Matt Rhule just got beaten by a quarterback who left Nebraska. Dylan Raiola, the former five-star, transferred to Oregon, came off the bench on Saturday, and led the Ducks past the Huskers 17-14. Now the problem is bigger than one game. Rhule says SEC programs are already reaching out to Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska’s 9,000-yard career passer.
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When asked on Monday about the support Nebraska has given Colandrea, Rhule shifted the focus to the SEC programs already making contact with players about 2027. He accused SEC schools of tampering with his roster, revealing that they have already approached Colandrea.
“I don’t think that’s a good narrative for us to have out there that he doesn’t have enough support (around him),” On3 reported via X. “I don’t think that’s good for our players. And not good because he’s already got SEC schools calling him. I don’t want Nebraska people to start saying that, because that’s happened before [with Raiola] here. We don’t need that now here.”
Raiola started two seasons at Nebraska as a five-star signee, and left after last year, landing at Oregon in January. Colandrea has a fifth year available in 2027 under the new 5-for-5 rule, so he is a name every portal watcher already has circled. The UNLV transfer, who played his first two seasons at Virginia, has 137 completions on 219 attempts this year (62.6%) for 1,570 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Colandrea has also run for 334 yards and four scores. Nebraska started 5-0 with him, and against Oregon, he went 18-of-33 for 164 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He took three sacks and ran for a score. Before Saturday, he had thrown for 1,406 yards and 13 touchdowns with three interceptions.
“Everyone has people (being contacted). But I know Anthony really wants to be here; he loves being here, he loves his teammates,” Rhule said.
Over his four years, Colandrea has crossed the 9K mark with 9,112 passing yards in 40 games.
Rhule did not identify any SEC school or accuse a specific program of breaking the rules. He also defended the talent around Colandrea, pointing to wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer and tight end Luke Lindenmeyer as two of the best players at their positions in the Big Ten.
Instead, Rhule blamed Nebraska’s offensive line for its struggles. The Huskers managed a season-low 78 rushing yards against Oregon, and Rhule acknowledged that they have not been good enough up front.
Nebraska has some injuries to deal with as well. Isaiah Mozee is out for a while, and Vincent Genatone needs season-ending surgery. For now, the Colandrea question is a lesser concern as the season still has five games left and he won’t make a call until it ends.
Nebraska has to fix the fourth quarter out of the bye
Nebraska led Indiana 17-6 and Oregon 14-6 heading into the fourth. It lost both games by three points. The Huskers get a bye, then host Washington on Halloween before a trip to Illinois. They haven’t beaten an AP-ranked team in their last 31 games.
“I think we are a really, really, really good team. We’ve got to be great in the important moments,” Rhule said.
Nebraska has two weeks to regroup before Washington, but the bye only matters if the Huskers can turn late leads into wins. Rhule believes his team has the talent to compete, yet back-to-back fourth-quarter collapses have exposed a problem that the team needs to work on. With Illinois coming next, Nebraska needs to prove it can finish games before another close loss extends its drought against ranked opponents.