Nebraska Cornhuskers football takes PR hit from negative national reporting heading into the weekend

The details of quarterback Dylan Raiola’s divorce from Matt Rhule’s Nebraska Cornhuskers football program were published on Friday, and needless to say, it doesn’t paint Big Red in a positive light heading into Memorial Day weekend.

CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer platformed brutal comments from the Raiola family, courtesy of a third-party source, on the Cornhuskers that paint Rhule and his staff as incompetent and incapable of developing the QB into a top NFL draft pick.

“Speaking to sources close to the situation, Raiola's family wanted him in a place where he could compete for a national championship and get a fresh start in his development, with an eye toward the NFL Draft. The Huskers were frustrated by the annual back-and-forth with Raiola and were happy to save money on their $3.5 million-a-year investment in Raiola, who was one of the highest-paid players in college football last season,” Hummer wrote.

Questions about Rhule’s history with QBs are fair. His most successful player at the position, P.J. Walker, was a star on the Temple Owls, but his talent didn’t directly translate to the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. Was Rhule an efficient and effective play-caller, or was Walker simply dominating AAC competition a decade ago?

It’s unclear. Still, Rhule has a chance to end up winning the breakup, because the Oregon Ducks could have preferable options to Raiola over the next few seasons. And maybe Nebraska will, too.

Oregon could accelerate Will Mencl or find a preferable transfer to Dylan Raiola in 2027

Raiola is operating with a maximum money mindset, which every player should. The thing is, Oregon has a proud tradition at quarterback, and 4-star Chandler, Arizona, star QB Will Mencl is entering the mix in 2027.

The Ducks have had a true freshman start under center, with Justin Herbert and Marcus Mariota in the past decade and a half getting the chance to start. Raiola is not guaranteed to win the job over Mencl based on experience alone next year.

Also, even if Raiola proves to be a good fit, we know he’ll hunt for the biggest payday available. That might not sit right with Phil Knight, Dan Lanning, and Co. Hell, maybe they'll hunt for a bigger fish at the position than him.

Perhaps TJ Lateef delivers similar or better results in Lincoln, and Big Red will win the breakup. Clearly, it's a messy divorce, and media backchannels are being used to exacerbate it.