Ex-Nebraska HC Sends Strong Caution to Matt Rhule as He Clears Feelings on Dylan Raiola

Nebraska entered the season with breakthrough hopes under the third-year coach Matt Rhule. They had a solid start with three consecutive wins; however, they suffered a 30-27 loss against Michigan last Saturday. This marks the 28th consecutive loss for the Huskers against the AP Top 25 teams. Rhule’s era with Nebraska holds a 15-14 overall record and a 6-13 record in conference games. However, what made this season different for Nebraska is Rhule’s approach in recruiting and the effective use of the transfer portal. As the program officially enters the bye week, an ex-Nebraska head coach gave his take on where Nebraska football, and shared his feelings on Dylan Raiola.

On the September 23 episode of Carriker Chronicles, former Huskers HC Tom Osborne joined Adam Carriker virtually, addressing Matt Rhule’s third year tenure with caution. He believes that Rhule’s tenure is optimistic, with fairly steady improvement. However, he feels that “the landscape is very difficult right now. Because you don’t know for sure who’s going to be in the back next year.” He alerted the coach, “If you lose the right four or five players, and you don’t replace them with players of equal talent, you can see teams really getting a lot worse.”

Osborne reiterated the CFB truth: “The transfer portal is brutal.” He also acknowledged the inequity among programs, referencing teams like Oregon, with Phil Knight and Dan Lanning going out and spending huge amounts of money on NIL. Certainly, Ohio State would rank up there pretty high. However, in the case of a lesser program with low financial stability, it becomes difficult to afford.

He then compared CFB transfers with the NFL, saying that the NFL looks way more progressive. “They pay players, but they have contracts. And they can’t have a player just taking off and leaving you without somebody paying for that contract. Either the player himself or the other team.” He says that every team has a salary cap, and it cannot be spent more than that, which he believes removes some of the inequity in college athletics right now. Based on the uncertainty in the roster, he feels that it is difficult to coach right now.

Tom Osborne’s thoughts on Dylan Raiola

Tom Osborne was asked about the most talked-about player of Nebraska, Dylan Raiola. Adam Carriker asked Osborne about the varying opinions on Dylan Raiola’s play. Some acknowledge his improvement, whereas others feel that he needs to work on getting rid of the ball. To which Osborne said that Dylan has improved in terms of body mass by losing some weight. “He’s not a sprinter. I think, in the passing game, it really helps.” He added that, being a quarterback, one can at least move around and avoid the rush. He thinks that he has probably improved; however, he was asked to work more on it.

As Osborne said, Raiola’s passing game looks solid, completing 102 of 135 passes for 1,137 yards for 11 TDs in the first four games. On the flip side, his rushing game is not as good as his passing game, losing 30 yards in total, after adjustments, and has no touchdowns. In the last game against Michigan, he lost -49 yards, which is more expensive. What are your thoughts on Nebraska’s season so far? Share with us in the comment section below.

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