Dylan Raiola's Nebraska Debut Was INSANE!

last season the Nebraska Corn Huskers didn't have a single game in which they threw for more than 200 yards it's crazy as that sounds Dylan riola in his first game against UTEP snapped that streak and Gary it could have and in my opinion should have been over 300 with three touchdowns it's not a big deal it was a great start I think he passed the eye test he stayed healthy he drove the ball down the field he made some difficult short throws the offensive line looked better than I feel like we saw most of last year are you fully aboard the hype train yet to be completely honest and transparent I kind of have been I've been kind of buying into what I've been hearing out of camps and things like that my opinions after this game regarding him are very similar to what they were after the red and white game where yes it's just UTEP yes they're in a rebuild stage they were a really bad team last year they got a bunch of transfer people but again you can only pass or fail the test they're put in front of you we didn't have a chance to play Ohio State today we had a chance to play UTB and he didn't have a chance to play a real game in the red and white game he just had to look good in the red and white game and he keeps passing these tests as they're coming to him which might not be signs that he's going to be a Heisman candidate or a national championship quarterback or whatever the the high end of the expectations are for the dude but as these tests get put in front of him for me at least he passes them with flying colors there was Nebraska typical Nebraska things that happened you know backto back offensive line penalties that put him on a second and 30 they got out of it and actually scored on the drive he had a receiver drop a wide open or not wide open but a perfectly thrown ball that went right through his hands for a touchdown didn't matter like there there were other things that happened those are just a couple that are on the top of my mind right now this is a good almost best case scenario for him where he can be eased into things Jeff Sims didn't have that luxury last year we've had you know Scott Frost's first season where the the game got canceled because of lightning against the akan or somebody like that we were supposed to play it is what it is and they're setting up nicely for him but he's also passing the ey test for me there was a lot of different situations where maybe a less talented or less poised quarterback could have been rattled or panicky whether it was the offensive line breaking down players not being open on plays and the you have to extend the play and you might get a little Happy Feet or get a little antsy in the pocket he didn't seem to do those things he he he seems to not have a problem at all throwing a ball away doesn't care and unlike some other teams I don't think stats were the big factor for this I don't think they were worried about I know they weren't because he played one Series in the second half and then they put him on the bench which they should do he's your guy going forward he's the starting quarterback for your team when you're up big you put that guy on the bench and you let the the guys underneath get reps get repetitions get comfortable get looks whatever you want to call it and you keep him out of Harm's Way and I think everything that you could ask from that game from the perspective of of riola looking at it worked out perfectly I mean do some dimes he had a couple times his receivers let him down he he missed a couple times we saw namely the one if he would have lobbed it over the top to Banks as a touchdown but that's going to happen as you're going through Growing Pains as a Young quarterback that's going to happen to season vets that maybe you don't get to go through all your reads and look deep like it's just it is what it is but the noticeable difference for me for the team overall but obviously led by riola was when something negative or not great happened that was it he moved on from it it wasn't the beginning of a domino effect that made things go from bad to worse and that's the most I could ask for they looked good against the team they were supposed to look good against he looked good in pretty much all situations I don't think he there was a couple balls he threw where I'm like man that's risky but you're going to get that with any quarterback his talents aren't just what you see on the field you know I mean I feel like at at that young age he has really high leadership skills he has a really high football IQ like there's just a lot going on there that I don't think is always going to be measured be it stats or just watching game film I couldn't be happier to be honest with you with with where everything's at right now with most of the Season left and all of the the conference play actually we both keep cautioning this was just utap we want to keep that clear but going into Colorado we we won't break them down too much because we're going to have to do a whole preview on that but you've seen Colorado play a full game you've seen Nebraska play a full game what does your gut tell you riola will look like against Colorado's defense specifically I know I'm the wet blanket guy but my honest opinion is isn't trying to play one way or the other I think Colorado's incredibly overrated I know they're incredibly overhyped I think that Rola will look better against Colorado than it against UTEP I think he'll be similar in stats and Poise and things like that but I think situational In Like A playto playay or a series to series scenario he's going to do things that make you go oh this is why he was rated as high as he was you know better than anybody man I was very cautious on the riola hype because how many times have we heard a big guy coming in a big recruit or whatever coming in and then when things get real and they're in a system and and it it goes deeper than just Rola right it's Matt Rule and his coaching staff and the system and the culture and everything they've implemented tied in with that high of a caliber of player tied in with that good of a receiving room and you know a pretty crowded I wouldn't say star but very good running back room right so everything's starting to line up to where Nebraska has no excuse not to get back to where they should have been and where they've been before in the past I'm not saying this year I'm calling shots that they're going to be in a in a in the playoff I'm not saying it's out of the realm of possibility but I'm not I'm not that drastic on it but it's like this is what I hope to see in year two of the frost era when I think back to frost and Martinez I these were the expectations I had you know and it didn't live up to it but now again with what tests have been put in front of them I mean as a pretty you know some call some say skeptical I say just realistic I don't have much to complain about or you know ask for more or whatever else like it just looks you take it at face value it's like yeah the is legit the system's coming around the system's going to work the culture is being implemented and you know the the more as things progress I think it's going to be tough for these I I don't want to keep harping or sound like a hater on Colorado but it it's a hype train and like things like that aren't going to aren't going to Nebraska's not going to be in their own way if that makes sense that like that's how I look at it when a team isn't in their own way then you can compare Talent on both sides right collectively across the board and I I'm finally getting a little bit of assurance or reassurance or whatever that Nebraska's not going to be in their own way yeah the Huskers have been in their own way for a long time tell us what you guys think about rola's first start against UTEP how do you think he'll do against Colorado