Behind Enemy Lines: Wisconsin looks to make it 11 straight vs. Huskers

For Week 13, we spoke to Steve Marik of Inside Nebraska and touched on the freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, the Huskers' new offense under Dana Holgorsen and more.

Where’s the panic level for Nebraska after the Huskers looked primed to snap their postseason drought sitting at 5-1, only to lose four in a row?

Marik: It's not so much panic, in my opinion. The panic has simply turned into doubt. Fans have seen this movie before, and it keeps happening. Many in the fan base are starting to believe some older players on the team — key starters who have never been part of a winning program — are not mentally capable of getting over the hump and winning a one-score game. At this point, not many are expecting Nebraska to win one of these last two games.

What led to the demotion of Marcus Satterfield and what should be expected of new play-caller Dana Holgorsen?

Marik: An ineffective offense was what led Matt Rhule to demote Marcus Satterfield and bring in Dana Holgorsen. During a four-game stretch against Rutgers, Indiana, Ohio State and UCLA, Nebraska averaged just 14.5 points per game and went 1-3.

On top of the heat Satterfield was receiving outside the program, true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola just didn't look comfortable in what he was being asked to do. Raiola is not a running threat, and the rest of the players around him on offense aren't good enough to stop defenses from keying on the running backs in the run game. The receivers haven't consistently beaten Big Ten pass coverage, too. There were many reasons why Rhule decided to make the change at OC when he did.

How would you evaluate true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola’s play thus far?

Marik: It's been a mixed bag. Raiola came in with such a high amount of hype from the fan base, so it was always going to be tough to meet expectations from those outside the program.

Through Raiola's first five games, he looked good and met that hype by completing 70% of his passes for 1,224 yards with nine touchdowns against only two touchdowns. But he's looked like a different quarterback since the Rutgers game. In the past five games, Raiola hasn't looked confident and completed 61% of his attempts for 888 yards and two touchdowns with a whopping eight interceptions.

Raiola is a good quarterback. He's just young and experiencing college defenses for the first time, and now that this conference's defensive coordinators have some tape on him, it's made life hard for the true freshman.

How does the fanbase feel about head coach Matt Rhule at this point — and how would you evaluate his tenure so far?

Marik: Again, I'd say it's a mixed bag when talking about the fan base's temperature with Rhule. Most fans still believe Rhule is the one who will turn the program around and get it over the hump, but also hoped he made staff changes, which he did with swapping Satterfield for Holgorsen. Some fans are tired of hearing him talk at press conferences and would just like to see results on the field.

Rhule isn't going anywhere soon. I believe he's in this thing for the long haul and has the runway to build Nebraska how he wants. But his way usually means the program taking off in Year 3, and he's one win away from getting Nebraska to a bowl game for the first time since 2016 in Year 2. This fan base appreciates he's trying something to fix the offensive issues, but at the end of the day, these fans have watched so much losing football over the years that they've become impatient and have a hard time waiting for the development to pay off in the win column.

Who are some under-the-radar players to watch Saturday night?

Marik: Let's go with one offensive player and one defensive player.

Offensively, Wisconsin will see plenty of Jacory Barney Jr., a small but explosive wideout from Miami. He's not under-the-radar, though, and has been a featured part of the offense since enrolling early in January.

Let's go with Jaylen Lloyd, another receiver small in stature (5-10, 180 pounds) but is lightning in a bottle. He's only been getting rotation snaps this season and has 11 catches for 240 yards, but he has big-play ability and elite speed. He's also competed for the track team at Nebraska, and if he wanted to he could probably be an Olympian. Last season against Wisconsin, he burned the Badgers' defense for a 58-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Defensively, let's go with Riley Van Poppel. The second-year interior defensive lineman has been on a redshirt plan this season (he played in 11 games as a true freshman in 2023) and has only played in three games, so he has one left (plus the postseason if that's in Nebraska's future) and fans are assuming he'll be used for the Wisconsin game to help stop Tawee Walker.

Van Poppel is young, but good against the run. He'd make a difference if he does play.

Prediction for the game?

Marik: Wisconsin has owned Nebraska since it joined the Big Ten in 2011. The Badgers have won 10 straight games, including the last four in Lincoln. Until Nebraska shows it can change things, it's hard to predict a Husker win, even if Braedyn Locke isn't it and there will be a different coach calling the plays.

Prediction: Wisconsin 24, Nebraska 21