There’s a fine line between accountability and agony. Dylan Raiola walked that line Friday night under the bright lights of Minneapolis. But can we blame him? Nebraska’s promising 5-2 start hit a wall, as the Huskers stumbled 24-6 against Minnesota. Raiola had 17 completions on 25 attempts for 177 yards. His aggression afterward provided another side of the story.

“As part of my job, it just sucks,” Raiola admitted on October 17 in the postgame presser. “You put so much work in all offseason and all week to get ready for this type of game and it’s unfortunate. I mean, we were sitting in the same spot last year and we get the same results. So I’m very frustrated right now and it sucks.” But he also took accountability, saying, “Six points is pretty brutal and I’ll take that one. I’ll take all the blame, I’ll take all the hate. That’s fine, that’s part of my job and that’s why I’m here.” You can’t help but feel for him, a young QB shouldering the weight of a program, yet he’s standing tall enough to own it.

The “same results” disappointment must have been difficult for the Huskers’ faithful to stomach. Minnesota made sure of that. Defensive ends Anthony Smith and Karter Menz combined for 5 sacks, bullying Nebraska’s battered O-line into submission. 

Minnesota’s offensive formula was just as punishing. Darius Taylor’s 71-yard burst set up a first-half “tush-push” touchdown. The Gophers eclipsed 325 total yards, over 100 before halftime. Nebraska’s defense looked winded before the fourth quarter even started. By the time Nebraska found any rhythm, Minnesota was already milking the clock. And as the game spiraled out of reach, one stat began to define the night, a number so glaring it deserved its own chapter.

Dylan Raiola’s nine-sack nightmare

The stat that burned into the box score was brutal. Nine sacks. That’s a historical marker. Only 13 Big Ten QBs in the last 30 years have endured that kind of beating in one game. The last was Washington’s Demond Williams Jr. last season. The worst was Michigan State’s Drew Stanton, who was sacked 12 times in 2005 by Ohio State and yes, the Spartans blew that one, too. For Dylan Raiola, this was a statement. 

It overshadowed what could’ve been a positive subplot. Emmett Johnson’s homecoming. The Minnesota native, overlooked by his own state’s program, had every reason to make them pay. But revenge never came. The RB mustered just 37 rushing yards in the first half and finished with 100 all-purpose yards as Minnesota’s front seven refused to break. Dylan Raiola still flashed the creativity that made him a 5-star prospect, scrambling for 29 sack-adjusted yards, completing a pass mid-fall, and even throwing one left-handed. But improvisation only goes so far when survival is the play call.

Because when a QB starts saying “same results,” it’s like a diagnosis. And unless Nebraska finds answers in the trenches, it won’t just be Dylan Raiola feeling the weight of that truth.