Nebraska football has problems, Dylan Raiola isn’t one of them

The word fan is short for fanatic. There’s nothing rational about it, which was exemplified by the Nebraska football fans calling for another quarterback to play last Saturday against Michigan.

I’ve gone off the rocker a few times due to fandom. It happens. During those three hours or so that we watch the Huskers, we can all get a little crazy.

But calling for TJ Lateef over Dylan Raiola takes the cake.

The people saying Matt Rhule should be fired are going too far, too. The man has improved the program. There’s no question about that. And the quarterack room is as healthy as it has been in a very long time.

Dylan Raiola is Exhibit A in that argument. Lateef might be B. Yet, there is no universe where Rhule should consider playing the latter over the former.

Dylan Raiola isn’t Nebraska’s problem

Dylan Raiola is Nebraska’s best player. He showed that once again on Saturday with a 30-for-41 performance with 308 yards and three touchdowns. Sure, there was an interception, and some red-zone woes.

But, if the Blackshirts got a stop on that final possession, who didn’t believe Raiola would have at least gotten that game to overtime, let alone win it?

Probably the people calling for the true freshman to play, because he made some nice throws and runs against Akron and Houston Christian.

Don’t get me wrong, the kid has a bright future. He should be the next starting quarterback for Nebraska football. But that’s not today. Not this year or even next.

This is Dylan Raiola’s time. It’s his team, and the Huskers will go as he goes, assuming the offensive line and the defense can avoid getting manhandled as they did Saturday.

Raiola should be enough to beat most of the teams on the schedule. He’s talented, and so is this team. It’s the USCs, the Penn State’s, and the Michigan’s we don’t know about. Even Iowa.

We got our first answer on Saturday. Raiola also put up 27 points (should have been 30 or more) despite getting pressured 33 times on 41 pass attempts and being sacked seven times. He also didn’t have much of a running game (43 yards).

Yet, against a top-tier defense, with at least three NFL draft picks on the D-line, Raiola hung in there and delivered strike after strike. He wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t his best game, but the Huskers didn’t lose because of him. Heck, they only had a chance because of him.

Nebraska has a lot of problems, Raiola isn’t one of them.

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