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B1G Today Midseason Awards: Nebraska Football's Matt Rhule Coach of the Year, Dylan Raiola Snubbed?

Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule is in the conversation for midseason coach of the year in the Big Ten Conference, but nobody else was brought up for the other three awards on the Big Ten Network's daily show.

Kaleb Henry

Handing Out Midseason Football Awards; Plus Talking 12 Team College Football Playoff | B1G Football
Handing Out Midseason Football Awards; Plus Talking 12 Team College Football Playoff | B1G Football / Big Ten Network
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The college football season is halfway through the regular season and the "B1G Today" crew handed out some midseason awards.

On the Big Ten Network Wednesday, Mike Hall, Anthony Herron, and Ross Dellenger discussed who has earned midseason coach of the year, offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year, and freshman of the year. Nebraska football, sitting at 5-1 was in the mix.

"If it's not Curt Cignetti, I do think there's a strong case to be made so far for Matt Rhule."

- Anthony Herron on midseason's best coach

The leader for coach of the year is Indiana's Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers are 6-0 for the first time since 1967. The Hoosiers host the Huskers this Saturday, where NU coach Matt Rhule had his name thrown into the hat as perhaps the next best case for the award.

"But I do think there's a lot of consideration worthy of giving to Matt Rhule for what he's doing in Lincoln with Nebraska," Herron said. "Because there's some Youth and inexperience in the lineup on offense. He's got a true freshman as a quarterback who at times has looked like a true freshman but there's a control and a composure that Dylan Raiola is playing with that I don't think should be only, solely credited to Dylan Raiola."

"You have a freshman quarterback who is in a good situation," Herron continued. "It hasn't been a dominant run game for Nebraska, but it's been a forceful run game, its been a utilized run game for the Huskers this season. That aids in taking some pressure off of the young QB when he knows that every play call isn't just going to be up to him deciding a full field read."

Herron added that Tony White's defense has been effective, creating balance from the two sides of the ball in year two of the Rhule era.

For offensive and defensive player of the year, Nebraska wasn't in the conversation. Names mentioned for those were Penn State tight end Tyler Warren, Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel on offense with the defensive leaders being Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter and Indiana defensive lineman Mikail Kamara

As for freshman of the year, Herron went with Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith while Dellenger said Minnesota defensive back Koi Perich.

Not named, or even brought up during the conversation about freshman, was Husker QB Raiola. Raiola is the leading freshman for completion percentage (25th nationally), third in total passing yards (53rd nationally), and third in passing yards per game (50th nationally).

You can watch the full segment at the top of the page.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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