Has Dylan Raiola found his missing piece? The 5-star Nebraska QB wowed everyone with his freshman power, going 3-0 early in the season. But a gradual decline ensued, culminating in a painful four-game losing streak. At least the Cornhuskers were able to break that cursed chain with their latest win. But the success points further than just Raiola. 

Maybe a seasoned offensive coach was what Dylan Raiola missed all this season. Former NFL first-rounder DE and Nebraska alum Adam Carriker gave his take on Dylan Raiola’s performance after Dana Holgorsen’s new role. In a new YouTube episode on Carriker Chronicles on November 25, he provided a positive stat-backed remark on Nebraska’s signal caller, saying, “Raiola has completed 72.3 percent of his passes in his last two games, the two games with Dana Holgorsen as the offensive coordinator. The previous four games before that, he was down around 60% completion percentage in those games.” 

In the last 44-25 win against Wisconsin, Dylan Raiola completed 28 of 38 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown. As Carriker highlighted, it marks “his sixth 200-yard passing game this year and his first in four games, and his third game with at least 250 passing yards.” But the 19-year-old wasn’t the only offensive player that Holgorsen impacted. 

Another star of the game was RB Emmett Johnson, who showed improvement after Nebraska’s transition from Marcus Satterfield to Holgorsen. He recorded a career-high 113 rushing yards on 16 carries while also making six catches for 85 receiving yards. Following this feat, he said, “I’ve been making people miss my whole life. So just going out there, trusting my training, and helping this team win football games.” This OC transition came at a crucial moment for Nebraska. 

Dylan Raiola leads Nebraska to bowl eligibility 

Nebraska had the longest bowl drought among power-conference teams coming into the game. But they recorded 473 total yards inside Memorial Stadium on Saturday, their dominance showing in their 42 points scored on seven trips to the red zone. With this win, Nebraska achieved something that they haven’t been a part of in seven years. 

Under Matt Rhule’s second year, Dylan Raiola led the Huskers to their first bowl eligibility since their 2016 Music City Bowl when they went 9-3 under Mike Riley. This came after they broke a four-year hiatus as a ranked program in the AP Top 25 rankings earlier in the season. The HC said, “The cloud that kind of hangs over everything, it’s gone. This will be the last time we ever celebrate six wins.” The Huskers can still add another win to their resume when they meet the Iowa Hawkeyes for their final regular season game.