When you have the kind of success that Patrick Mahomes has had, you’re bound to inspire a lot of youngsters and copycats. And Mahomes has certainly done that during his seven-year, three-championship run with the Kansas City Chiefs. His most notable disciple is Nebraska transfer QB Dylan Raiola.
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The 20-year-old signal caller is heading into his junior year of college, and he has drawn a lot of comparisons to Mahomes. His coaches have said that Raiola models both himself and his game after the Chiefs QB, so this is no coincidence either. He’s a self-made Mahomes clone. They both wear number 15, sport similar haircuts, share similar throwing mechanics, and even have similar pre-game “pump your team up” antics.
They also wore the same color jerseys: red. That is, until Raiola entered the transfer portal recently. After spending his first two seasons with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who wear red and white like Mahomes’ Chiefs, the quarterback is moving on to the Pacific Northwest. Raiola announced he has committed to play for the Oregon Ducks in 2026.
The announcement came just days after Oregon was shellacked 56-22 by Indiana in the National Semifinal. Raiola is now a Duck, and it just so happens that Mahomes had his own Duck-related moment not long ago.
Mahomes attended Texas Tech from 2014 to 2016, and when his Red Raiders faced the Ducks in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day, he made a bet with a teammate who was an Oregon alum. Oregon won 23-0, and Mahomes was forced to wear a Ducks jersey in a social media video afterward:
Looks like Patrick Mahomes lost a bet to former @oregonfootball and current @Chiefs linebacker Jeffrey Bassa after the Ducks took down the Red Raiders in the @CFBPlayoff 🤣
(via IG/bassa2x) pic.twitter.com/ByGJ4K3smk
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 3, 2026
The teammate who got the glory was linebacker Jeffrey Bassa, Kansas City’s fifth-round pick in last year’s draft. Bassa is an Oregon alum who attended the school from 2021 to 2024.
That said, fans are hilariously theorizing that Raiola chose to transfer to Oregon simply because he saw Mahomes wearing the Ducks jersey in that social media video. A highly unlikely idea, but a funny one nonetheless.
“Can’t make this stuff up,” said Yahoo Sports in a tweet suggesting Mahomes had something to do with the transfer.
“oh for f**k sake,” commented another Twitter account suggesting the same.
“God Dylan Raiola is such a f**king bum bro what kind of man acts like another man and is not even close to being as good as them f**king loser,” exploded one fan who seems to have Tourette’s of some kind.
god Dylan Raiola is such a fucking bum bro what kind of man acts like another man and is not even close to being as good as them fucking loser
— W (@willbnga) January 11, 2026
“Alex, I’ll take “what’s worse than getting curb stomped by Indiana, for $1,000,” said one exasperated Oregon fan.
Oregon’s current starting QB, Dante Moore, is likely to enter the 2026 NFL Draft. But Moore could choose to return for one more year, depending on which team holds the No. 2 overall pick (the Jets), a selection that could be used on him. Either way, Raiola is expected to be Oregon’s starter within the next two years. And the Ducks may have Patrick Mahomes to thank for it.
