Friday night college football wasn’t kind to Dylan Raiola and the No.25 ranked Nebraska. The Cornhuskers suffered their worst defeat of the season so far at the hands of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. That loss left the Raiola family with mixed emotions.

The Raiola family probably had a wild mix of emotions. On one hand, Buford High’s quarterback Dayton Raiola absolutely dominated, leading his team to an insane 75–0 blowout victory over the Central Gwinnett Black Knights. This win was a huge deal, pushing Buford’s undefeated record to a stunning 8–0, and Dayton himself put on a great show, even throwing a touchdown pass. It was definitely a proud moment for the family.

But on the other hand, the celebration was probably a bit muted because of what happened to Dayton’s older brother, Dylan Raiola. While Dayton was busy winning big, Dylan, who plays quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, had a rough day at the office. In a bittersweet moment for the Raiola family, Dayton Raiola’s big high school football win was overshadowed by his older brother Dylan’s tough college loss. On October 17th, Taylor Raiola hopped onto IG and congratulated Dayton Raiola for their win against Black Knights, but unfortunately couldn’t do the same Dylan Raiola’s case. Still, Taylor found a way to highlight his older brother’s talent by posting two incredible plays from Dylan — one featuring a full-body, mid-air throw that looked straight out of Patrick Mahomes’ playbook, and another where he somehow pulled off a smooth left-handed pass.

His team suffered a tough 24–6 loss to Minnesota, and Dylan got absolutely hammered, taking nine sacks throughout the game. Although Dylan Raiola played good passing football despite of the loss. Dylan threw for 177 yards and completed 17 of his 25 passes. But his rushing game? Minnesota front seven ate him alive, almost 10 sacks, 13 carries for -34 yards. It’s tough to be in a party mood when one of your family members is going through a tough loss like that.

This whole situation is a perfect example of the highs and lows of being a sports family. Dayton is a senior and is actually headed to Nebraska to join his brother, which is a really cool story. So while Dayton certainly had a highlight-reel game, the mixed emotions of family triumphs and setbacks highlight the rollercoaster ride that is high school and college football. Here’s hoping for more wins and fewer sacks for the Raiola brothers in the future.

Tough night in Minneapolis for Nebraska

Going into this game, the Cornhuskers were simply the favorite to win. The No. 25 ranked Cornhuskers were expected to win but couldn’t handle the pressure one bit. The Huskers lost 339-213 in total yards and couldn’t keep the ball. Minnesota even controlled the time of possession. Nebraska has not beaten Minnesota since 2018 and hasn’t won back-to-back road games since 2006.

The offensive line had a very rough night. Dylan Raiola was sacked five in the first half alone. Also, Nebraska lost two key linemen: right guard Rocco Spindler got hurt early, and left tackle Elijah Pritchett was ejected for targeting. This ejection had left Raiola running for his life on almost every play. Even though he tried hard, completing passes while falling and even with his left hand, the offense never found a break. After blocking well against Maryland last week, the line looked lost against a Minnesota defense that usually isn’t this good.

Although Nebraska’s defense didn’t do any good either. The Huskers gave up 148 rushing yards to Minnesota running back Darius Taylor, including a 71-yard run in the second quarter. Before this game, Minnesota hadn’t rushed for more than 68 yards in any Big Ten game. The pass defense also struggled, allowing freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey to complete 80% of his throws.

What makes this more hard to believe is that Nebraska only got one sack and one quarterback hurry all night. Overall, the Huskers were outplayed in every part of the game and need to fix both their blocking and tackling if they want to compete in the Big Ten.