Jeremiah Smith’s two-touchdown debut wasn’t enough for him to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
Smith was denied the award in favor of former Ohio State commit Dylan Raiola, who earned the first Big Ten Freshman of the Week award of the season after completing 19 of 27 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in Nebraska’s 40-7 win over UTEP.
Raiola became just the second Nebraska true freshman quarterback to start a season opener since World War II, joining Adrian Martinez, who started Nebraska’s 2018 season opener against Colorado. The Cornhuskers scored touchdowns on five of his eight drives in their season opener; he played just one drive in the second half before exiting the game with Nebraska already holding a 37-7 lead.