Bitter Déjà vu for the Huskers! The beauty of football is it never treats you the same. Just a week back, Nebraska football seemed high octane following a statement 44-25 victory over Wisconsin. But a lack of focus on the recurring mistakes brought their misfortune back in the week against Iowa State as they took a humble pie from Matt Campbell and the team in the form of a 13-10 loss. When we say misfortune, we didn’t just mean for this season. What the Huskers have faced against the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium in a November’s Saturday is a familiar distress. They kept repeating the pattern for the second straight year against their arch rivals.

Matt Rhule has been a prodigy in turning the fate of wherever he goes. The stance speaks for itself when the Huskers broke the eight-year-postseason-drought last week. But it was not a cakewalk. When Nebraska received back-to-back blows in four straight games after a massive 5-1 start to the season, fans cast their age-old doubt: Will they miss out another year of bowl game?

But Rhule gave the answer rightway. Little did he know the thunderstorm the Hawkeyes had for them in store. The celebration suddenly took a back seat and Dylan Raiola has no definite answer for the highly touted bowl game plane. ‘‘I got two days off and then kind of figure out from there, you know, I am not really sure what’s going to happen next what bowl we’re going to or you know what’s going on, we will figure that out.”, the freshman QB dropped an aloof call in a post game interview with Inside Nebraska. 

You might have spent all the season dogging on a 19-year-old Nebraska sensation, but he miserably came up short against the Hawkeyes. The loss is largely collective, but a coach’s disorganised approach or cleaning up several turnovers can’t cover up the deathblow.

With just 16 seconds left in the clock, Dylan Raiola was stripped and sacked by Max Llewellyn, making room for Drew Stevens to post a game-winning field goal. End of a big night for the Huskers! End of Rhule’s boundless expectation from the star freshman of the season.

Matt Rhule set the bar higher for Dylan Raiola only to catch blow

Just before the Huskers laced up their shoes to appear and nail the Hero’s trophy game, Matt Rhule shared what he wants from arguably the biggest weapon in his squad. No doubt, Raiola lived up to a lofty freshman season. But he had his toughest test to play in the chaotic Kinnick Stadium atmosphere last week. The coach saw him walking out with some heavier stats under the belt, but destiny had some other plans.

”He’s one of the best players in the country. He’s come a long, long way. This is a great crowd. Congratulations to Iowa. Great crowd, great environment. This is Big Ten football,” Rhule said in the pre game post conference. While the fans scratched their heads, thinking how the kid would fare into a big Black Friday game, Rhule reminded Raiola’s primary motivation to join Nebraska in the first place. He is here for the hard deal.

”But this is why he came to Nebraska—play in games like this. Just want him to go out there and trust his teammates, trust the play call and just be himself.’‘, Rhule hyped up his favorite boy.

With a lower than average game, Raiola’s spirit slowly dwindled. Will he be able to get his swagger back after a strong gut punch? The question remains unanswered for now.