The Nebraska quarterback underwent tests after Saturday’s game, and Thamel shared that “scans of Raiola’s back came back clear.”
This is good news for the Cornhuskers, who have now lost three games in a row after beginning the season with a 5-1 record.
Two of these losses came against No. 3 Ohio State and No. 8 Indiana, but Nebraska’s most recent loss to UCLA certainly wasn’t something that many saw coming.
A home matchup against a two-win Bruins team this past Saturday was viewed as an opportunity for Nebraska to get things back on track. Instead, the contest quickly turned into a disaster for the Cornhuskers.
Before Nebraska knew it, they trailed UCLA, 27-7, in the middle of the third quarter. The Bruins ultimately held on for a 27-20 win, but the final score made it seem like the game was a lot closer than it actually was.
Before he left in the fourth quarter, Raiola wasn’t exactly having a great performance. Prior to his exit, he had only completed 52% of his passes for 177 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
But Raiola’s underwhelming performance is something that the Cornhuskers have unfortunately gotten used to over the last few weeks. In his last four games, he’s thrown a total of one touchdown and six interceptions while averaging fewer than 175 passing yards per matchup.
Since Raiola is a freshman, most expected him to deal with some growing pains this season, but few probably believed he would struggle as much as he has during his last four games.
Luckily, Nebraska has a bye this week, so Raiola and the rest of the team will have some extra time to prepare for their next matchup against USC.
Will it end up making a difference, or will we continue to see more of the same struggles from the Cornhuskers and their freshman quarterback when they return to the field?
