Nobody was buying Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola’s latest comment about how often he is compared to Patrick Mahomes.
Raiola has gained a great deal of attention for fashioning his game after Mahomes’, as well as the physical resemblance between the two. However, in a sideline report during Saturday’s game against Michigan, Raiola suggested he was tired of the comparisons.
“Dylan Raiola has heard all the Patrick Mahomes parallels,” CBS reporter Jenny Dell said during the game broadcast. “He told me, ‘I wish the comparisons would disappear. I have my own name. I’m proud of it.’”
Raiola’s sentiment quickly garnered attention on social media. Many users were quick to point out that Raiola leaned into the comparisons by cutting his hair similarly to Mahomes and wearing the same uniform number.
I’m sorry you can’t copy everything a NFL player does, from his pregame routine, walk, haircut, throwing motion, number, hand signals, the list goes on and on … and then say I’m my own guy and I have my own last name. You are the one that created all of this. So bizarre.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) September 20, 2025
Dude this Raiola kid bugs me. Don’t compare me to Mahomes but I’m literally going to copy everything he does down to his mannerisms, but I’m my own person. Okay buddy 🙄
— Andy Bell (@andybelltron) September 20, 2025
Dylan Raiola: “I really wish the Mahomes comparisons would stop.”
— CSG Longhorns (@CSGLonghorns) September 20, 2025
Also Dylan Raiola: *Does literally everything in his power to be exactly like Mahomes*@RaiolaDylan just be your own man
Dylan Raiola while doing everything in his power to mimic Mahomes’s appearance and every mannerism: “I really wish people would stop comparing us.”
— Beau Rehner (@BeauRehner) September 20, 2025
Raiola also undermined his own point by mimicking Mahomes’ signature celebration during the same game.
Dylan Raiola on Mahomes comps: "I'm trying to be my own guy.”
— Underdog (@Underdog) September 20, 2025
Also Dylan Raiola:
pic.twitter.com/yc8BEw44bb
To be fair to Raiola, he has said in the past that his choice of number had nothing to do with Mahomes. At this point, however, that explanation is always going to get lost. Raiola is simply going to have to accept the comparisons as long as he continues to take so much inspiration from the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback.
Raiola threw for 2,819 yards as a true freshman in 2024 with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He has the Cornhuskers off to a 3-0 start in 2025.
