Tensions in Nebraska Camp as Dylan Raiola Fails to Earn Matt Rhule’s ‘Trust’ in Alarming Revelation

Nebraska began its 2025 campaign with a hard-fought 20–17 win over Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium, a venue that oddly served as their “road” game but was packed with nearly 73,000 Huskers fans, essentially, a home opener in atmosphere. While quarterback Dylan Raiola was steady, completing 33 of 42 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, Emmett Johnson added 108 rushing yards on 25 carries. The difference came late: with just 34 seconds left, Malcolm Hartzog Jr. picked off a Cincinnati pass in the end zone to seal the win. Nebraska controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes, but the margin still came down to one play. And that left analysts wondering, should a top Big Ten hopeful have needed such late heroics?

That’s exactly where Geoff Schwartz directed his attention. On a recent Bear Beats podcast, the former NFL lineman didn’t hold back. He admitted he entered the season expecting Raiola to take a major leap, but what he saw in the opener forced him to reconsider. “The game plan that Nebraska rolled out with signals to me they don’t think he’s as good as I think he is,” Schwartz said.

For him, it wasn’t just about stats; it was about philosophy. If Nebraska truly believed in Raiola, “it looked to me like they didn’t trust him as much as I thought they would into year two as we see him doing his best” Schwartz argued. Instead, the approach looked cautious, almost as if the staff wanted to limit mistakes rather than unleash their quarterback.

Schwartz went further, connecting the dots to Nebraska’s broader ceiling. He had pegged the Huskers as potentially the fourth-best team in the Big Ten and a dark-horse College Football Playoff contender. But after Week 1, his tone shifted. “I just didn’t see an offense that I thought was dynamic enough to do what I said,” he explained, adding bluntly that unless Nebraska changes its approach, “they are not a playoff team.” His sharpest point was about trust: in his view, you can tell in Week 1 whether coaches believe in their quarterback. Against Cincinnati, Schwartz said, it looked like Nebraska didn’t fully trust Raiola, even in his second year running the offense.

So, while the Huskers survived Cincinnati, the bigger question lingers: can Raiola and the Nebraska offense evolve enough to match playoff-level expectations before the schedule stiffens?

Nebraska’s Raiola channels discipline in season-opening victory

Well, Nebraska football is chasing a 2-0 start to the season, and at the center of it all is freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. Coming off a steady debut, Raiola isn’t talking about personal stats or flashy highlights; he’s zeroed in on winning football games. That mindset, paired with Matt Rhule’s disciplined approach, has quickly shaped his role in the Cornhuskers’ offense. But how does Raiola see himself balancing patience with explosiveness?

“It is hard, but the way Coach Rhule runs his program is with discipline in everything we do. That carries over to the football field,” Raiola explained, laying out how his decision-making stems from structure, not chance. His assignment, as he describes it, is simple: read the defense, push the ball when it’s there, and when it isn’t, get it into the hands of his teammates who can create yards after the catch. That unselfish clarity is exactly what Nebraska has needed under center. So where does this philosophy find its roots?

Raiola points back to a lesson drilled in by offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas, echoing wisdom once shared by Coach Dana Holgorsen: “Routine plays lead to X plays, and X plays lead to first downs, and first downs lead to touchdowns.” It’s a chain reaction; execute the basics, and the big moments will follow naturally. As Nebraska prepares for its next test, the question lingers: Can Raiola’s disciplined approach spark the Huskers’ best start in years?