By admin 
Saturday was a tough day for Dylan Raiola.
Oregon’s backup quarterback, who is playing in place of an injured Dante Moore, was benched during the Ducks’ loss to UCLA. Raiola threw multiple interceptions as Oregon’s offense struggled with ball security in a 17-15 loss.
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The former five-star recruit threw for just 43 yards on 31.6 percent completion before getting benched in favor of third-string quarterback Brock Thomas.
But following the game, Raiola surprised, choosing to speak with reporters, instead of hiding out in the locker room. It’s honestly a rarity for a college athlete in this kind of situation.
Raiola made it clear that he felt you need to own up to something like that in the moment.
“I’ve got a younger brother, and he looks up to me,” Raiola said at his postgame press conference. “I mean, this isn’t just football, this is life, and tough situations happen. You gotta own them. There’s no running around ’em. There’s no dodging ’em. The product we put out there — the product I put out there — I gotta live with that. I gotta own everything, take it on the chin, and move forward. We’ve got a quick turnaround”
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“I owe the respect to you guys,” Raiola added. “I owe the respect to the fans and everybody that’s incorporated with this thing.”
It’s impressive maturity from Raiola
It’s impressive for a player like Raiola, who has been no stranger to scrutiny over the years.
Raiola has faced a lot of criticism since arriving at Nebraska three seasons ago. He’s brought some of that upon himself, of course, with his Patrick Mahomes impersonating, but at the end of the day, he’s still just a young college athlete going through some growing paints.
It’s impressive to see how he handled Saturday’s benching and more players should follow in his lead when it comes to how they react to a tough situation.
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This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 8:00 PM.