Cornhuskers are gonna come for the neck, but is QB Dylan Raiola ready to face off against the Buffs? We all know Matt Rhule and Deion Sanders’ rivalry goes way back. Last year, the Buffs came out of nowhere and thrashed Rhule and his team with a 36-14 win. That season Rhule had QB Jeff Sims starting for the team and that dude couldn’t do anything despite Deion having a pretty underwhelming offense and defense. This time around, while we did see the Cornhuskers shine during their season opener against the Miners, you still gotta keep in mind that Deion and his boys are on a different level.

And that is why on September 4th, On3 makes it clear how high the stakes are. “Can Dylan Riola in a major moment—now his second start ever in college football as a true freshman—can he just play clean, okay?” the host mentioned. During the Buff’s debut against NDSU, a few flaws came to light. Deion’s offense was seen struggling a bit, and the defense had a hard time locking the rushers down. However, Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and Jimmy Horn Jr. were in a different league. Shedeur locked in 4 TDs and also managed to accuracy throw a 69-yard pass despite getting swarmed by defenders. Horn showed incredible accuracy when he caught that pass and made a touchdown. And for Travis? Do we need to talk about how easily he managed to dodge everything and run with the ball? While Raiola had his moment to shine against the Miners, we still gotta keep in mind that UTEP, comparatively, is still a lesser competition than the Buffs.

On3 pointed out the biggest thing Raiola has to keep in mind. If he manages to turn it over and gives Deion’s offense even a slim chance, then the Cornhuskers are screwed. “If he has some turnovers, now you don’t want to give extra shots to a Colorado offense that has proven now they’re extremely potent,” On3 mentioned. Shedeur or Travis will 100% take the shot and rush in and Rhule and his team won’t be able to do anything. We saw how good Jordan Seaton and Tyler Brown managed to protect Shedeur in the pocket and they will run the same thing again. However, Raiola and Rhule might have one shot at winning the game on Saturday if Deion’s team fails to focus on something Matt McChesney had pointed out.

Dylan Raiola’s one shot to win it all

Back on Zero 2 Sixty on September 3rd, McChesney focused on how the O-line of the Buffs was not stepping up their game. The main concern was that despite Shedeur and Hunter giving it their 100%, the rest of the offensive linemen just weren’t there mentally and physically. Deion Sanders even echoed this same feeling during the post-game conference. “You ever feel like you won, but you didn’t win?” Coach Prime had noted.

Deion made it clear that he was disappointed that his team’s defense and offense allowed the Bisons to score on each of their 4 possessions. However, the good thing is that he has the time to rectify it. We are sure that Coach Prime will make sure the Buffs do not repeat the same mistakes that they made during the season opener. The question now is if Matt Rhule is ready to face off against it.