For once, we are gonna look past this 6-5 season. Let’s be real. Matt Rhule put way too much on Dylan Raiola‘s plate. He was a true freshman starting for the Huskers, so naturally, the expectations were high. And well, early into the 2024 run, Dylan Raiola did impress. He was going to head to head against massive defensive lines and throwing in curveballs to bring in touchdowns for the Cornhuskers. All great and all, but when the downfall started, it was hard to watch. Dylan Raiola quickly went from one of the best starting quarterbacks people had seen this year to just a random guy who was too scared to throw the football.

But hey, at least Rhule and Co. secured that Bowl game, the first since 2016. So it amounts to something, right? While Raiola failed to grab the playoff season for the Cornhuskers, he sure did make quite the noise as the team’s QB1. And if we are to pick someone who stood hand-in-hand with Raiola, running back Emmett Johnson’s name would come up prominently. Take, for instance, Nebraska’s big win (40-7) against the UTEP on August 31.

Johnson had the most productive rushing day amongst the running backs for the Big Red in the season-opener, toting the ball eight times for 71 yards. Johnson’s bulk of his 71 yards came on a second-quarter carry for 42 yards, sprinting through the Miner defense before being brought down inside the five-yard line. After the game, Johnson had all praise for Raiola.

He said, “Dylan reconstructed the whole play. He’s seen what their defense was in. He checked out of it, checked back to it, then checked back to it again. He switched up the play three times.” He even said that Raiola plays years ahead of his age. “It gives the offense a lot of confidence because Dylan is a freshman but he is mature. (He) approaches everything like a pro. It’s great to have somebody like that in the backfield with me,” he added. But as Johnson enters the transfer portal, such tales are set to end and Raiola already seems to miss that.

Back on his Instagram story, Raiola shared the latest post by Huskers RB Emmett Johnson. “My brudda,” Raiola wrote with a heartbroken emoji. Johnson still has two years of eligibility remaining. Johnson arrived in Lincoln before the final season under Scott Frost. After redshirting that season, he played in all 12 games in 2023, including six starts. His redshirt freshman campaign saw him take 90 carries for 411 yards and two touchdowns. Yeah, some Huskers fans might say that he could’ve done more, but he did enough. See these.

This fall, Johnson played in every game and made four starts. He had 102 carries for 523 yards, adding 35 catches for 262 yards and a touchdown. Those receptions are the most by a Husker running back since the 2007 season. Johnson shined down the stretch when Nebraska made the change to Dana Holgorsen as the offensive coordinator. Over the first nine games, Johnson averaged 6.4 carries and 31.6 yards per game. Over the final three games, he averaged 14.7 carries and 79.7 yards per game.

Rhule and Co. didn’t have the best season this year, and that is alright. Most of the issues can be chalked down to the fact that Raiola was taking over too much pressure. That, added with the entire injury theory, does add to the narrative that Rhule should’ve sidelined the QB for a few games and let him recover.

Regardless, goodbyes ain’t forever. While Raiola is going to lose his trusty running back, he will still have the rest of the offense. However, a question that still probably lingers in the minds of many Nebraska followers is whether Dylan Raiola himself is going to stick with Nebraska in the 2025 season or not.

Matt Rhule will lose his starting QB?

Now, why do we say there is a chance Raiola will take a walk? Back in November, the hosts over at 937 The Ticket had pointed out an interesting fact. “If we just make it to a bowl, he gonna feel proud and he out,” they had mentioned.

If, say, Nebraska had 9 wins this season. Maybe that would’ve been enough to keep Raiola on the team, but with a 5 loss year? There is a chance Raiola is going to take the easy way out and start new. What makes this entire theory even more strong is the post Raiola shared on his Instagram account back on December 3rd.

“Patience…stay on that side,” was written in the caption. Now, this could mean a million things. Maybe the young QB is thinking about the things he can do differently in the next season. Or maybe he is just reminiscing about the entire year?

Regardless of what it is, this post did manage to send the fans into a frenzy, asking for the Patrick Mahomes lookalike not to leave the Cornhuskers. Indeed, Rhule has to go out of his way to keep Raiola in Nebraska. Along with bringing Dana Holgersen on full-time as the offensive coordinator, Rhule flipping Cortez Mills, a four-star wide receiver who was previously committed to Oklahoma, is a step in the right direction. This gives Raiola one more weapon to potentially go to next year.

In all honestly, leaving the team looks to make a lot of sense. Moving on would give the QB a better shot at understanding the game and the pressure and working towards becoming the second Mahomes.