The Nebraska football team lost on Saturday to Oregon, 17-14. Nebraska watched their former quarterback, Dylan Raiola, lead the Ducks to a victory. Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule spoke out after the game about watching Raiola play for a different team.
“Good for him to fight through what he went through the past two weeks,” Rhule said, per The Athletic. “But it came at the expense of our guys.”
Raiola didn't start on Saturday for Oregon. He sat and watched as quarterback Brock Thomas led the Ducks. Thomas struggled, and Raiola got his chance to lead in the second half.
It worked out well for the Ducks. Oregon would go on to win the game. It was also a bounce back game for Raiola, who had struggled in his last outing against UCLA.
“I knew beforehand there was going to be emotions,” Raiola said, per ESPN. “This game was never about them. It was always about us getting back on track.”
Oregon improved to 4-2 with the win. Raiola had started plenty of games for Nebraska before transferring to Oregon before the 2026 season.
Nebraska couldn't get the stops needed to defeat Oregon
This loss is a tough one to stomach for Nebraska football fans. The Cornhuskers led the game at the half, and held Oregon scoreless in the first half.
Nebraska played excellent defense throughout the game Saturday, but struggled in the fourth quarter. It essentially led to the team's collapse.
Article Continues Below“I thought it was one of the finer defensive performances I’ve been around,” Rhule said to The Athletic. “And then at the end, we just kinda wore out. Guys weren’t able to make those plays that we needed to make.
“I think a lot of it was fatigue. They were on the field too much all night.”
Nebraska is now 5-2 overall, and 2-2 in the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers next play Washington on Halloween.