Dylan Raiola shares game week preparation ahead of Colorado

Having seen this process many times before, Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield was eager to see how quarterback Dylan Raiola would handle the spotlight of his first career start.

Satterfield came into the day feeling that the freshman was ready for the big moment, but even he was surprised to see that Raiola became “more focused” when facing the rigors of a gameday environment.

“I knew coming off that Tunnel Walk, that was a lot of years and memories and a lot of days of anticipation and excitement, so I was hoping that he was going to be able to come out and just play like he does,” Satterfield said of Raiola. “You can get nervous sometimes that a young guy tries to do too much or is just too emotional; he was like a freaking surgeon. It was amazing to see his maturity.”

Part of the reason for that response is the high expectations Raiola places upon himself. For as good as the freshman played against UTEP, having thrown for 238 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers, he wasn’t satisfied.

There were plays he’d like to have back, Raiola said, noting that he also wanted to do a better job of quickly progressing through his reads. Satterfield agreed, adding that while Raiola’s footwork and timing could still use improvement, he was “super pleased” with the quarterback’s Week 1 performance.

“The number one thing was just the operation, the rhythm of the offense and taking care of the football and he did all three of those,” Satterfield said. “You talk about a culture of excellence, he was prepared and he knew exactly where the ball needed to go.”

Raiola’s preparation has become even more important this week ahead of a pressure-filled game on Saturday night against the Colorado Buffaloes.

The freshman was back inside Nebraska football’s facility the day after his collegiate debut, making sure his body would be ready for the week’s demands. After being sacked just once — a play he said was his fault for making the wrong read, not the offensive line’s — Raiola said he felt great physically.

Still, that didn’t mean Raiola could shake up his weekly routine which includes significant recovery work on Sundays. After going through a regenerative workout that morning and getting a deep tissue massage, it was onto film study and Colorado preparation for Raiola.

“Our guys did a great job of preparing last week and the biggest challenge is to do it again and be consistent in doing that,” Raiola said. “… There’s going to be more cameras, more eyes, (but) whatever the hype (is) over the game, you’ve just got to keep it about football and stay in the moment. It’s very cliché to say that, but I think our team does a great job of acting on that.”

When a 19-year-old freshman leads that charge, it’s simple for the rest of the roster to follow along. Senior offensive lineman Turner Corcoran, who protects Raiola’s blind side, said the freshman is “very mature for his age.”

More importantly, Raiola’s ability to read defenses and make adjustments at the line of scrimmage stood out to Corcoran as a trait of high-level quarterback play.

“It’s pretty fun to watch him throw the ball,” Corcoran said. “There’s a bunch of people comparing him to that guy from Kansas City (Patrick Mahomes), and I like to agree with them.”

Year two of the Nebraska-Colorado matchup — and the losing records both teams posted last season — has caused the circus-like attention present in 2023 to fade away. But heading into a nationally televised matchup against a program that stays in the spotlight, Raiola knows he will be in the crosshairs as well.

Raiola was complimentary of the way that Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has handled the attention, saying that he has a “tremendous amount of respect” for his fellow competitor. Raiola and Sanders, after all, share the unique bond of having ex-NFL players for fathers who’ve helped them grow up around the game.

So while Raiola has respect for the way Colorado does things, he and the rest of the Nebraska offense are sticking to their process and standing by each other.

“Coach Prime’s going to have his guys ready to play — (he’s) a Hall of Fame coach and I’ve got a lot of respect for him — but we’ve also got Coach Rhule,” Raiola said. “I’ve got all the trust in him, and we’ll be ready to go on Saturday.”