The Nebraska football team has lost their first game of the 2024 season, dropping a contest to the Illinois Fighting Illini.
The Cornhuskers put up quite the fight, but late game struggles allowed the Fighting Illini to drive and win the game. Quarterback Dylan Raiola had arguably his worst game thus far in his collegiate career as he experienced his first collegiate loss.
Raiola and the Cornhuskers had a tough time trying to pick apart the Illinois defense who truly brought their best game. The Fighting Illini held the Cornhuskers down when they needed to and forced Raiola to make mistake throughout the game. The quarterback threw and interception and recorded two fumbles and two sacks as well against Illinois.
Opposing quarterback Luke Altmyer was the key to the win for Illinois as he was nearly perfect throwing against Nebraska. The Nebraska football staff had no answers to Altmyer as he consistently found a way to make it work for the Fighting Illini.
Illinois brought exceptional pressure towards Raiola all game, and it proved to be too much for the quarterback and the Nebraska offense. The Cornhuskers were able to make it to overtime, but key mistakes such as a sack and Raiola hitting the ground while delivering a pass led to the loss. The final play of the game was a sack on Raiola that occurred on a 4th-and-29 play.
Nebraska is going to have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how they can improve their execution.
Nebraska Football, Dylan Raiola Suffer Loss to Illinois Behind Massive Penalties
Penalties were the name of the game for the Cornhuskers as small errors killed the progress of the team throughout the game.
The Nebraska football team had nearly 100-yards of penalties with eight penalties called for a total of 89-yards. The Cornhuskers made errors such as holding on screens, entering the neutral zone, and defensive pass interference.
Nebraska kept giving Illinois chances to crawl back into the game every time the Fighting Illini allowed a significant gain. In a tight contest between two ranked teams, the result comes down to small errors like the ones the Cornhuskers made tonight. Illinois stayed poised and made the plays they needed to which allowed for the Fighting Illini to secure the win.
The Nebraska football staff and Raiola need to head back to the practice field and work out some of these kinks on offense. The flags clearly need to be reduced, but Raiola also needs to make a play or help the team convert when Nebraska is in a dire situation. The quarterback was yet to be truly tested by a sound defense until tonight, and Raiola fared well with all things considered.
The quarterback recorded 284-yards and three touchdowns, but still had one of his worst games in his early collegiate career. With the result and the performance considered, Nebraska football fans will take this ‘bad’ performance from Raiola any day.
If Nebraska can work out the kinks they have, the Cornhuskers should climb back up the top-25 ladder this season.
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