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5 Nebraska players to watch against Iowa football in 2024
Dylan Raiola has experienced some ups, downs in first year with Huskers
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IOWA CITY — Iowa football spoiled Nebraska’s shot at bowl eligibility last year with a 13-10 win.
The same cannot be said about the 2024 matchup. The Huskers already secured bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016. (They did so with a decisive, 44-25, win over Wisconsin last week.)
Friday’s game could still potentially impact bowl positioning, though, as Iowa (7-4) and Nebraska (6-5) vie for invitations from the same pool of bowl games.
Here are five Nebraska players to watch:
QB Dylan Raiola
Dylan Raiola was the centerpiece of Nebraska’s 2024 recruiting class as the five-star quarterback flipped his commitment from Georgia to the Huskers.
Now in Lincoln — where Raiola’s uncanny resemblance in appearance to Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has not gone unnoticed — Raiola is not quite putting up Mahomes-level numbers yet.
Raiola has completed 66.4 percent of his passes while throwing 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. While consistency has been an issue, Raiola has shown flashes of why he was such a highly-touted recruit.
Raiola completed more than 70 percent of his passes in each of Nebraska’s nonconference games.
In his first five games, Raiola had seven touchdown passes versus two interceptions. But then he had a five-game stretch where he had two touchdowns versus eight interceptions.
Raiola’s season may be trending upward again after completing 73.7 percent of his passes while throwing for 293 yards and one touchdown against Wisconsin — the same team that held No. 1 Oregon to 16 points the week before.
WR Jacory Barney Jr.
Jacory Barney Jr. has been another young player who has made an immediate impact with the Huskers.
The former four-star recruit already has set a Nebraska school record with 49 receptions as a true freshman. He leads the team in receptions, and his 402 receiving yards rank third on the team.
Barney is coming off arguably the best performance of his young college football career. The Florida City, Fla., native had nine receptions for 85 yards and an 11-yard carry in Nebraska’s 19-point win over Wisconsin.
Barney also has been a factor on special teams as the Huskers’ primary kick returner. He has averaged 21.1 yards per kickoff return, which ranks sixth in the Big Ten. (Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen is one of the five players ahead of him with 24.8 yards per kick return.)
RB Dante Dowdell
Dante Dowdell has experienced one of the more positive outcomes among players who went into the transfer portal last year.
Dowdell, a former four-star recruit, had 17 carries for 90 yards last season for Oregon as a true freshmen. He then made the move to Nebraska, where he has been the Huskers’ most productive running back.
The 6-foot-2 back has a team-high 564 rushing yards on 130 carries, which equates to 4.3 yards per carry. His 11 rushing touchdowns are the most for a Nebraska running back since 2018, according to Nebraska sports information.
One of his best performances was in Week 2 against Colorado, when he rushed for 74 yards on 17 carries and had two rushing touchdowns. When Dowdell finds the end zone, the Huskers are 5-2 this season.
DL Ty Robinson
Ty Robinson is one of the most experienced players on Nebraska’s defense — with 59 career games played and 46 career starts — and that experience has translated to impressive results.
Robinson leads the Huskers with 10 tackles for loss and six sacks through 11 games. He also is tied for the team lead with five quarterback hurries.
The 6-6 defensive lineman has been a productive player in past seasons, albeit not at quite an eye-popping level. He was an all-Big Ten honorable mention in 2023 after recording four tackles for loss and one sack.
DB Malcolm Hartzog Jr.
Malcolm Hartzog Jr. has sometimes proved to be a headache for opposing receivers this season.
Hartzog has a team-high four interceptions — twice as many as any of his teammates and more than he had in his first two years in Lincoln combined. He has allowed receptions on 64 percent of targets this season, though, according to Pro Football Focus.
He has long been a contributor in Nebraska’s secondary, entering this season with 17 career starts and appearing in every game in his first two years on campus.
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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