Dylan Raiola focused on improving amid strong start

Asked about his head coach’s comments that the rest of the Nebraska offense needed to match his intensity level, Dylan Raiola responded with a phrase that might as well have come from Matt Rhule’s mouth instead.

“The standard should be acknowledged, but I don’t think it shouldn’t be celebrated,” Raiola said.

Raiola may be living up to the standards placed upon him by the Nebraska coaching staff, but he sees areas for improvement as well.

The freshman quarterback said that NU played physically and moved the ball efficiently against Colorado like it wanted to, but while its execution was good enough to win the game it wasn’t up to their standard.

After “feeling some things out” over his first two games as a starter, Raiola feels he’s ready to drive those improvements.

“I feel comfortable with the speed of the game and everything, so I think now our team can take a huge step and I’m excited for that,” he said.

Raiola came into Nebraska football’s facility on Sunday feeling sore, which lingered until Monday after taking several hits during the Colorado game. How he reacted to that situation differed greatly from his recent opponent at quarterback, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, whose postgame reaction to being sacked six times drew national headlines.

“I mean, how many times did Raiola get touched?” Sanders said on Saturday, indirectly blaming his own offensive line.

Raiola struck a different tone on Tuesday.

“That’s part of football; you gotta learn to love the hits (because) you’re going to get ‘em whether you have a great O-line or you don’t,” Raiola said. “I believe we’ve got a great O-line, so I’m willing to stand in there and take a hit for our team.”