So what the college football world had to bid farewell to the famous Sanders brothers? Another bro-team is in the making. Already, Dylan Raiola has been a sensation in Matt Rhule’s Nebraska camp. His brother, Dayton Raiola, the 2026 class quarterback, committed to big brother’s squad last year in July. While there’s still some time left for the Buford (Ga.) High senior Dayton to run side by side to Dylan, the older sibling never misses a chance to hype his lil brother, the first commit of Nebraska’s 2026 class. Right now, there are too many things on Dylan’s plate with him dropping in ranking sby USA Today Sports. On the other hand, the Cornhuskers will be facing off against the Michigan State Spartans this Saturday, October 4. But that did not stop Dylan from sparing some time to be there for Dayton before his special day.
Looks like the young chap is all ready to play shoulder to shoulder with Dylan in Lincoln. Back in June, on the Huskers Online podcast, the high school star shared, “So, I mean, I think we both have pretty strong arms, humbly speaking. We both like to throw the deep ball. I think the difference between me and him is that I like to use my legs a little bit more. I mean. I wouldn’t say Dylan’s afraid of contact, but I think I like contact just a little bit more, like early on in games.” You can already feel the energy. Dylan chose to rev it up. But he wasn’t alone in the hyping game.
On October 3, Dylan and Dayton’s sister, Taylor, posted an IG story. The clip captured the Buford High School 3-star senior as their team was gearing up for the Georgia high school football rivalry matchup against Collins Hill. The caption read, “#10 WITH THE WHEELS!! @DAYTONRAIOLA.” To the bottom right, Taylor also tagged Dylan, meaning the brother-sister duo was at the stands to cheer up their youngest sibling.
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Well, following brother Dylan’s footsteps, Dayton has already been making waves at one of the top prep programs in the Southeast. He dominated last time out. Last year in October, the 3-star recruit from Buford High School led them to a record of 5-1. His highlight moment came with a 34-7 win over Collins High School. This time, the Wolves rolled to a 65-21 win over Roswell to stay unbeaten at 3-0, and quarterback Dayton made sure to put an exclamation point on the night.
The 2026 Nebraska commit was sharp, hitting 15 of 23 for 210 yards and four scores, highlighted by a jaw-dropping 60-yard bomb in the third quarter that showed off his big-time arm and lit up the crowd. So, before his brother’s big day, how could Dylan not be in the stands, filling the stadium with the loudest cheers? However, the Rhule’s quarterback now has too many things to take care of.
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Dylan Raiola taps into full power mode
After having two weeks to go over its first loss of the season, Dylan must be feeling the pressure to bounce back. When it comes to facing off against Michigan State, the quarterback has already gotten the push. After all, Dylan put forth an impressive outing against the Wolverines and should easily do the same against Michigan State. And after the 27-30 loss to Michigan, Dylan made the most of the bye week.
As Sam McKewon tweeted, “Nebraska TE Luke Lindenmeyer says QB Dylan Raiola “took charge” during the bye week. Made his opinion “heard.” “He’s got a fire inside of him that he wants to ignite in us.”” Well, he had to. Dylan can’t afford any dud moments this time around, after being an embarrassment for only being Patrick Mahomes‘ doppleganger and not materializing things on the gridiron.
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So, this time, Dylan is the one who is willing to go to great lengths to stop the bridge from burning. During their rough outing vs. Michigan, Nebraska’s O-line and front seven were exposed- 36 pressures on 41 dropbacks, 7 sacks allowed. Defensively, they couldn’t stop the run, giving up 286 yards, while their own backs averaged just 1.4 yards on 31 carries. The only good thing was the quarterback action.