Matt Rhule and his Nebraska Cornhuskers had a tumultuous traversal across the 2024 season, rather expectantly. With a true freshman at quarterback, preseason was a period of immense hope as well as underlying caution. The year has culminated in tangible success, though. The storied program finally breached the 6-win bowl eligibility criteria after a 7-year rut.
They’re poised to play Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl at a venue befitting this overdue milestone- Yankee Stadium. However, akin to their journey through the season, the lead-up to the game has been turbulent. Ironically, the player under centre is at the epicentre, perceivably stemming this turbulence.
Dylan Raiola has become the main talking point in the discourse surrounding the transfer portal. In the last 48 hours or so, reports broke out that Raiola was weighing up entering the portal. Naturally, it caused pandemonium all over the CFB sphere.
Raiola has since made an effort to thwart these reports, posting he’s “All in” on his IG. However, there is no smoke without fire. With this program-altering cloud looming over Lincoln, Matt Rhule has spoken out to quell some concern.
During his pre-game press conference ahead of the Pinstripe Bowl, Matt Rhule was asked to shed light on the proverbial elephant in the room. He was asked whether Raiola will partake in the game, in the wake of the rumors of his exit.
“He’s in practice right now. Going through the game plan. I think this press conference is really more for the teams. I don’t speak for our players.”, said Rhule.
This attempt at a generic reprisal didn’t last. Rhule proceeded to spill the beans on the predicament surrounding Dylan Raiola.
“I know [Raiola] put a message out last night. So I think there’s always going to be rumors. I don’t deal in rumors. I deal in fact. So you know, he’s here, he’s with us. He’s been all in for us. He’s a good enough player that every school in the country should probably come [and] try to recruit [him]. That’s the world we live in now. But like I said, I think he’s out there right now, and this game will be more than about just one guy. It’ll be about our whole team. Excited to see, you know, the way that he plays.”, said Rhule. The final bit of the statement is particularly telling.
After emphasising the team aspect to deflect away from the situation, Rhule perhaps slipped up. Saying he’s excited to see the way “he” plays rather than an all-inclusive “they”. This suggests Rhule does indeed have Dylan Raiola and affairs pertaining to Raiola sticking out in his mind. One trail of thought could be that Rhule foresaw this apparent disgruntlement in his QB. Hence, he made abrupt changes in the personnel of his offensive staff to salvage the situation.
Dylan Raiola has displayed moments of greatness layered with moments of growth all season. He began his collegiate career with pomp. Through his first 5 games, he had 9 touchdowns to go with a mere 2 picks. Great platform to build on for the Mahomes doppelganger. However, he then turned into the 2024 version of Patrick- minus the clutch 4th quarters.
Raiola finished the year with 2,595 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. A decent outcome for his freshman escapades. This included a late upheaval in production, thanks to his new OC. In an effort to bring about an osmosis-like permeation of some experience into a young quarterback, Matt Rhule promoted Dana Holgorsen through the ranks to be offensive coordinator. This change was made with just a couple of games left in the season, initially on an interim basis. Holgorsen first came over to the Huskers in a consultant’s capacity after being given his marching orders as HC of the Houston Cougars in November 2023.
With a figure of Dana Holgorsen’s ilk and experience calling plays, Raiola ended the season on a high. This, of course, allowed the Huskers to even make a Bowl game. Owing to this, Holgorsen has penned a 2-year contract extension. With portal activity in full swing, Rhule will hope he’s earned the trust of his coveted QB for the foreseeable future. Raiola has 3 years of college eligibility remaining.
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