Dylan Raiola was having an excellent sophomore season as the starting quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. That all ended Saturday night when he suffered a broken fibula after being strip sacked against USC early in the third quarter of the Trojans come from behind 21-17 victory. That played changed the game â the Huskers were leading 14-6 at the time â and the outlook for the rest of Nebraskaâs season.
After passing for exactly 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns with a 70% completion percentage this year, all signs point to Raiola returning good as new for this junior season in 2026. He likely has a future in the NFL after that.
Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers, a bubble team at best going into the USC contest, are now 6-3 and totally out of the picture for this seasonâs college football playoff with three regular season games remaining. That doesnât mean the season is a lost cause, however. A trip to the west coast to face UCLA on Saturday might be just what the doctor ordered for new starting quarterback TJ Lateef.
True Freshman will Take the Reins for Nebraska
Lateef is a true freshman who was playing high school football just down the road from the Rose Bowl at Orange Lutheran High School near Anaheim at this time last year. Saturday will be a homecoming of sorts for him.
Lateefâs three appearances this season have featured some very promising moments. Now he will have a chance to get the first team reps all week during practice, getting him up to speed and ready to pick up where Raiola left off.
Perhaps the most important thing Lateef has going for him is the opportunity to operate an offense run by Offensive Coordinator Dana Holgerson. The new QB brings an element that Raiola canât â the QB run game â to the offense. For Holgerson, that opens up a big part of his playbook thatâs been pretty much in mothballs since he arrived in Lincoln almost exactly one year ago.
Holgerson, a native of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is a well-traveled veteran assistant coach who was the head coach at West Virginia and Houston. His teams were annually among the most prolific offenses in the country, coaching with men like Hal Mumme, Sonny Dykes and Mike Leach. As a head coach, he mentored quarterbacks like Case Keenum, Kliff Kingsbury and Geno Smith. His offenses were certainly pass heavy, but also featured plenty of running opportunities for the QB, which is something that Lateef can excel at.
Preparation Changes for UCLA Coaching Staff
The interim UCLA coaching staff will have several more things to prepare for this week with Lateef under center.
Big Ten football isnât known for featuring wide-open offensives. However, UCLA is far from a typical Big Ten team. They feature their own dual-threat QB in Nico Iamaleava, a transfer from Tennessee who has had an up-and-down season thus far, much like his team. The Bruins can put up points in a hurry, like they did in an upset win over Penn State. However, they have also given them up in bunches, including their last game on October 25th, when they were blasted by second-ranked Indiana 56-6.
The bottom line is that Raiolaâs injury isnât the end of the season for Nebraska. The Huskers are currently the youngest team in the Big Ten, and they now have a chance to develop a second quarterback for 2026, when making the CFP is a more realistic goal.
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