In the third quarter against USC, Dylan Raiola was sacked and helped off the field. He wanted to return to the field immediately, but a broken fibula limited him to the sidelines for the rest of the season. With that, all the eyes were focused on TJ Lateef, the backup QB. Steering the offense as the starting quarterback, he did not disappoint on Saturday against UCLA, 28-21.

After Raiola’s injury, Lateef went on the field against the Trojans, completing 5-of-7 attempts for seven yards, carrying another six carries for 18 yards. Nebraska had lost, 17-21. However, Lateef did not let the loss affect him. From next Monday onwards, he was back on the turf, gunning practice drills with innate attention to detail, earning locker room approval.

“I’m proud of him, man. Super proud of him,” Running back Emmett Johnson said of his QB. “Everybody on his team knows that he started off the week of practice, and he was really focused on the little details.” With Raiola out, the Huskers’ game dynamics change. Although UCLA was coming off a three-game winning streak before losing to Indiana.

Matt Rhule remained cautious, calling the Bruins an excellent football team “that’s had a really tough schedule and is playing their best football of late, so we have our work cut out for us,” he said ahead of the matchup. Even Tim Skipper acknowledged the new dynamics. “There’s going to be stuff we haven’t seen,” he had admitted of Lateef. Adding on star running back Emmett Johnson’s explosiveness, the Bruins were on alert.

So when the practice week kicked off, Lateef went all in. Johnson further added, “I remember we had a team compete early in the week, and he told the coach, like the next day of practice, ‘ Can we do team compete again? ‘ That just shows the competitor he is, and that showed today in the field. So. I’m really, really proud of him, man.”

In the first quarter, on 3rd & Goal, Lateef threw a 2-yard pass to WR Jacory Barney Jr, the first touchdown of the game. UCLA was quick to level up, 7-7. In the next drive, Lateef threw a short pass to Johnson, who took off in a beautiful run down the speed for a 56-yard TD. Emmett’s one-yard TD rush soon followed on their next possession, while the Bruins remained limited to one TD as the game bled into halftime. 21-7.

Kicking off the third quarter, Lateef connects with Emmett for a 40-yard touchdown, widening the lead, the last touchdown by Nebraska. Following this, UCLA’s offense revived as Nico Iamaleava threw two touchdowns, but failed to overcome the Huskers as the clock struck 0:00.

True freshman Lateef found Johnson, as the duo made explosive plays throughout the game. On Saturday, Emmett recorded his season high in reception yards at 103 yards and the longest reception at 56 yards. Meanwhile, Lateef threw three TDs for 205 yards and no interceptions.

However, Matt Rhule is refusing to move on.

Matt Rhule texts Dylan Raiola

On Saturday, during halftime, Matt Rhule reportedly texted his prized quarterback. Previously, Pete Nakos had reported that, “Raiola is out for the year.” Although he couldn’t be present to witness Nebraska’s win over UCLA, his locker room will bring him a memento. Reporter Sam McKewon shared the news on X. “Matt Rhule says he texted Dylan Raiola at half. The team will bring him back a game ball.”

Before the UCLA matchup, Raiola underwent surgery for his broken fibula and has been recovering. “Successful surgery,” he shared the update with his fans. The head coach further shared that he has been in constant communication with him, saying, “Talked to him last night, seems like he’s in good spirits.” Raiola called it a small bump in the road,” and is working on his recovery.

Before getting injured, Raiola had completed 2,000 yards for 18 touchdowns, aiming for the coveted Heisman.