Dylan Raiola once again played the hero off the bench for Oregon, leading the Ducks past his former school Nebraska 17-14 thanks to a game-winning touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson in the final minute of play.
RAIOLA FINDS JOHNSON FOR THE @oregonfootball LEAD ‼️ Watch on FOX https://t.co/O0qmlcowXY
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 18, 2026
Raiola entered the game to start the fourth quarter with Oregon trailing 14-6 and the offense largely ineffective with Brock Thomas behind center. He promptly led the team on a 17-play, 69-yard drive that resulted in a field goal to cut the deficit.
The Ducks defense would do its job and force a Nebraska punt to give Raiola the ball back with 5:31 left in the game. The offense once again clicked under his leadership, driving 82 yards in 20 plays to drain the clock and score the go-ahead touchdown with less than 30 seconds to play.
Raiola finished the game 11-for-18 for 59 yards and a touchdown - throwing for more yards than Thomas despite playing only one quarter.
The strong performance comes one week after Raiola was benched for Thomas in the loss to UCLA. He completed just 6-of-19 passes for 43 yards and two interceptions before being pulled. The offense looked much more efficient under Thomas, nearly coming all the way back to tie the Bruins.
That was enough for Dan Lanning to start Thomas on Saturday with QB1 Dante Moore still sidelined due to injury. Thomas struggled mightily in three quarters, completing only 9-of-20 passes for 54 yards with an interception.
That showing forced Lanning to turn back to Raiola, who is now 2-0 when coming off the bench this season.
It's second consecutive heartbreaking loss for Nebraska, who led in the fourth quarter of last week's game versus Indiana before falling by three points. The exact same fate found the Cornhuskers again on Saturday who now make the long trip home wondering what could have been.
