Can Dylan Raiola lift Nebraska out of college football purgatory?

There are posts floating around social media showing side-by-side videos of Nebraska freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola and Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes . They depict Raiola acting like the best football player on planet Earth.

If you looked quickly, you’d think Raiola was Mahomes. The hairstyle. The body type. The red jersey. The No. 15. The warm-up routine. The mannerisms. The walk. All of it is eerily similar.

One poster on X.com called Raiola “Patrick Mahpartments.”

That’s funny. Really funny.

But when you take a step back and consider the possibilities, that’s the ultimate compliment for a freshman quarterback who could be the agent of change this Nebraska football program has waited decades to find.

Who wouldn’t want to act like Mahomes? Imagine if he turns out playing anything like him.

When Scott Frost was hired in 2018, hope flowed in Lincoln. There isn’t a single Nebraska fan — or national analyst — who thought that was anything other than a home run hire. But shortly into Frost’s tenure, the program became dysfunctional on the field and it never changed. It lost one-possession games repeatedly, often in embarrassing fashion caused by self-imposed, bone-headed mistakes. Year after year, same product.

Frost was fired three games into the 2022 season following a loss to Georgia Southern, finishing his tenure with a putrid 16-31 record in Lincoln.

When Frost was fired, it was fair to question: If Frost — the home-grown, Cornhusker national champion — can’t do it, can anyone? What is the way out of football purgatory?

You couldn’t dream of the answer, which we may be witnessing develop right in front of our eyes.

It started with the hire of Matt Rhule , a coach who failed in his brief stint in the NFL but who built two separate college football programs with relentless competence. But that is only part of it. The real way out? Rhule being able to attach his Nebraska rebuild to the type of prospect who may not have gone to Lincoln even five years ago.

Who could have imagined Rhule would be able to sign a five-star quarterback who has been compared to Mahomes? Who could have imagined that quarterback would train with Mahomes’ trainer? Who could have imagined that quarterback would have Nebraska bloodlines? Who would have thought he would come up at a time where Nebraska, despite not competing at a high level since his father, Dominic, played there in the late 1990s, could compensate him accordingly?

It’s all coming together.

This is the way out of that purgatory. This is how revival can happen.

It was bleak for a while. Nebraska, now in the Big Ten, doesn’t have the ties to the state of Texas that it had when it was in the Big 12. It isn’t located in a densely-populated area for high school football talent. Star recruits today don’t remember Eric Crouch or the national titles in the ’90s. So while Nebraska is one of the most storied programs in the country, there was a danger this program could stay in the shadows of football lore for, well, forever.

Nebraska isn’t in the shadows anymore.

Raiola, who once almost ended up at either Georgia or Ohio State — the boring routes — is there. Instead of going to play for a program that is always good, he chose to follow family tradition and suit up for the Cornhuskers. Since he arrived, so many more eyes are on Lincoln than ever before. He gives us a reason to check in as we all wonder: Could he ever turn those Mahomes comparisons that sound crazy now into something rational? For now, the comparisons are more about what he looks like and how he acts. They aren’t yet about what he can do on the football field.

But who knows? Raiola is holding up his end of the bargain so far. In a nationally-televised game against Colorado on Saturday night, Raiola led the Cornhuskers to an entertaining victory. Nebraska wore the flashy Colorado football team down in the trenches and Raiola produced. He finished with 185 yards passing and a touchdown, showing he can get the ball downfield effectively. He also never turned the ball over, which was may be the most impressive part if you’ve watched how Nebraska football games have gone in the recent past.

After the game was over and Cornhuskers fans stormed the field, he took a photo in the locker room with Barstool personality Will Compton. He was flashing a gold Rolex Presidential Day-Date on his wrist, mocking Colorado star quarterback Shedeur Sanders ’ celebration.

Swagger. Brand. Likability. Results.

Nebraska has a legitimate chance to start 7-0 before heading to Ohio State on Oct. 26. Now is a good time to have real conversations about what Nebraska’s ceiling is this year.

But, honestly, Nebraska doesn’t have to be perfect this year. It probably only has to make a bowl game, which seems like all but a certainty. And once it does, with its quarterback’s star growing, it’ll be a highly attractive transfer destination. This is a program that has recruited well despite its limitations, both geographically and with its brand. Bring in some more elite-talent? Then what? Who doens’t want to play with a star quarterback at a place that is highly competitive in NIL, has amazing facilities and one of the most passionate fanbases in the sport?

So pretend to be Mahomes, Dylan. It’s smart.

Fake it until you make it.

But ask yourself this question: What does Nebraska football look like if Patrick Mahpartments makes it?

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