QB Grade: Nebraska Football's Dylan Raiola vs. Indiana

The Huskers' freshman QB was a disaster in a blowout loss to Indiana.

Indiana's Lanell Carr Jr. (41) pressures Nenbraska's Dylan Raiola (15) during the Indiana versus Nebraska football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A lot of things went wrong for Nebraska football in its 56–7 lost to Indiana. Among those many problems was the play of quarterback Dylan Raiola.

He finished 28/44 through the air for 234 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. The game was a disaster right from the jump. After Indiana opened the game with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, the Huskers failed to answer and punted after six plays. The Huskers’ next drive did not go so well either. They turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert via a fumble on 4th & 1. 

Nebraska’s only touchdown was a 7-yard rushing score by Jacory Barney Jr. that cut the lead to 14–7. That was the closest the Huskers could get for the rest of the game. Raiola’s three interceptions were also debilitating for the offense. Before this game, the most interceptions Raiola had thrown in a game this season was one. Throwing three picks against the best team Nebraska has played so far is a bad sign.

The Huskers were thoroughly overmatched in this game. Even if Raiola had played better, it is not clear how much of a difference he could've made. The defense gave up a season-high 56 points. The most they had given up before this game was 31 points in overtime to Illinois. The Huskers’ offense is simply not built to be able to score with a team like Indiana. They were relying on the defense to keep the Hoosiers in check, and the Blackshirts could not.

Nevertheless, the offense was still dreadful. That includes Raiola and the worst performance of his still-young career so far. There were no positives to take away from this performance, so it deserves the worst grade there is. It is not the end of the world for his career by any means, but it was on Saturday.

Grade: F

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