By Huskers Athletics
Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola made the most of his first career start, as he was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon.
Raiola, the second Husker true freshman to start a season opener since WWII, completed 19-of-27 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in Nebraska’s 40-7 win over UTEP on Saturday. Raiola guided the Huskers to touchdowns on five of his eight series against the Miners, and he played just one drive in the second half.
Raiola threw both of his touchdown passes in the second quarter – a 59-yard strike to Isaiah Neyor and a 21-yard pass to Jahmal Banks with just two seconds left in the half. Nebraska’s 23 second-quarter points was its highest total since 2018. In all, he threw for 192 yards in the first half. As a team, the Huskers threw for 284 yards, their highest single-game total since 2022.
Raiola is the first Husker to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Week since Malcolm Hartzog Jr. in 2022 and the first NU offensive player to garner the freshman honor since Wan’dale Robinson in 2019.