Downtime has Dylan Raiola refreshed for stretch run

Such a moment is rare for the Nebraska freshman quarterback, certainly more so than a pinpoint deep ball or extra film session. The 19-year-old — halfway through his first college season — spent some extra time with his mother last weekend. He could enjoy watching other college football games because his team wasn’t playing.

“When you come back from a little break you kind of get a new boost of energy,” Raiola said. “Get ready to go again.”

Other Huskers spoke Tuesday about the physical merits of a bye week and a couple of days off. Raiola — like his head coach, Matt Rhule — found more of a mental second wind ahead of a treacherous closing stretch run of six Big Ten games. He walked into the NU facility well before sunrise Monday and woke Rhule in his office, not when the QB tapped on the door but when he opened it into him.

“I hit something and he was on the ground,” Raiola said of Rhule. “I was like, ‘Oh I just knocked his head.’”

A brief respite allowed for reflection on how the former five-star prospect has steadily progressed since late August. Most of Raiola’s numbers — 113-of-169 passing for 1,358 yards and nine touchdowns — are middle of the pack in the bigger Big Ten. But he came off his roughest outing against Rutgers by celebrating with teammates right away and refraining from beating himself up later on. Of his three interceptions this season, only the RPO pick to a waiting Rutgers defender on a slant was his mistake.

Raiola’s 134 passing yards against the Scarlet Knights represented his lowest of the year. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said most struggles that day were minor disconnects — a receiver out of place, the timing of a play, a missed read. If there’s an area where Raiola has grown the most since August, it might be resisting putting all the blame on himself every time something doesn’t work.

Teammates took stock of their quarterback’s midseason evolution too. Receiver Isaiah Neyor said he wouldn’t have a team-leading 291 receiving yards without a “really poised” leader. Running back Emmett Johnson noted an offensive triggerman who has been steadfast in his work ethic behind the scenes.

Twenty-three-year-old defensive lineman Ty Robinson said Raiola’s leadership has come naturally — that’s just what happens when someone puts in that much daily effort and care into their craft. It’s come without much ego too, with the freshman taking pointers from last season’s starting quarterback Heinrich Haarberg and even seeking out veterans on defense for input.

“I think he’s trying to be a sponge and soak up all this information he can get out of us older guys before we head out,” Robinson said.

Raiola is reflective, Rhule said Monday. The QB will journal after a game his immediate impressions of how it went, then do it again after watching back film. Each week he’ll try to find three specific areas to improve upon. Players as accomplished and talented as him don’t often seek correction — Raiola will do so in texts to Rhule and other coaches at all hours.

A new challenge awaits Saturday at No. 16 and unbeaten Indiana. That game — already announced as a sellout — is set to be considerably more raucous than NU’s first road tilt last month at reeling Purdue. It will be Raiola’s first need for the “clap system” for pre-snap communication in a loud environment. The Huskers struggled to stay on time and together using verbal cadences before snaps last year at Minnesota and at Colorado.

Raiola and the Huskers will be underdogs for the first time together, something the QB said he relishes. Indiana disguises its defensive looks as well as anyone, he said, meaning he better have studied well for the test.

What motivates him to grind? The urgency to win, he said. If Nebraska wants to cut loose on Saturdays, it needs to earn that right during the week. Feeling fatigue isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of meeting the standard.

“You gotta be tired,” Raiola said. “…You should exhaust all your energy and all your emotion into that game. I think that’s what our guys have done this week”

Be in the moment, anticipate what’s coming and make the right decision. Rhule called it the “secret sauce,” the difference between winning and losing a line of close games. A short fall break has Nebraska’s most high-profile player refreshed for the season’s most defining moments, up and grinding ahead of the sun.

“These young guys, they hate bye weeks,” Satterfield said. “They want to keep playing and going and playing and competing. I think him and all these guys are ready to get back out there and compete.”