Dylan Raiola is the ultimate X-factor for Nebraska football in 2025

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Dylan Raiola is the most important player on the Nebraska football team this season.

The Huskers’ success will depend on his success. If Raiola takes a big leap in the 2025 season, so will Nebraska. If he doesn’t, they won’t.

It’s really that simple. He’s the engine that drives the offense. The Huskers did surround him with some better parts, both at wide receiver, where Nebraska upgraded in a major way, in addition to adding some key pieces on the offensive line.

With one of the best play-callers in college football, Dana Holgorsen, there are no excuses. Raiola has everything he needs to succeed. Nebraska football even gets to avoid playing Ohio State, Illinois, and Oregon this season.

The schedule isn’t filled with cupcakes. USC and UCLA will each be difficult in their own right. Michigan and Penn State won’t be a cake walk, and neither will the opener against Cincinnati, although if it is, that will tell us something about this team right then and there.

Yet, there is considerable discussion about whether Nebraska will take a significant leap in its third year under Matt Rhule, as both Temple and Baylor did. Rhule won 21 games combined in his third season there, taking the Bears to the Sugar Bowl and the Big 12 title game.

The key to doing that in 2025 with Nebraska is Dylan Raiola. In a recent podcast, Raiola was called the “biggest wildcard in the Big Ten” by Pro Football Focus.

Raiola is the wildcard for Nebraska football

It’s not far-fetched for Raiola to be one of the Big Ten’s best quarterbacks this season. Hell, if he lives up to his immense potential, he could be the best quarterback in the conference.

A Second or Third-Team All-Big Ten selection would be a big step forward, but the sky is the limit for Raiola. Now that he’s got the pieces around him, you wonder if he’ll take off in 2025.

Raiola was solid in 2024. He threw 13 touchdown passes compared to 11 interceptions. He also completed 67.1 percent of his passes and had 2,817 yards. The yards per attempt should drastically improve this season from 6.9 to closer to eight.

There will be more yards and touchdowns. Hopefully, more winning, too. A lot more.

Raiola was thrown into the fire and led the Huskers to a bowl game. In his second season, he is the ultimate X-factor because if he’s one of the Big Ten’s best quarterbacks, Nebraska will be one of the Big Ten’s best teams.

And we all know what that means.

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