Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola met with the media following the Huskers 31-24 loss to Illinois on Friday night. The freshman finished his first Big Ten game 24-of-35 passing for 297 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. For the season, Raiola has completed 72.2% of his passes for 967 yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Defensive end Ty Robinson, wide receiver Isaiah Neyor, and cornerback Marques Buford Jr. also met with the media. Robinson and Buford each finished with three tackles, while Neyor had four catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
With the loss, the Cornhuskers fall to 3-1 on the season and will now take to the road to face the Purdue Boilermakers. Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.m. CT and will be broadcast on Peacock.
Find comments from quarterback Dylan Raiola, defensive end Ty Robinson, wide receiver Isaiah Neyor, and cornerback Marques Buford Jr. by scrolling below.
Dylan Raiola on what he saw on play at the end of the fourth quarter
(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
“I saw Luke (Lindenmeyer) wide open. I don’t know. I missed the throw to win the game. I mean that was our chance to win the game. I’ll take this game on my back and I have to get better and be better for our team. I put us into a position to win.”
Dylan Raiola on immediate takeaways from first Big Ten game
(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
“It wasn’t anything different. Same old football. It’s not a different kind of football playing in the Big Ten and playing other conferences. It was fine. It was fun. Great atmosphere. We came up short.”
Dylan Raiola on the defense’s performance
(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
“It’s not really the defense’s fault. It’s our job to score regardless of circumstances. They had a fine oiled machine on offense. Their quarterback played his butt off. Hats off to them. Had a great game plan. There’s really no added pressure. It just comes down to execution. I think our defense played very well. There’s little things that we want to obviously get back and change the game.”
Ty Robinson on the way they lost the game
(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
“That was a Big Ten game right there. That’s like the typical going down to the last play type deal. It hurts because we really kind of beat ourselves. Especially on defense. What’s awesome is we get to come back next week and clean up a lot of the mistakes we saw on the field, and get better.”
Ty Robinson on Illinois’ success in the second half
Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
“We knew they were going to try to run the ball. We held them pretty well through the first half. Being on the interior, I don’t really know what’s going on outside. Me and Nash (Hutmacher) were getting doubled a lot during the game. I kept cutting off the sideline because those guys were run blocking us up front, and I’m not even knowing it’s a pass type of deal. It’s just the things we can work on. Me recognizing it’s a pass faster, trying to make an impact on the play when they’re trying to take us out of it.”
Ty Robinson on costly penalties
Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
“Emotions got flared. Football is a passionate game. From experience, I was pretty hot-headed when I was younger. Just trying to help those young guys understand and control their emotions. Take it out on them during the play and after there’s no need for that.”
Isaiah Neyor on advice to younger guys
Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
“Keep your head up. There’s a lot of football left to be played. Things didn’t go our way but we have to go out and correct what needs to be corrected. And understand that there’s a lot of football left to be played. Let’s just go back. Watch the film. See what we need to do and try to go 1-0 next week.”
Isaiah Neyor on the touchdown turned interception
Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
“I just got to finish the catch. Dylan (Raiola) did a good job of putting the ball out there. I have to do my part of finishing the catch. Those are plays that need to be made. It’s on me to go out there and finish that.”
Isaiah Neyor on his toe-drag catch
Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
“It was great. We kind of went into a scramble and I saw Dylan (Raiola) roll out. My job is just to get open so that he can place the ball where it needs to be placed. He made a play and it was very exciting.”