Sporting a different look than Patrick Mahomes has ever donned publicly, Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola said he’s ready to step onto the same field as the guy he’s most often compared to.
“It’ll be different,” Raiola said at Monday’s media availability. “Normally, I’m going down there to have a good time, watch some good ball. This is a little different mission to go down there and win a football game.
“Obviously, my mindset will be different. The guys will be juiced up and ready to go on both sides of the ball.”
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As for advice from the Chiefs quarterback, Raiola asked if he needed to wear specific cleats for the grass playing surface at Arrowhead Stadium.
“He said no,”, Raiola said. “He said it’s in perfect shape.”
Over the weekend, Raiola was announced as one of Nebraska’s six captains. A sophomore, he’s the only one with that designation who isn’t a senior this season.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be able to represent this football team,” Raiola said. “And represent, honestly, not even the guys here right now, but everyone that came before us: every single person
that’s walked through these doors, names up in the stadium, championships that have been won.
“To be able to have a C on my jersey, it’s a lot more than just the patch; it’s more of the blood, sweat, and tears that I have with these guys, and just them being able to respond to me trying to lead them and all the guys that deserve captain honors.”
A special moment for our Team Captains ✍🏼 pic.twitter.com/fNPoZu5CqT
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) August 23, 2025
This is the first year under Rhule that captains have been selected for the entire season. Raiola is joined by Marques Buford, Henry Lutovsky, DeShon Singleton, Ceyair Wright, and Dane Key. Raiola said they brought up the idea of making the change to Rhule.
“I think when you show coach Rhule that you can handle things like this, he’s going to be open to it and do it,” Raiola said. “I think it was pretty cool when he said yes to it. Me and a couple other guys went up to him and asked about it and he approved it.”
As far as Cincinnati, Raiola said he has “tremendous respect” for the Bearcats.
“I think they’re going to play a really hard football game,” Raiola said. “We’ll have to come with our A game.”
Raiola said the defense, especially, is ready to get to the game.
“I know our defense is ready to hit a quarterback,” Raiola said. “But we’re excited to put drives together and get the results of all the offseason work that we put in.”
Raiola said he’s more comfortable with how the offense is being run, now that he’s had a full offseason with new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen.
“We put a lot of reps in and we’ve done a lot of work,” Raiola said. “Now it’s time to go out there and show people what we’ve been preparing for.”
Nebraska Football 2025 Schedule
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