3 takeaways as Dylan Raiola shines in Nebraska football win over UTEP

The Dylan Raiola era started with a bang on Saturday as the former five-star quarterback threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-7 win for the Huskers.

Raiola was 19-of-27 or 238 yards. He didn’t throw an interception and wasn’t really close. The decisions were solid and so were the throws.

Nebraska football faced a 2nd-and-30 on the first drive. Raiola lofted a beautiful 19-yard pass to help convert and a few plays later, Nebraska football was in the end zone on a Dante Dowdell touchdown run.

The offense had a couple of drives stall — one on a turnover on downs and another on a fumble inside the 10-yard line. After a safety by the defense, Raiola threw touchdown passes to Isaiah Neyor and Jahmal Banks to close out the first half, giving Nebraska a 30-7 lead.

Raiola is going to be very fun at Nebraska
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— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) August 31, 2024

WHAT A CATCH 😱 @HuskerFootball #B1GFootball on @CFBONFOX 📺 pic.twitter.com/r7r6AcBsLF

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 31, 2024

Gabe Ervin scored two touchdowns, the second of which put Nebraska in front 37-7. The defense allowed one long touchdown but held UTEP to just over 200 yards of total offense and just 56 on the ground.

It was a dominant performance in all three phases of the game and here are three takeaways.

Dylan Raiola lived up to the hype

Dylan Raiola didn’t quite throw for 300 yards like I thought, but that’s mostly because Nebraska kicked ass and the game was over midway through the quarter.

Unlike last season, when I had an anxiety attack every time Nebraska dropped back to pass, when Raiola had the ball I was completely relaxed. Even when he didn’t complete a pass, he made the right decision.

Raiola wasn’t perfect. He missed Banks on what could have been a touchdown because he didn’t see him. But the first-time starter was in complete control. Raiola looked like a first-round pick and it’s safe to say that he certainly lived up to the hype.

Nebraska football D-line set the tone

Raiola was impressive. The defensive line of Nebraska football was too. When the game was tied 7-7 early in the second quarter and the offense just coughed up the ball, you wondered if things were going to go South, and if this was going to become a four-quarter game.

This time was different and it started with the defensive line. Nash Hutmacher, Jimari Butler, and Ty Robinson met the UTEP running back in the end zone and stoned him for a safety.

Nash drove two dudes into the backfield. Nebraska football had seven tackles for loss from six different players. The Blackshirts also forced two turnovers that were aided by a defensive line that applied constant pressure on the UTEP quarterbacks.

No clarity at running back, but none needed

Nebraska football didn’t enter the game with an RB1 and following the 33-point blowout, they still don’t have an RB1. Rahmir Johnson got the start and carried the ball 11 times for 50 yards. Dante Dowdell was solid and gained 55 yards on eight attempts, but also fumbled.

Gabe Ervin hit paydirt twice. The Buford, Georgia product also had six runs for 24 yards. Emmett Johnson might have been the best back, ripping off a 42-yard run. He had 71 yards on eight attempts.

As a team, Nebraska rushed for 223 yards and averaged 4.7 yards per attempt. The offensive line has been criticized by some but they only allowed one sack and opened up some huge holes in the season opener.

All in all, I wanted Nebraska football to play a clean game and they did that.

On to Colorado.

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