Coming off the worst performance of his career, Dylan Raiola doesn’t have any time to be somber after a 17-15 loss to UCLA in his first start as an Oregon Duck.
Raiola, who was benched in the defeat and completed just six of his 19 pass attempts with two interceptions, will compete throughout the week during practice to potentially start against his former team, Nebraska, Saturday, Oct. 17 at Autzen Stadium.
“Coach (Matt) Rhule gave me a chance my first two years of college,” Raiola said. “Nothing but love and respect for him … that entire staff. For two years, that was my home. I truly feel like that — I still have relationships on the team.
“Next week, all that matters is winning. It’s gonna be weird, seeing that team across, like I’m not on the team across from them. But, we’ve got to prepare … we expect their best.”
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Dylan Raiola’s two-year tenure in Nebraska: What to know
One of the top-ranked quarterbacks in the 2024 class, Raiola opted to follow his father’s footsteps and signed with Nebraska out of high school after a heavily scrutinized recruiting process that saw several flips from different schools.
Raiola entered Lincoln as the third-highest-rated prospect Nebraska had ever signed. His father, Dominic, was a former Rimington award-winning center for the Cornhuskers and his uncle, Donovan, recruited him as Nebraska’s offensive line coach.
The Hawaii-born QB started 13 games in his freshman season at Nebraska and had a rocky season, throwing 13 touchdowns but also 11 interceptions with a 7-6 record. Last year brought statistical improvement, with 18 touchdowns and just six interceptions before an injury forced him to miss the rest of the season, but an identical 7-6 record.
Raiola’s uncle was fired as Nebraska’s offensive line coach that December and Raiola decided it was time to leave Nebraska. Shortly after, he committed to Oregon.
Why did Dylan Raiola transfer to Oregon?
Raiola announced his intent to transfer to Oregon before Dante Moore decided to forgo a chance the 2026 NFL Draft and return to Eugene for his senior season. Knowing this, Raiola took a backseat to Moore and was willing to wait a season before competing for the full-time job in 2027.
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take a couple of practices to kind of get used to it,” Raiola said in April. “But at the same time, it’s all learning. It’s all eventually trying to achieve the goal of mine and obviously of Dante’s right now. That’s our whole room’s goal is to get Dante to where he wants to go. (He’s) a great person to learn from.”
Raiola cited development and Oregon’s track record of success with quarterbacks as a reason for his transfer.
Will Dylan Raiola start for Oregon against Nebraska?
With Moore nursing a concussion, Dylan Raiola earned his first start at Oregon against UCLA. He completed just six of his 19 passes for 43 yards and threw two interceptions before being benched in the second half.
With Moore’s status uncertain, Lanning wouldn’t say for sure whether Raiola would get the start against Nebraska or if the Ducks would turn to Brock Thomas, who relieved Raiola and nearly led a comeback.
Raiola has completed 65% of his passes for 456 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in three games played this season. He threw for nearly 300 yards and two scores in a road win against USC in late September.
“This game means a lot,” Lanning said of Raiola. “It’s going to be an emotional game for Dylan, being a place that he came from, he’s going to do everything he can to make sure that our team’s in the best situation to have success this week and be prepared and play as well as we possibly can. I know he’ll do that because he’s a pro.”
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football and women’s basketball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Dylan Raiola faces former team Nebraska after rough Oregon debut