign for Rhule. Raiola’s journey this season has been a hot topic among fans and analysts. One sports station summed it up by saying, “He gonna feel proud and he out,” hinting at whether Raiola would stick around for another season or not. At the end of the day, it feels like he wasn’t managed as well as he could’ve been.
Instead of playing smart, he kept trying to make these “NFL-level” plays, which only led to more mistakes. There’s been chatter about replacing him completely, but if he really wants to be the next Mahomes, he needs to focus on the fundamentals instead of going for the flashy plays right away. That could be a big factor going into the 2025 season—can Rhule get him to play it smarter?
Assuming he stays with the Huskers, Rhule has got to work on the basics with him. Raiola isn’t a bad player at all; they’ve just got to harness his potential. If he can throw like elite QBs such as Shedeur Sanders and show some trust in his receivers, he could truly shine.
But man, his release timing is a major issue—he holds onto the ball too long, as evidenced by the 26 sacks he took. Yikes! If he doesn’t start trusting his running backs and receivers, it’s going to keep hurting his game. Rhule needs to nail down these issues. It was just Raiola’s first year, and while breaking records is great, he also had some rough patches, especially during that four-game losing streak where it felt like he just couldn’t catch a break.