Did a Late Husker INT Help NU Land a Prized Recruit?
As of October 28th, Nebraska had a 5-3 record including a 31-14 win over Purdue that day. All the Huskers needed for bowl eligibility was just one more win in the final four games of the season.
Easy peasy, right?
As fate would have it, NU lost its next three games setting up a must win home game with Iowa on Black Friday. Win the dang game and the Huskers were going bowling for the first time since 2016.
Late in that game, NU looked as if it might end seven years of frustration. With under a minute to go in the game and the score tied at 10, NU got what it needed: an interception that put NU in good position for a game winning field goal. NU just had to move the chains a bit, eat some clock and end the regular season with a 13-10 win over Iowa.
But not so fast. Once again, Nebraska found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. With seconds remaining in the game, Husker QB, Chubba Purdy failed to see a Hawkeye linebacker lurking in the middle and fired a perfect strike right into his arms.
Then the Hawkeyes drove down the field en route to a walk off 13-10 win. The kick ended the Husker football season as well as any chance Nebraska had for post season play.
Of course we'll never know what would have happened had Purdy not thrown that pick, but a bowl game could have affected Dylan Raiola's decision to give Nebraska one more look before he signed on December 20th.
Had NU beaten Iowa and been invited to a bowl, all the Husker coaches would have been preparing for the Huskers' bowl opponent. Depending on which bowl they would be playing in, the Huskers could have been at the bowl site when Dylan wanted to visit Lincoln.
On Monday, December 11th, 5-star Husker QB recruit Dylan Raiola announced his plans to take a visit to Lincoln.
When Dylan's uncle and current Husker O-line assistant, Donovan (and brother of former Husker great Dominic), got wind of Dylan's interest in the Huskers, he (Donavan) quickly headed for Georgia to camp out at Dylan's home. Apparently, Donovan's role was to act as a shield to keep any and all other schools away from Dylan.
As we know, Dylan did visit Lincoln the weekend of December 16th and met with the coaches. He also took in a couple of Husker sporting events including the Husker women's basketball game that Sunday.
Not long afterward, Dylan decommitted from Georgia and committed to Nebraska. Great news and a great moment for the Husker football program.
Had Nebraska been preparing for its bowl game at that time, Donovan might not have been available to camp out in Georgia and might not have been able to reel in the young QB phenom.
Of course we'll never know, but maybe-just maybe, losing to Iowa may have been a blessing.
How Bout Them Huskers
Will and I devote most of this week's podcast talking about the Huskers' 2024 recruiting class. We also review the Big Ten Bowl lineups and salute Northwestern head coach, David Braun for the amazing football season his Wildcats had this year.
Related: Iowa Game Page
