The chaos of the college football offseason creates some massive storylines, some of which come to fruition while others drift away into the back of everyone's minds. When Dylan Raiola left Nebraska after a tenure that had so many highs and lows to transfer to Oregon, everyone assumed that he wouldn't be the quarterback for the Ducks when the Huskers came to town.
When Dante Moore was knocked out of the USC game with a concussion and Raiola saved the day, it first became a possibility, but one hurdle stood in the way. The UCLA Bruins shut Raiola down to the point he was benched for former walk-on Brock Thomas. When Brock Thomas was named the starter for the Nebraska game, it seemed like Nebraska got the last laugh in the saga of their former quarterback.
Dylan Raiola turned Superman to twist the dagger in the hearts of Nebraska fans
As Brock Thomas struggled the entire night, and as the Oregon fans chanted "We want Dylan" everyone had their eyes on the quarterback every Nebraska fan hoped would be the program savior. When Dan Lanning finally made the move to put in Raiola, he had the chance to silence every criticism and joke at his expense.
After the Oregon offense looked lifeless for 3 quarters, the Ducks instantly found life when Raiola took the field, as everyone seemingly wanted to win for him. Once the momentum started to shift in Oregon's favor, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before the Ducks stole the game away from a cursed program.
The first drive for Raiola was a 17 play drive eating up 69 yards ending in a field goal to cut the deficit to 5. The defense did its part, forcing a 3-and-out, setting the stage for Raiola, but it was far from an easy drive. It took the Ducks 20 plays to travel 82 yards, with Oregon finding itself with a 4th down several times, yet the team and quarterback never blinked.
The final play by Dylan Raiola was exactly why everyone thought he could save Nebraska, as he evaded the pass rush, stepped up in the pocket, and delivered a strike to Jamari Johnson in the back of the endzone.
Jamari Johnson FTW pic.twitter.com/YMkGarwurg
— Logan Brown (@LoganABrown) October 18, 2026
This offseason, a lot was made of Dylan Raiola stating that he had better teammates at Oregon, and while Nebraska fans blasted the comment, Saturday Night proved it was true. The Ducks' defense was stellar the entire night, giving Raiola the chance to come save the day. On the final drive, 5-star recruits and future 1st round picks stepped up to make life easier on Raiola.
Nebraska fans can argue that Raiola left for more money or that he didn't want to compete for the job, but at the end of the day, he outplayed his replacement. Anthony Colandrea had all night to win the game Raiola couldn't at Nebraska, and when the former Husker finally got the chance he reminded them that he still has the talent to win big with the right pieces around him.
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