LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska football program posted a photo of Dylan Raiola moving into his dorm room on one of its social media platforms, and it was viewed nearly 14 million times in a week. His haircut and sunglasses prompted a flurry of comments about how much he looked like Patrick Mahomes.
The anecdote illustrates the excitement and anticipation for the highest-rated recruit in program history among a fan base that has endured seven straight losing seasons, the Cornhuskers’ worst stretch since the 1940s.
Raiola was the nation’s No. 1 or No. 2 quarterback prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, and he committed to Ohio State and Georgia before transferring to Nebraska in December. The anticipation has grown since then.
How can the son of Nebraska All-America center Dominic Raiola ignore the noise?
“First of all, my faith,” he said. “I wake up every morning, give my devotion, and it sets your day and protects you from the world. And then I have great parents who raised me well and taught me how to behave and how to deal with people and block out distractions.”
It also helps that his uncle, Donovan Raiola, is the offensive line coach and his sister, Taylor, is a college football recruiting executive.
“It’s very comforting to have family in the building,” Dylan said.
As for the similarities between Mahomes and Raiola, both wear jersey No. 15, Raiola has trained with Mahomes’ longtime personal coach, Jeff Christensen. Raiola said it’s cool when fans want to say he looks like Mahomes. He said he can only aspire to play like him.
“Just try to do my thing,” he said, pausing. “My hair? I think it looks like his.”
Can Nebraska improve further?
The Huskers have not won more than five games since 2016. Last year, they lost four times by three points and were 5-7.
“When I say 10-2 is good, or 8-4, I’m saying I think we’re going to lose four games,” coach Matt Rhule said. “I want to go out there and try to win every game. So I think what I’m saying to you is I expect us to be a really good team. If we’re 5-7 again, that’s not good enough.”
Those annoying conversions
The list of priorities begins with reducing turnovers, a problem carried over from the Scott Frost regime. The Huskers’ 50 turnovers since 2022 are the most among power-conference teams. Their 15 lost fumbles last year were the most in the country, and their minus-17 turnover margin was second-worst.
“With a turnover ratio of -17 … We might have won nine games, and I don’t think we were necessarily a nine-game winning team,” Rhule said. “That speaks volumes to the good things we’ve done, but one thing messed it up. And so we’re going to fix it.”
Improved reception corps
The most improved position should be receiver, where the Huskers added transfers Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor, each with one year of eligibility.
Banks recorded more than 100 catches and 1,400 receiving yards in four seasons at Wake Forest. Last year, he caught 59 balls for a team-high 653 yards and four touchdowns.
Neyor was one of the best receivers in the Mountain West for Wyoming in 2021. He transferred to Texas and missed 2022 due to injury. He played just one game last season.
Freshman Carter Nelson, who played tight end in high school, has moved to receiver and is in line for significant playing time. Tight end Thomas Fidone is expected to build on a solid 2023.
It’s about respect
Isaac Gifford, the Huskers’ leading tackler last year, leads a veteran defense under coordinator Tony White. He said he returned for a fifth season instead of declaring for the NFL draft because his work at Nebraska isn’t done.
The Gifford name has been a big part of the program for the past 10 years. Luke was a linebacker at Nebraska from 2014-18 and now plays for the Tennessee Titans.
“Since I’ve been here, my goal has been to get Nebraska to a place where everybody respects you,” Isaac said. “And that’s what we’re going to do.”
The scheme
The Huskers open Aug. 31 against UTEP. Their first major conference test comes Oct. 26 against No. 2 Ohio State. The closing series against Southern California (away), Wisconsin (home) and Iowa (away) will be challenging. The non-conference highlight comes Sept. 7 at home, when they look to avenge last year’s loss to old rival Colorado.
