Is There an Odd Man Out Between Dylan Raiola and TJ Lateef Ahead of the 2026 season?

On this week's I-80 LIVE, Jack Mitchell and Josh Peterson took questions from their subscribers about a variety of topics. One of them? What's going to happen with Dylan Raiola, TJ Lateef, and the 2026 QB room?

They explored the possibilities; could both return? Could both leave? And if there's going to be an odd man out, who's it going to be?

Josh: Rank these options from least likely to most likely to happen;

Dylan and TJ stay.
Dylan stays in; TJ leaves.
TJ stays in; Dylan leaves.
TJ and Dylan leave.

Jack: Oh that’s a great question. Most likely?

Josh: Let’s go the other way. Because least likely is I think the easiest.

Jack: They both leave.

Josh: They both stay. Oh, okay. I was going to say least likely to happen is that they both stay.

Jack: I think the least likely is they both leave.

Josh: Because that was going to be my next option up. I think they both leave would be.

Jack: I think both staying is more likely. I mean, I hope I'm not just being optimistic, but I think both of them leaving would be really odd. Someone would be ditching a starting quarterback job.

Josh: Yeah, you know what, Jack, you might be right, actually, on that one. So the bigger question is, is Dylan staying and TJ leaving, or Dylan leaves and TJ stays? Which one is more likely?

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola is helped off the field after suffering an injury against USC. — Dylan Raiola's 2025 season came to an end when he got injured against USC. Is it possible that was his final snap as a Cornhusker? | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Jack: That is such a good question.

Josh: I think the most likely is that Dylan stays.

Jack: Dylan stays.

Josh: And TJ leaves.

Jack: Dylan stays and TJ leaves.

Josh: Yeah. Whatever decision is made, it's going to be the wrong one, and everyone's going to be [mad].

Jack: Ask me in three weeks. I could change my mind. But honestly, Josh, there's this thing about it where it's sort of like, I just think Dylan and Rhule are so similar. And it's sort of hard to imagine Rhule without Dylan here. I think that's a hard thing for me. I just think they're both so conscious of image and PR. And I bet they get along so well, the two of them, right?

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola leads the team out of the tunnel to face USC. — Dylan Raiola and Matt Rhule are very similar, says Jack Mitchell. Could that be the thing that keeps the sophomore QB in Lincoln? | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

And by the way, I'm gonna tell you what, part of the reason there's so many [Lateef supports], Josh, is that I think there are some people who just feel like he is more – I'm not saying I feel this way, so don't go too far with it – but I think it was just some people who feel like he's just more real than Dylan Raiola is. I just think Dylan and Matt Rhule are kind of peas in a pod, man. They control everything about their perception every day.

Josh: Yeah. By the way, [a subscriber] asked me, “Has your hunch about Dylan leaving changed?” That's a good point. I have said that I think he's going to leave. So maybe I should change my answer. But part of it, Jack, is [another subscriber] said something a few minutes ago; “most likely they both leave. Things are getting too good around here right now.” That sounds about right.

I think my answer, I might be more pessimistic on it, which it's funny that the pessimistic answer for me is that the five-star stays and the other guy leaves. Maybe I'll change my tune. Maybe it will be TJ. Cause I said, Jack, if they play well the next couple of weeks, then I think it's going to make the answer actually easier for everybody involved. And maybe the cleaner decision is to go forward with TJ Lateef.

Jack: I would say listen to the podcast with Dirk [Chatelain] because he made some really good points. And while the focus is always going to be on Dylan versus Lateef, that's probably not the right question to ask. Dylan should have had a much better year. Some of that is on him, but not most of it, I would say. And so, if they're gonna keep him, they gotta figure out how to do that.

Josh: That’s the thing! People say they think that they can build it with him moving forward. Okay, then you have to do it. You have to actually do it with him moving forward.

Jack: A frustrating thing is he hasn't had a chance to play up to his potential, frequently.

Josh: And then I would also say that he also hasn't played up to his potential. So, part of it's not on him and part of it is. Dave Feit says, “Would you feel differently about the two quarterbacks if Dylan was a four-star and Lateef was a five-star?”

I understand the question, because essentially, you're baking in the expectations for each guy and Dylan had high expectations. I mean, probably, but I also would say that we have watched Dylan Raiola play 20-plus starts now. I think that's playing a big part in this, too. I think he only has one more year left in college anyway, and there's a lot of excitement for TJ Lateef.

Jack: It felt like Nebraska had to sort of, you know, mortgage everything to get [Raiola], right? You know, they had to pull out every possible stop, which it’s just hard to imagine them, after doing everything they could to get him here, to ever cut ties. That's the hard thing to imagine for me. I think there's relationships there. There's, “Hey, we made a commitment to you,” but you know, on the other hand, he would land on his feet somewhere.

I mean, man, if somehow, they could get both of them and we didn't have to freaking argue about the two of them like this, but Dylan's never gonna be a backup, right?

Josh: No, no.

TJ Lateef's big night against UCLA has changed the conversation at QB. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Jack: So that's the thing. There is a scenario, I don't think it will happen, but there is a scenario where Lateef is a backup for one more year. They involve him more in the offense; specialty packages, those sorts of things, and it's his year [in 2027]. That’s way more likely than vice versa. If Dylan's a backup, he's not there's no way he's staying.

Josh: No, of course not. Yeah. That's why you're not going to have both of them. That's why one of them is leaving.

Jack: I do think there is, I don't think it's likely, a possible scenario where Lateef would stay.

Josh: To be a backup?

Jack: To be a backup but I mean, dude, they bring [Heinrich] Haarberg in for quarterback. Just do that with Lateef, but more often.

Josh: Can you imagine that next year? Let’s say he plays really well in these final few games and he actually was like, “yeah, I'll come back as a backup.” That would be quite the atmosphere around here.

Jack: You should cheer for that. You should cheer for that because guess what? You know what happens during football seasons? People like to give me crap; quarterbacks get hurt. You should have a good backup. You should have depth; you should have two quarterbacks who can play.

Josh: Well, here's the thing, Jack. If they lose him, they're losing Dayton [Raiola]. And then what they will do is they will bring in a transfer. So, you will get your wish and they will have a backup quarterback. I don't think you have to be worried.

Jack: Yes, unless [Marcos] Davila is good enough to be the backup.

Josh: And he ain’t. He absolutely is not. So, they will bring in somebody else.

Watch the clip below!

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