Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes praised Nebraska football quarterback Dylan Raiola during Wednesday’s media meeting.
\nRaiola has been a big part of Nebraska football’s undefeated start to the season. He has tallied 423 yards and three touchdowns and is coming off a game on Saturday that saw him record 238 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Colorado Buffaloes.
\nMahomes says that he’s excited for the freshman’s future.
\n\n“It’s cool, honestly. I was that guy, grew up watching players. I loved A-Rod, played shortstop, would try to make plays just like him. It helped me become the athlete that I am. It’s just telling me I’m getting a little old.”
Mahomes and Raiola have a history together, as the two have trained together and work with the same quarterbacks coach. The Chiefs star was impressed with Raiola’s play in Nebraska’s season-opening victory against UTEP\u00a0and\u00a0made sure to praise him.
\nNow, the praise continued on Wednesday, with both Raiola and Mahomes looking to continue their undefeated starts.
\nIt’s clear Raiola has a fan in Mahomes. Nebraska fans hope that the freshman follows a similar career path to success. In the short term, the program looks to continue their winning streak when they take on Northern Iowa this Saturday.
\n\n\n\nPatrick Mahomes on #Huskers QB Dylan Raiola:
\n
"It's cool, honestly. I was that guy, grew up watching players. I loved A-Rod, played SS, would try to make plays just like him. It helped me become the athlete that I am. It's just telling me I'm getting a little old." #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/0Fi9lMRzv3— Jared Koller (@JaredKCTV5) September 11, 2024
Contact/Follow us\u00a0@CornhuskersWire\u00a0on X, and like our page on\u00a0Facebook\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
\nESPN analyst Pat McAfee has not been shy about praising the Nebraska football program. He did so again on Tuesday, as the program won the season’s first two games.
\nMcAfee praised the environment in Lincoln, a common theme over the last couple of days. Just Tuesday, Colorado Buffaloes cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter praised the environment of Memorial Stadium. McAfee said that Lincoln was the place to be.
\n\n“Their environment is bananas. The videos coming out of Lincoln, Nebraska, this weekend were awesome.”
Now, the Huskers will have a chance to play in front of their home fans again as they take on Northern Iowa on Saturday. Nebraska also heads into Saturday\u2019s game ranked for the first time since 2019.
\nIt\u2019s clear that many are taking notice of Nebraska’s success over the first two games. The fans are also evidently a big part of the success. Whatever the case may be, the energy is high in Lincoln right now.
\nContact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
\n", "content_text": "ESPN analyst Pat McAfee has not been shy about praising the Nebraska football program. He did so again on Tuesday, as the program won the season’s first two games.\nMcAfee praised the environment in Lincoln, a common theme over the last couple of days. Just Tuesday, Colorado Buffaloes cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter praised the environment of Memorial Stadium. McAfee said that Lincoln was the place to be.\n“Their environment is bananas. The videos coming out of Lincoln, Nebraska, this weekend were awesome.”\nNow, the Huskers will have a chance to play in front of their home fans again as they take on Northern Iowa on Saturday. Nebraska also heads into Saturday\u2019s game ranked for the first time since 2019.\nIt\u2019s clear that many are taking notice of Nebraska’s success over the first two games. The fans are also evidently a big part of the success. Whatever the case may be, the energy is high in Lincoln right now.\nContact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.", "date_published": "2024-09-12T08:15:15-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-09-11T22:44:38-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Danny Jaillet", "url": "https://cornhuskerswire.usatoday.com/author/djaiillet1/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/427e8182129781de4d643bb33d7210a3?s=512&d=identicon&r=r" } ], "author": { "name": "Danny Jaillet", "url": "https://cornhuskerswire.usatoday.com/author/djaiillet1/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/427e8182129781de4d643bb33d7210a3?s=512&d=identicon&r=r" }, "image": "https://cornhuskerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/112/2023/07/USATSI_19106124.jpg", "tags": [ "ESPN", "Nebraska Football", "Pat McAfee", "Football", "Nebraska Cornhuskers", "News" ], "summary": "Pat McAfee has a high opinion of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. " }, { "id": "https://cornhuskerswire.usatoday.com/?post_type=listicle&p=29201", "url": "https://cornhuskerswire.usatoday.com/lists/nebraska-football-tony-white-marcus-satterfield-northern-iowa/", "title": "What Nebraska's offensive and defensive coordinators said about Northern Iowa", "content_html": "Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield and defensive coordinator Tony White met with the media earlier this week. Through two games this season, the Husker offense has averaged 420.5 yards per game, which is good enough for 58th overall in the nation. The defense has only surrendered 232.5 yards per game, which ranks The Blackshirts 24th in the nation in total defense.
Satterfield opened his availability by talking about the unit’s performance last Saturday against Colorado.
\n“It was good to get off to a fast start. I love the way that we executed the open script. We continually played physically and played hard with good effort in the first half. We didn’t execute at a high level and ended the half again for two weeks in a row, with a two minute situation where we scored a touchdown. Very pleased with the start, very pleased with the two-minute situation before the half. We had to continue to prove as Coach (Rhule) would say ‘develop our competitive stamina’ and not relax when we’re up 28 to nothing.’
\n
Find more comments from the two Nebraska coaches below.
Nebraska football target and Alabama Crimson Tide commit Dawson Merritt was impressed by the show Nebraska put on during Saturday\u2019s win over the Colorado Buffaloes. Merritt was one of the several big-time visitors who came out to Lincoln.
\nMerritt chose Alabama over Nebraska at the end of June. Early last week, the linebacker was added to the visit list for last Saturday’s game.
\nAccording to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, the linebacker is the 14th-ranked linebacker in the 2025 class and the best player in his class from the state of Kansas. He visited Nebraska for the Red-White Game on April 26 and kept the Huskers close in his recruitment.
\nMerritt has four total tackles for Blue Valley High School in Kansas on the season. He was pleased with what he saw from the visit.
\n\n\u201cIt was crazy inside that place!\u201d he told On3\u2019s Steve Wiltfong\u00a0(subscription required).
Time will tell if the Huskers will be able to flip Merritt to Lincoln. Nevertheless, it\u2019s clear that the program made a strong impression on him.
\n\n\n\nAlabama 4-star EDGE Dawson Merritt was in attendance for Nebraska's win over Colorado and shared highlights with On3's @SWiltfong_
\n\u201cIt was crazy inside that place!\u201d
\nRead: https://t.co/mlaeTBkYw8 pic.twitter.com/5MOtkKT9x9
\n— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) September 9, 2024
Contact/Follow us\u00a0@CornhuskersWire\u00a0on X, and like our page on\u00a0Facebook\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
\nAnother chapter in the in-state rivalry between Nebraska and Creighton was written Tuesday night in Lincoln. The No. 9 Bluejays looked to get their first-ever win over the No. 5 Huskers. But after a five-set war in the Bob Devaney Center, Nebraska emerged the victor.
The Huskers quickly took a two-set lead over Creighton before the peak of the battle emerged in the third set. Nebraska traded blows with the Bluejays, needing to go well beyond the 25-point mark. Eventually, Creighton earned the win 33-31, which kicked off the attempted comeback.
But while the Bluejays swiftly won the fourth set, the Huskers ended the match in the fifth. Nebraska finished the night with 72 kills off 192 attacks, while Creighton delivered 63 kills off 191 attacks.
Harper Murray again led the Huskers on the night, delivering 16 kills off 57 attacks and 14 digs. Andi Jackson also put together a stellar outing, racking up 15 kills off 29 attacks and leading Nebraska in blocks with eight.
Lindsay Krause also tallied up 15 kills off 44 attacks while earning five digs and five blocks. Merritt Beason rounded out the Huskers’ double-digit killers, grabbing 14 kills off 36 attacks. She also garnered six digs.
Rebekah Allick had a notable night with nine kills off just 15 attacks. Bergen Reilly finished with a career-high 57 set assists in the win while snatching 13 digs of her own. Lexi Rodriguez led Nebraska in digs with 21, her 12th-career 20-dig match.
The Huskers will remain home to host Arizona State, Wichita State and Long Beach State in the Nebraska Classic. They’ll start the classic against the Sun Devils on Friday night. The match is set for 7:00 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
Nebraska football received a prediction in their favor for a class of 2026 tight end on Tuesday morning. Isaac Jensen is a three-star prospect for Millard South High in Omaha, NE. On3\u2019s Steve Wiltfong made the prediction.
\nJensen is ranked as the 27th overall tight end in the 2026 class and the top player in his class from Nebraska, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. The Huskers have landed the top player in the state over the last three classes.
\nMost recently, they landed four-star linebacker Christian Jones on Monday night. Jensen currently has seven offers, including offers from Florida State, Kansas, Missouri, Texas A&M, and Nebraska.
\nJensen measures in at six-foot-six, 205 pounds. The Millard South product had a productive 2023 season. He recorded 26 catches for 359 yards and four touchdowns, per statistics from MaxPreps.
\nSo far, he is off to a strong start in the 2024 season, recording 11 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns over the course of two games this season.
\nThe Huskers have done a solid job over the last couple of classes in landing in-state talent. Jensen will certainly be one to watch.
\nContact/Follow us\u00a0@CornhuskersWire\u00a0on X, and like our page on\u00a0Facebook\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
\nNebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola and linebacker John Bullock met with the media on Tuesday afternoon. The No. 24 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers are preparing for Northern Iowa on Saturday night.
The Husker quarterback was asked by the press about taking big hits and how his body had recovered since the win over Colorado.
\n“My body feels great, it just all comes back to your training and how you train your body. Our strength staff does a great job of keeping us strong, keeping us flexible. My body feels good, obviously I was sore Sunday and a little bit yesterday, but I had a massage and got all the soreness out. That’s part of football, you have to learn to love the hits. You’re going to get them whether you have a great o-line or you don’t. I believe we’ve got a great o-line, so I’m willing to stand in there and take a hit for our team.”
\n
Find more comments from quarterback Dylan Raiola and linebacker John Bullock below.
It was a successful week one of NFL action for former Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nine players took the field and recorded stats across seven games.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have three former Huskers on their roster. On Sunday, Lavonte David, Trey Palmer, and Ben Stille played in the Bucs’ win over Washington.
Palmer led all offensive former Cornhuskers with a 19-yard reception. David and Bengals corner Cam Taylor-Britt each had six tackles in their season openers. Ameer Abdullah led the play on special teams with a kick return for 28 yards against the Chargers.
Below is a quick recap of all nine Huskers who recorded stats in Week One.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers earned their second victory of the 2024 season on Saturday evening when they defeated the Colorado Buffaloes 28-10 and are now just four wins away from bowl eligibility this season.
The latest bowl projections from USA TODAY now have the Huskers potentially set for a 1998 Orange Bowl rematch against the Tennessee Volunteers in the Citrus Bowl on December 31. Notably, the Volunteers were also the Huskers’ last bowl opponent in the 2016 Music City Bowl.
The two programs have met three times in history, with the Huskers winning the first two matchups in the 1998 Orange Bowl and the 2000 Fiesta Bowl. The Vols got the better of the Huskers in 2016, 38-24.
Notably, a few Big Ten programs are projected to be in the College Football Playoffs this fall. According to the projections, Penn State, Oregon, and Ohio State are all projected to be in the playoffs come December.
Find a list of every Big Ten affiliated bowl along with USA TODAY’s projections below.
For the first time since 2016, the Huskers have started the season off 2-0 following their 28-10 victory over Colorado. Also, for the first time since 2019, Nebraska is ranked in the top 25. The No. 24 Huskers have ten games remaining on their schedule.
Quarterback Dylan Raiola has thrown for 423 yards and three touchdowns, while the run game has tallied 372 yards and five touchdowns. The defense, meanwhile, has only allowed 17 points through the first two games, giving Nebraska an opportunity to take a big step in the right direction.
Head coach Matt Rhule is excited about the potential of Nebraska playing in big games again.
\n“I think there is so much on the film from this past game that we have to get corrected and get better at and that speaks for itself. You come here to have high expectations. You come here to play in big games. You come here to play in front of that crowd. All the reasons that you come here so we expect to be ranked. Whatever it is, 23rd or 24th that’s not where we want to end up. Go each week and we will see what happens.”
\n
Here are the rankings for Nebraska’s ten remaining opponents.
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