Dylan Raiola’s Nebraska reunion takes major turn as Oregon benches former Husker
A Eugene native who joined the Ducks as a walk-on gets his first career start.
In a surprising turn of events, Oregon's Oregon football team opted to bench its former Nebraska transfer quarterback, Dylan Raiola, for their upcoming game against Nebraska at Autzen Stadium. Senior quarterback Brock Thomas is set to make his first career start, following a fourth-quarter substitution in last Saturday's 17-15 loss to UCLA.
Raiola had thrown for 289 yards and two touchdowns in relief during that win but struggled against UCLA, completing only 6 of 19 passes for 43 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning provided insight into Raiola's performance, stating, "He wasn't good enough today. I think he can acknowledge that. But we didn't prepare him to be good enough today." Following the week-long evaluation period, Thomas and other quarterbacks, including Raiola and Akili Smith Jr., took practice reps.
Thomas, a Eugene native who walked on at Oregon in 2023, took most of the first-team reps, per CBS Sports. He played behind Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and Dante Moore, who suffered a concussion on a late hit at USC on September 26. Assistant coach Dan Lanning credited schematic adjustments for Thomas's performance.
Nebraska, currently riding a 5-1 record, arrives with quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who has thrown for 1,405 yards and 13 touchdowns while running for 296 yards. Colandrea's presence adds an emotional element to the game, as Raiola once transferred to Oregon after his uncle, offensive line coach Donovan Raiola, was fired by Nebraska.
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