Dylan Raiola injury update: Matt Rhule shares latest on Nebraska QB

In the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against UCLA, Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola went to the ground with an injury. He appeared to reach toward his lower back, and Matt Rhule had the latest on his QB after the game.

Raiola scrambled to the 3-yard line on a broken play when he lowered his shoulder and took a big-time hit. After limping off the field, he attempted to go back in before collapsing once again. He grabbed his lower back as he did so and went back to the sideline as Heinrich Haarberg came in to replace him.

In his postgame press conference, Rhule said Raiola likely took a hit to his back, which caused the injury. He had clearance from the doctors to go back on the field, but once he returned, he felt pain again. That’s why he ultimately left and didn’t return.

“The doctors clear those guys, right?” Rhule said in his postgame press conference. “So, I think once the doctor said he was cleared – I just saw him running in. I wasn’t part of anything saying, ‘Hey, let’s get Dylan in here.’ I think once he went through whatever testing they had, he went to run out and then obviously, just felt the pain again and said, ‘Hey, I can’t do this.'”

At the time of his departure, Raiola was 14 of 27 for 177 yards and a touchdown in the air. However, he also threw a costly pick-six, which put UCLA out in front 20-7 to start the third quarter. The Bruins went on to seal the 27-20 victory on a Haarberg interception in the final seconds at Memorial Stadium.

Raiola has been impressive to start his college career after arriving as a highly rated recruit. Entering Saturday, he completed 66.1% of his passes for 1,744 yards and nine touchdowns after beating Haarberg out for the starting job during training camp.

Raiola arrived on campus this year as a five-star recruit out of Buford (Ga.) and the son of former Nebraska standout Dominic Raiola. He was the No. 21 overall player and No. 3-ranked quarterback from the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Nebraska took a 5-3 record into Saturday’s game, but fell to 5-4 with the loss to UCLA following Haarberg’s interception in the final seconds. Still, the Cornhuskers are one win away from being bowl-eligible, and Dylan Raiola knows first-hand how much that achievement would mean.