Big Ten Analyst Jake Butt On Why 2026 And 2027 Are Important For Matt Rhule And Nebraska

On this week's I-80 Football Show, former Michigan Wolverine and current Big Ten Network analyst Jake Butt joined Josh Peterson for a discussion surrounding the Michigan coaching search, the College Football Playoff, and Nebraska football.

Below is a lightly edited transcript of the Q&A as it relates to Nebraska.

Josh: I wanted to ask you about the news of the week around here: Dylan Raiola. Are you surprised? I certainly was not surprised by this news. You had a chance to call the Maryland game. I remember we had you on my radio show the week of that. And that was such an interesting encapsulation, I guess, of his career; very up and down day. Four touchdowns, three picks. So, he kind of puts them in the position where they're trailing, and also pulls them out of it with some real clutch plays late in the game.

I guess just kind of general reaction to this news out of Lincoln that his career is done here.

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola throws to wide receiver Dane Key during the Huskers' 2025 game against Northwestern. — Dylan Raiola's time in Lincoln has come to an end. How good of a QB is he? Jake Butt still doesn't know if we have the answer to that question. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Jake: Was it rumored or what was the rumors going around in Lincoln? I know they fired his uncle, the offensive line coach. That was part of it, I assume.

Josh: Yep, so his brother de-committed a few weeks ago and didn't end up signing with anybody. So that was like one of the first big [things]. I've described it as the canary in the coal mine. I had been hearing for about a month that this was very much on the table. So this certainly seemed like it was in the cards.

Jake: Well, he'd been doing this since high school as well like playing, you know, how many different high schools. That's kind of the issue and the concern. You know, this is the downside of the current college football landscape. I really feel like when Matt Rhule got Dylan; sure, he was a talent and a five-star, but it was like a signing off that Nebraska's here and ready to take that step and committed to winning.

And I think as a head coach, I use [Curt] Cignetti as a great example; he has earned the trust of every quarterback that's going to put their name in the portal because he has said, “if you come play for me, you are going to compete for championships and you are going to compete for conference MVPs and Heisman's.” Check the box.

With Dylan, now there's an opportunity to do negative recruiting against Nebraska because the next opponents can say, “Hey, Dylan was a five-star and didn't reach his potential at Nebraska.” So I think that's the unfortunate side here, is I really was hopeful and looking forward. And we saw flashes of it and that was really exciting. When Dylan was on in Nebraska was winning, you could feel the Huskers approaching the place where we could say “they're back.”

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola hollers out to teammates after the Huskers took a 20-10 lead against Cincinnati. — Losing Dylan Raiola isn't just a loss of talent, says Jake Butt. "It's a loss of that momentum you built by getting him in the first place." | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

But now him leaving, it’s not just like a loss of talent. It's a loss of that momentum built by getting him in the first place. [TJ] Lateef looked good, though. A lot of great stuff to build off of there. You had to make a move at the offensive line. Nebraska has to upgrade the trenches and then that unit has to be better. So, you know what the hope would be is it is a net positive for the program and you know you wish Dylan the best going forward.

He’s been a great kid to talk with. I like him. Really committed; loves the sport. I wish him the best. I personally just was selfishly hoping that it was going to work at Nebraska because I just wanted to see that work for just college football in general.

Josh: How good of a quarterback do you think he is? Like his strengths and his weaknesses, when you watch him in person? What do you see?

Jake: I don't know. I don't know how good of a quarterback he is. You know I think system and setting and coaching really matter. You know, Dante Moore is a great example of this. Think about the articles being written and what was being said about him. He was in a dysfunctional system there at UCLA. All of a sudden you get into an Oregon system that has stability. They have weapons. They have a dominant offensive line. He's being coached well. He's learning the mental side of the game and he doesn't have to press to try to do things. It looks like a completely different quarterback. [Fernando] Mendoza looks like a completely different quarterback going to Indiana.

I think you clearly see flashes with Dylan. I think he far too often pressed and tried to make heroic plays, and that led to some backbreaking mistakes. But I think he had to a lot of the time, because I don't think Nebraska was good enough to just beat some of the bigger name opponents toe to toe over 60 minutes.

So, it's hard for me to say how good of a quarterback he would be without seeing him in an elite system. I can't say he is or he isn't yet. I just think he was making far too many mistakes, some of which are a product of the team around him wasn't ready to win at a high level yet either.

Josh: The program not reaching the kind of lofty hopes or goals, I guess, of year three of Matt Rhule; does that give you a sense of pause on where things are going with Nebraska football moving forward?

Jake: No. These things take time still, regardless of what social media wants you to believe. These things do take time. Cignetti is an anomaly; it's never going to be repeated again.

Head coach Matt Rhule during Nebraska's 2025 game against Iowa. — The next two years are "really important for Matt Rhule," says Big Ten Network analyst Jake Butt. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

But I do think this next year or two is really, really important for Matt Rhule. I mean, he's improved things. Like, look at the special teams; clear, clear improvement. You know, that is a microcosm of the team as a whole. Losing Tony White and then losing Nash [Hutmacher] and Ty [Robinson] and some of those defensive line pieces this year; that reared its ugly head.

Losing what they lost on the defensive line of scrimmage, that really, really hurt. So you gotta fix that. And then the trench play, of course, the offensive line was nowhere near up to par. I think those would be my priority if I'm Matt Rhule. You’ve addressed the special teams; they've taken major strides. Now you need to address the trenches and all of a sudden, I think whoever it is that's playing quarterback will suddenly look better because the team will be able to control games better at the line of scrimmage.

For more from Jake, including thoughts on the Michigan coaching search, a preview of all three Big Ten playoff teams, and more, watch the interview below!

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