Dylan Raiola staying positive after offense falls flat against Iowa

IOWA CITY, Ia. — The Huskers are patiently waiting for the announcement of their bowl destination following a tough loss to the Hawkeyes, and their quarterback is eager to bounce back.

Despite being victorious in six games over the regular season, which is the most from Nebraska since 2016, Dylan Raiola feels it should be more. After all, the Huskers lost some close battles down the stretch, including the one on Black Friday that Raiola is taking a lot of blame for.

Nebraska controlled the Heroes Game at Kinnick Stadium for the most part, and even led 10-0 midway through the third quarter. However, after a missed field goal, a special teams blunder, and an offensive turnover, Iowa was able to climb back in it late and steal the win.

No Husker is feeling more responsible for the loss than Raiola, considering his fumble during the final 25 seconds is what put the Hawkeyes in great field position for the game-winning kick. Now the gunslinger is holding himself accountable for letting his senior teammates down, and wants to make it up to them.

“It’s unfortunate, I hate that for them to go out like that, especially this team and we know how much this means to our state and this program,” Raiola said. “I guess we gotta live with it, and the young guys understand what it is now, and moving forward what it supposed to look like.”

To make matters worse, the Huskers were scoreless in the second half. It’s a head scratcher to many Nebraska fans, as to why Offensive Coordinator Dana Holgorsen didn’t make the necessary adjustments, especially after a great start to the game.

Raiola led the offense on a 10-play, 64-yard scoring drive on the Huskers’ initial possession. Not to mention it took over five minutes off the clock. Raiola later led Nebraska on a 12-play, 74-yard touchdown drive right before the end of the first half.

The Huskers’ first half numbers were impressive compared to the Hawkeyes. Nebraska held a double-digit lead, and posted 10 first downs, while Iowa had none. The Huskers scored twice in the red zone, and nearly doubled the Hawkeyes in time of possession. Nebraska also generated 182 yards of total offense, to Iowa’s 20.

Regardless, it wasn’t enough, and the offense went into a downward spiral over the final 30 minutes of the contest. Nebraska couldn’t execute, and Raiola made several mistakes. At times he held onto the ball for too long, and didn’t locate open receivers down the field. Some passes were uncatchable, others were drops and the poor protection from the big boys up front didn’t help Raiola’s cause. On top of that, Iowa’s defense recorded four sacks.

The crucial one happened with under 30 seconds left in the game. Nebraska tried to get into field goal range instead of the overtime rout. The Huskers were at their own 43-yard line, when Raiola dropped back to attempt a pass, but was sacked by Hawkeye linebacker Max Llewellyn and fumbled the ball on his way down. Llewellyn recovered it, and Iowa nailed a 53-yard field goal three plays later.

Raiola and his teammates watched as the Hawkeyes hoisted the Heroes Trophy, and they took that walk of shame back to the locker room. The former five-star prospect completed 22 of his 32 passes for 190 yards. As bad as the loss to Iowa hurts, Raiola wants to build on the positive aspects of the season, because the program came a long way in 2024.

Nebraska will play in a bowl game, which means there’s going to be more practices for the offense to gel under Holgorsen. Raiola can’t wait to get back to work with his receivers, and feels the team can improve a lot over the next couple of weeks. Most importantly, he want his teammates to keep their spirits high.

“I think we made a lot of progress from game one until now, just on both sides, the defense, offense and special teams, I couldn’t be more proud” he said. “Losing this game doesn’t do justice to see all of the success and strides we made as a team, but that’s what it is right now.”

Big Red Nation travels as well as any fanbase in the country, and Nebraska will be a great grab for whatever bowl it qualifies for. There’s still unfinished business in Raiola’s mind. Ending his freshman year with a winning season will go a long way for the Huskers. So the sooner the bowl announcement, the better for all parties involved.

“I’m not really sure what’s going to happen next, what bowl we’re going to, or what’s going on, so we’ll figure that out soon.”