Getting a gauge on the Nebraska Cornhuskers is difficult. Matt Rhule’s tenure at this blueblood is still in its infancy, so extrapolating their trajectory is tricky. But while there is a lot of nuance through two years of the Rhule era, the Big Red are progressing positively. Making and then winning their first Bowl game since 2016 was a legitimizer of this progression. But akin to their QB1 Dylan Raiola, there’s still a fair way to go. 

Dylan Raiola’s true freshman season was a microcosm of his team as a collective. Moments of greatness and moments of growth alike. It’ll be disingenuous to say Raiola wasn’t good last year. But it’ll also be disingenuous and borderline delusional to say he delivered on that 5-star hype he came to Lincoln with. Fanning the flames of his Patrick Mahomes impersonation only invited more scrutiny to the quarterback. Alas, you’d expect a natural ascension heading into his sophomore year. Ironing out the wrinkles that are still present in his game. So, one prominent College Football analyst has placed a lot of onus on Dylan Raiola in the context of how well Matt Rhule’s Huskers will do in 2025.

Over the On3 YouTube channel, Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman discussed what “success” equates to for the Huskers. Success is relative. But you’d think anything short of hardware or a playoff berth cannot be deemed as success at a program of this ilk. Yet, Andy reckons an 8-4 year would have the fanbase satisfied. That said, his co-host Ari envisions a path where Matt Rhule and co. can achieve more. A lot more. And it falls on Dylan Raiola’s shoulders- or arm, rather. Breaking down the Huskers’ schedule and realizing that it’s not exactly a gauntlet, Ari Wasserman said,“[Nebraska] avoided Ohio State and Oregon on their schedule. So I feel like 10 wins could be a pretty reasonable…They’re in the position of maybe playing the B1G championship game, with a more advantageous schedule than some of their counterparts.”

For a team that just went 7-6, 10 wins instinctively feels pretty steep. But the relatively soft schedule does facilitate this kind of jump. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself. But if Dylan Raiola takes the step forward- like all the mad Nebraska fans are anticipating- and they knock off USC or Michigan, go 1-1 in those, and then win all the games they’re supposed to and they beat Minnesota? That’s not gonna be easy, that’s on the road. You have a legitimate path to only having two losses at the end of the year. If you have two losses in the Big 10, you might be in a position with an outside shot of playing in Indianapolis,” proceeded Ari. 

The B1G is as healthy as ever, especially after the likes of Oregon and USC realigned to the conference. It’s a cannibalistic faction where the cream rises to the top. If Rhule, and Raiola, wish to indeed make it to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy, things would really need to go their way. But they aren’t as far off as that 7-6 record suggests. Which segues into a different but adjacent hypothetical discussed by the pair of analysts. Again, the proverbial buck stopped with Dylan Raiola.

Matt Rhule and Nebraska’s playoff dreams are intrinsically tied to Dylan Raiola

5 of Nebraska’s 6 losses came by one-score margins. It’s quite bizarre, really. One wonders what could’ve transpired with a dab of luck and marginally better personnel. Even halving this deficit brings the Huskers to near double-digit wins, and the conversations around Dylan Raiola and Matt Rhule suddenly become more glamorous. Alas, this is certainly baked into why Andy Stapes and Ari Wasserman think Nebraska, if the chips fall their way, can make a run at the playoffs.

“Let’s say the season plays out the way we talked about it,” said Andy. “What if Nebraska is 8-4 going into that Penn State game (their penultimate regular season game) and is an outside playoff contender? That’s a huge game in State College if that happens!” Again, a lot of hypothesizing and projecting here. But it’s not outside the realm of possibilities. To this, Ari circled back to placing responsibility on their quarterback. “If Dylan Raiola is a top-five quarterback in college football this year, that’s not impossible,” he said. The path to prosperity is pretty linear: Young QB improves and raises the tide for the entire program.

It’ll be fascinating to see how things play out for the Huskers. After a real dark period for the program, Matt Rhule has lifted the mood around Lincoln. But he’d be the first one to tell you they’re nowhere near where they can be. Whether the program can get back to competing in the top echelon of the sport for national titles is up for conjecture. But getting over the hump of 6-wins sure was a step towards it. Dylan Raiola and a potential sophomore leap remains one of the most intriguing storylines as we inch closer to fall.