Nebraska’s Raiola using film study to prepare for Illinois

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola woke up Sunday morning with no time to waste.

The first order of business for Raiola? To begin his preparation for Illinois during a short week by turning on the film.

Raiola rewatched the tape from a Nebraska win over Northern Iowa that he’d just led the night prior, grading his performance and firing off a quick text to head coach Matt Rhule before moving on.

Putting the win in the past was important, Raiola said, to make sure he would be fully prepared to face Illinois on Friday. And while the freshman quarterback has hit the ground running over his first three career starts, facing a Big Ten opponent for the first time will represent an entirely new challenge.

“I think it’s something that you have to experience; I don’t think any words I could give him would have him prepared for what it feels like to go play a Big Ten game and then play a stretch of Big Ten games,” offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said of Raiola.

Having only needed to play the entire four quarters in one of Nebraska’s three games this season, Raiola is physically ready to go. But in order to get mentally and emotionally ready for his first Big Ten game, the freshman will turn to the same learning tool he’s relied upon in the past.

“(I’ll) just watch the tape,” Raiola said of preparing to play a Big Ten defense for the first time. “It’s going to be a physical nine games that we play and it starts Friday.”

In crafting Nebraska’s offensive game plan for the week, Satterfield found himself scouting an Illinois defense that has produced the second-most turnovers (nine) of any team nationally this season. Part of the Illini’s strength, Satterfield said, is a veteran secondary that disguises its coverages to confuse opposing quarterbacks.

“All the identification of coverages is going to have to happen after the ball is snapped, which is really hard,” Satterfield said.

Raiola said he’s hopeful Nebraska can “hit a big one” against the Illinois secondary and teammates like Ben Scott have confidence that the young quarterback will be able to do so.

As Nebraska’s starting center, Scott has an up-close look at the way the freshman communicates play calls and handles the trying moments of games. Scott said that Raiola’s poise is a standout strength of his game as he keeps the Nebraska offense in “attack mode.”

Through three weeks, Raiola’s play has been at a level not typically expected of freshmen quarterbacks. Having posted a completion percentage of 70% or better in every game this season, Raiola became the first true freshman to do so since Oregon’s Marcus Mariota in 2012.

Not every opponent Raiola faces will be on the same level as FCS Northern Iowa or a UTEP team that has started the season 0-3. Illinois has veteran players and a defensive scheme poised to cause issues.

While it’s true that Raiola has not yet played a full 60 minutes against a Big Ten defense, he’s at least faced one in practice every day.

“We start practice with team compete and it’s almost a game-like situation; guys are going 110% against each other,” defensive lineman Ty Robinson said. “So it’s almost like we’re getting extra game reps during the week before we even get to the game.”

Even with one fewer day to prepare for Illinois, Raiola is confident the Husker offense will be ready to go on Friday night. Nebraska’s freshman quarterback has handled every challenge thrown his way so far and he’s not changing his approach now.

“Everyone’s preparing the same way that we have for UTEP, Colorado and UNI,” Raiola said. “Everything’s been preparing us for this moment.”