Rhule Decries 'Lazy' National Media Obsession with Raiola-Mahomes

If you're an opposing fan and like online fodder for dumb arguments, continue firing away. If you're a national media member and can't come up with anything better when talking about Dylan Raiola, Matt Rhule wants more from you.

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

LINCOLN—There are few things national media, or opposing fans, love more than to find a talking point and beat it into the ground.

Around the Nebraska football program, that talking point is the comparison of quarterback Dylan Raiola to Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. That's something Husker coach Matt Rhule was asked about Monday.

"I say it to everyone every time the media comes in, I'm like, 'You know, let's not do the whole just the Mahomes thing now'," Rhule said. "I mean, I get the Mahomes thing, but that's just such an easy... let's talk about the football."

"I think things are just so lazy."

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule

On the football side, Raiola is third nationally for completion percentage (75.6%) and is tied for 10th in passing touchdowns. He's also in the top 14 in the nation for passing efficiency and tied for sixth for completions per game. All of that while throwing just one interception across four games and 135 attempts.

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola passes against the Houston Christian Huskies. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Raiola is the 14th player since 1995 to start a season with four straight games of completing at least 71% of his passes. He's among the 10 most accurate quarterbacks against ranked opponents in the last 30 years.

Against Michigan, Raiola was 30-for-41 for 308 yards, three touchdowns, and his first interception of the season. Still, that didn't stop national media from finding a way to want to jump all over him.

CBS Sports writer Tom Fornelli rushed to his Cover 3 Podcast to say he would be out of his mind if he were a Nebraska fan.

"I'm not going to pretend anymore," Fornelli said. "I'm not going to sit there and think it's going to get—he's just annoying. The stuff he does where he's just running left and flipping away with his right, when he doesn't have to. It just drives me insane."

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola throws a pass against Michigan. | Kenny Larabe, KLIN

Fornelli compared the concerns of the popularity with Steph Curry launching three-pointers in basketball and young players wanting to emulate that with young quarterbacks wanting to emulate Mahomes and all that he does. Kids and young players wanting to play like their idols or some of the best players in their sport has only been a thing for the last decade, apparently.*

*HEAVY sarcasm

"Now, obviously, Dylan takes it to a very different level than everybody else," Fornelli added. "But he's trying all these stupid sidearm wrist flicky throws. He never steps into a damn throw, even when he's got a clean pocket. It's horrible.

"You're not going to win with your quarterback trying to make all these cool throws instead of just making the damn play that's there."

Concerns about Raiola's mechanics? Those might be valid. That doesn't mean everything being done is attributable to Mahomes. But as was pointed out above, and has been the case throughout the year, Raiola is "making the damn play that's there".

Dylan Raiola looks for a receiver while avoiding the Cincinnati pass rush in Kansas City, which is something Patrick Mahomes has done a number of times in that same stadium. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

On Saturday, Raiola made a check at the line. Emmett Johnson flipped from his left to his right, which brought the Michigan safety closer to the middle of the line. That change and the extra space allowed Raiola to find Jacory Barney Jr. for an easy touchdown.

"That's an elite-level check," Rhule said. "That's not somebody in the headset (or) looking over the sidelines and them going like this. That's Dylan playing quarterback."

JACORY BARNEY FOR SIX.@HuskerFootball ties it all up! pic.twitter.com/MXxTGGyuFn

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 20, 2025

Dylan is playing quarterback, which is the position Mahomes also plays. There's been the similar haircut, the same number, and some of the same tendencies that come from having the same trainer. While Mahomes didn't invent putting his hands up for a touchdown or flexing his arms, plenty of what Raiola is doing is simply playing the position.

"Dylan's playing quarterback at a really high level right now," Rhule said.

Truly do not understand the Raiola hate. I don’t care how it looks when he’s this efficient and accurate. Spend some time talking to him and you’ll realize how much he loves the game and loves the process. Teammates love him too. He was under pressure the entire afternoon but…

— Jake Butt (@Jbooty88) September 22, 2025

It was (and has been) interesting to see the conversations that were circulating around Dylan Raiola this weekend.

Today, Rhule was asked if he's bothered by what's being said about his QB. He gave a pretty thorough answer. pic.twitter.com/3Ed2JHrNpZ

— Avarie Howard (@avariehoward31) September 22, 2025

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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