The Chiefs and the Cornhuskers are off to winning starts

Should Nebraska freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola continue channeling Patrick Mahomes? Or should he get a new shtick?

There are worse role models to emulate for a young quarterback than Mahomes, the three-time Super Bowl-winning signal-caller for the Kansas City Chiefs. In the early days of the NCAA football season, Raiola is doing a half-decent impression of Mahomes on the field for the Cornhuskers — while drawing significant attention for “copying” his style away from the gridiron.

Chris Jones welcomes “great” comparison between QBs

Chiefs All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones has seen the comparisons, especially after Raiola led Nebraska to a 28-10 home victory over Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday night. Raiola’s first “signature moment” in college football won him plaudits from around the sport and brought more attention to “his” stylistic choices.

Posting on X/Twitter on Sunday, Jones commented “lol this is great!” in response to a side-by-side video comparison of Raiola and Mahomes’ pregame “hype” rituals — giving his stamp of approval to the fan and analyst comparisons.

lol this is great! https://t.co/KpeSKFEgxE

— Chris Jones (@StoneColdJones) September 8, 2024

Raiola was a five-star recruit and spurned powerhouse programs like Georgia and Oregon to begin his collegiate career at Nebraska — which last won at least a share of a national championship in 1997. The Cornhuskers have not posted a double-digit win season since 2012, nor have they played in a bowl game since 2016. Raiola’s task — to return a once-stellar program to relevance — is off to a nice start so far, as Nebraska is 2-0 in 2024.

In contrast, Mahomes was not quite as hot a commodity when he committed to Texas Tech out of high school, but he threw 93 touchdowns in three years with the Red Raiders and parlayed his individual success into being the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. As they say, the rest is history — Mahomes has elevated Jones, Travis Kelce, and the rest of their teammates to “dynastic” status as the Chiefs go for a third successive Super Bowl triumph in 2024, which would make NFL history.

The resemblance between Dylan Raiola and Patrick Mahomes is uncanny. 😂

📺 NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/Pt4ZAFr62j

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 8, 2024