Matt Rhule, in his two seasons, had achieved a 5-7 and a 7-6 finish at Nebraska. The results might not look spectacular, but considering he inherited a ‘dumpster situation’ with high attrition and years of struggle under Scott Frost, it is not too bad. Moreover, when you look at his track record, the head coach has a tendency to shine in his third season. You look at Baylor, and after finishing 1-11 and 7-6, Rhule went all out to produce an 11-3 record. The same was the case with Temple when he finished 10-4 in his third season, leading the program to its first-ever 10-win season since 1979. So, Rhule’s third year in Nebraska will be the same, right? Not if you ask a former Nebraska legend!!!

Last year, the Cornhuskers received their first bowl appearance since 2016 and went on to win it, defeating Boston College 20-15. The achievement was a major milestone, and on the back of the momentum that the program had, it was expected that major upgrades were in store. However, what happened after the season was truly concerning. The Cornhuskers lost some of their best players to the transfer portal, and the 2025 season didn’t look that optimistic.

Matt Rhule lost a whopping 33 players to the transfer portal in 2025, including some of his key players, leaving him with an inexperienced squad to work with. So, the combination of these portal attritions and the inexperience in the roster has led to a harsh verdict from former Nebraska wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp, as he declared, “This might be the first year where I’m looking and I just don’t know any of these guys.”

“Brand new coaches, obviously, a new wide receiver coach, Holgorsen’s relatively new coach. I think it’s very challenging, and part of the reason it’s challenging is that you have guys build chemistry. It’s really tough with the transfer portal now because I’m looking at the wide receivers, and it’s a lot of young guys or guys who have transferred in. So it’s very difficult for those guys to get in, learn a system, and build that rapport,” said Westerkamp on the June 20th episode of ‘93.7 The Ticket.’ Mind you, this analysis by Westerkamp is more concerning than it sounds.

First and foremost, Westerkamp himself is a wide receiver coach now at the College of DuPage and had an illustrious season with Nebraska from 2013 to 2016, as he earned first-team All-Big 10 honors in 2015. So, the take coming from him seems harsh, as he knows what Matt Rhule is capable of doing. But the take also has to do with a deeper issue that Dylan Raiola might face going into the 2025 season.

Harsh verdict for Dylan Raiola as the 2025 season presents a mounting challenge

Dylan Raiola, last year being a freshman player, exceeded all expectations and delivered 2,819 passing yards along with 13 touchdowns. His performance was reliable for the Cornhuskers, and it was expected that he would take his performance up a notch. But how can he do that if he doesn’t have the required playmakers to support him? Sure, Rhule has brought in Dane Key (715 yards) from Kentucky and Nyziah Hunter (578 yards) from California. But can they perform in a brand-new offense, gelling in with Dylan Raiola? We don’t know yet! Moreover, Dylan Raioa has concerns plaguing him, too.

“Dylan Raiola at Nebraska—cut down on the turnovers. It’s my request if he’s watching. If Matt Rhule is watching, and there’s a…there’s a portion of the playbook where you cut down on the turnovers at the quarterback position—well, then I’ll be too low on Dylan Raiola. That’s why he’s down at six right now,” said Josh Pate about Dylan Raiola. Turnovers were undoubtedly a problem for Dylan Raiola last season.

Raiola had a tough time last season, racking up 13 turnovers in 13 games—11 of those were interceptions and 2 were fumbles. These mistakes really hurt Nebraska, leading to a -15 turnover margin in their losses, especially during a rough patch when they dropped four games in a row. They lost to teams like Ohio State, Indiana, UCLA, and USC. One play that stood out was his pick-six against UCLA, which stung since it contributed to their 27-20 loss. It’s clear that cutting down on turnovers is a must, and now with a new receiving corps, the pressure is definitely on Raiola.