Dylan Raiola arrived in Nebraska during fall camp looking like Patrick Mahomes! He made an immediate impact through the first five games with a lone loss to No. 24 Illinois. During this time, the 19-year-old not only lived up to his hype on the field but also found a treasure in Nebraska in the form of the Husker Nation. 

Nebraska is famous for their huge and wild fan base which is one of the biggest in the nation. As his team gets ready for a clash with Rutgers, Dylan Raiola has a request for Husker Nation. Uploading a picture of himself in Huskers uniform on his Instagram stories on October 5, the highly-rated freshman wrote, “Husker Nation!! Meet us in Memorial!!! Be EARLY be LOUD!! Best fans in the country!!!”

Previously, Dylan Raiola gave a shout out to Husker Nation during his attendance at the Nebraska vs Stanford women’s volleyball game. Filming the fans in red filling up Memorial Stadium with their cheers, he wrote, “They never fail! Husker Nation is the best!” And he isn’t the only one who got swept off of his feet by the loyalty of Nebraska fans. Even HC Matt Rhule couldn’t remain silent on Husker Nation as he said, “That loyalty, that passion, as I’ve said since Day 1, we feel humbled by, and we have to make sure we do our jobs.”

It’s not surprising Nebraska has landed more than 400 consecutive sold-out games since 1962. Their heartbreaking 31-24 OT loss to Illinois marked their 400th sold-out game. But it also exposed their lack of dominance as they failed to win against a ranked team in eight years since the last win against No. 2 Oregon in 2016. Their upcoming game isn’t going to be a walk in the park and maybe Dylan Raiola and his team needs all the support they can get from Husker Nation. 

Dylan Raiola and the Huskers get ready for Rutgers

Dylan Raiola knows this is not the time to be complacent about anything despite winning their last game against Purdue with 28-10. Matt Rhule wasn’t pleased with the way the game progressed. The Huskers offense had been slacking since their Illinois loss which was quite apparent in how they only upped their game in the second half. 

Rutgers may not be ranked like Illinois nor do they hang at the bottom of the chain with a 1-3 record like Purdue. But they’re an undefeated team with four wins, coming off of a fresh 21-18 win against Washington. The Scarlet Knights’ offense ranks No. 12 in the nation with Kirk Ciarrocca as the OC and Athan Kaliakmanis as their star QB. Despite entering the game as a 7-point favorite to win, Dylan Raiola and the Huskers will need to put on a steady show because this game is looking like a challenge. 

While we’re waiting for the kickoff, you can get yourself engrossed in this exclusive Think Tank interview with Doug Sanders.