They say when you shoot for the stars, you might land on the moon. That’s exactly what happened with Nebraska Cornhuskers QB Dylan Raiola. While even before the season kicked off, Matt Rhule’s star QB tried every possible way to be like Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, the dream is yet to come true. But not to worry Huskers fans! Your fav QB found himself in the same line alongside two other legends, Caleb Williams and Trevor Lawrence. However, the fans will accept nothing but Raiola being the next Mahomes as more Raiola-Mahomes comparisons hit the internet. 

Before the 2024 season kicked off, all eyes were on Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders. But after just one game, Dylan Raiola stole the spotlight. He got the last laugh on September 7, leaving the Buffs still recovering from that loss. Riding the momentum, Raiola then led his team to a commanding 34-3 victory over Northern Iowa last weekend.

Fast forward to September 20 at Memorial Stadium, and the Raiola craze was undeniable as they faced Illinois. Even analyst Clint Brewster couldn’t hold back his praise, saying, “Trevor Lawrence and Caleb Williams are probably the only two other true frosh QBs I’ve ever seen with the same level of comfort in the passing game as Dylan Raiola.”

Fans are yet to be done obsessing over his passing talent that snatched the ground under Shedeur’s feet with the Nebraska QB completing 23-of-30 passes for 185 yards against the Buffs. But they better buckle up since the September 20 face-off between Nebraska and Illinois has been equally enticing to witness Raiola’s power. 

Against Luke Altmyer and Co., the Huskers QB completed 16 of 23 passes for 156 yards and came up with 2 passing touchdowns. This was enough for Raiola to be compared to Jacksonville Jaguars QB Lawrence who completed 20 of 32 passing yards and Chicago Bears star Williams who came up with 21 passing touchdowns in his freshman year. Are the fans satisfied? Oops! Definitely not!

Dylan Raiola steals the show despite defeat

Raiola had put his everything in carefully crafting an image of himself as the ultimate Mahomes clone. During the pre-season Nebraska camp, the Huskers QB gave everyone present there a mini heart attack, leaving them wondering ‘What’s Mahomes doing here?’ Only to realize it was not the three-time Super Bowl winner but their fav QB instead channeling the iconic Mahomes look with broccoli hair and Oakley glasses.

Not just the look, Rhule’s QB ensures to hype up the crowd before the game began just like the Mahomes way. A video went viral where Raiola was running towards the full-packed stands raising his hands in the air trying to rev up their excitement. On September 20, donning the No.15 jersey he pulled out the pre-game rituals that’s the Chiefs routine. And fans went all gaga over the Raiola craze. One of them took to X and wrote, “Dylan Raiola side arm throws” after the QB did his best Mahomes impression in the first half. 

Even though the Cornhuskers had a soul-crushing defeat, their QB ensured that the fans went home with something good. It was the dot that Dylan Raiola threw to WR Isaiah Neyor while off-balance for an 11-yard touchdown during the closing minute of the first quarter. Indeed, a very ‘Mahomesian’ pass. 

Reading about the Raiola-Mahomes connection if you feel like diving into what the NFL season holds for players, you can take a look at the Think Tank podcast with Doug Sanders.