The Nebraska Cornhuskers lost their unbeaten record at home after falling 31-24 to Illinois Fightin Illini in overtime. Dylan Raiola and company were unable to defeat Illinois and have now fell in the rankings. Matt Rhule did not hold back when addressing his team following the disappointing result after a promising start to their season.
The Cornhuskers had made waves all around college football after an imposing win over the Colorado Buffaloes. The team had build on it and improved their record to 3-0. As they looked to remain undefeated when hosting Illinois, the Huskers fell in dramatic fashion and questions have risen around the program. Rhule was categorical on his team’s performance evaluation.
“Hate that we’re still in the learning-how-to-win phase,” Rhule said, via Sports Illustrated. “It just felt really tight out there in the second half, except for some guys. Dylan [Raiola] doesn’t feel tight. He’s out there saying ‘let’s go play. I don’t think anything was good enough in that game.”
As Nebraska fell to Illinois, the Huskers let a great opportunity slip away. Quarterback Dylan Raiola threw for three touchdowns and an interception, however he was let down by some miscommunications errors on defense. Illinois tied the game at 24 in the fourth quarter on a 4th & 2 that had an eligible lineman wide open in the endzone as the defense was bamboozled.
Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) in action during a NCAA, College League, USA Division 1 football game between UTEP Miners and the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE.
“A lot of errors on defense I haven’t seen us make since last year at Michigan. None of it was quite good enough and we still had a chance to win the game.”
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Dylan Raiola’s brother commits to Nebraska
The Raiola family legacy continues in Nebraska. Dayton Raiola who is member of the 2026 recruiting class has committed to the Huskers. The quarterback recruit is Dylan’s brother and looks to add on to the historic link between his family and Nebraska.
The young quarterbacks’ father Dominic Raiola was an NCAA All-American center at the university and played over 200 games with the Detroit Lions. Dayton and Dylan’s uncle, Donovan, is currently the Huskers offensive line coach.
“I feel like I would be making a mistake if I didn’t go to Nebraska. On top of my brother and uncle being there, my sister works in recruiting there now, and my dad was an All-American there. The coaching staff at Nebraska really has shown me real love and I can feel it every time I go up there.”
