If real discussion includes ascribing feelings to a coach that you have no proof of whatsoever, then I don't want that kind of "real discussion". I don't think you have to praise him to the heavens, but you should also be fair to him. You don't think he knows that our expectations and goals are different than they are at Oregon State? You are essentially calling him out as completely clueless and out of it if you don't think he knows that things are different here.
Riley had plenty of pressure to win at San Diego while being forced to play Ryan Leaf and the other misfits his GM signed. He'll be fine. Mike's attitude, experience and ability to deal with people are his biggest assets in dealing with the pressure. You can't help but like the guy and that is going to earn him a lot of leash. 9 wins is still very possible and winning the B1G West is still very possible. We KNEW we had real roster problems at DE and linebacker and they have come home to roost. I like Freedom etal but you can't start and play the number of inexperienced linebackers and DEs we have and not expect to struggle against good QBs. I've posted it since spring. DE and Linebacker depth and play were going to be a real problem for us and our only hope was that ALL of our starters stayed healthy. They haven't. Hopefully we can get back to full strength by conference play and go on a run. IF we had better DE and Linebacker play IMO, it would solve some of the issues we've seen in our secondary. We can thank our former head coach's and linebacker coach's lazy recruiting for where we sit right now. That said, we are TWO plays from being 3-0. TWO doggoned plays.
I didn't need any convincing. I do believe Oregon St is arguably the toughest job in the PAC 12 and the fact that he could make them competitive in that league after the disaster he took over impressed me. The same people who hold his record against him at OSU are the same people who are clueless in regards to Tim Miles record at CSU. At the end of the day this doesn't guarantee anything at NU. He will need to recruit his butt off and find the perfect players to play in his system or he will fail.
I think we'll have additional losses to Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Michigan State and end up finishing 7-5. What worries me is that when you look at Riley's whole college coaching career, 7-5 looks like something he would be okay with.
Firing Pelini was absolutely the right thing to do and actually should have been done earlier for a variety of reasons. However, that doesn't necessarily mean hiring Riley was a good decision. I like him and think he's good with offense and quarterbacks, but I still think he's a head-scratching hire. We needed to build around someone who recruits his ass off and hates losing. Riley seems like the respectable, smiling face of a 5 loss team.
The Miami game today was just another moral victory in a post-Osborne era punctuated by moral victories and embarrassing blowouts. It sucks. Riley should be given the same chance to build that I would give any new coach, but he should also know that our expectations and goals are different than Oregon State's.
Other thoughts from today:
--I admire Tommy Armstrong Jr. The comeback he led was amazing. Yes, he made a few bad decisions, but truthfully he needs a running game to take some pressure off. He was trying to do too much because he seemed at times to be the only one interested in winning the game.
--That is the most sparsely attended game i can ever recall us having.
--Our team looked lethargic.
--I've never seen two players from the same team get ejected in a game for targeting.
--The stupid penalties of the Pelini culture need to go.
--Pelini, like Solich, sucked at recruiting. We look thin.
--Sucks to be Al Golden. He won, but they are still out for his job.
I am not a diehard OSU fan but did follow casually over the last 5-6 years the knock at OSU was
I think we'll have additional losses to Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Michigan State and end up finishing 7-5. What worries me is that when you look at Riley's whole college coaching career, 7-5 looks like something he would be okay with.
Firing Pelini was absolutely the right thing to do and actually should have been done earlier for a variety of reasons. However, that doesn't necessarily mean hiring Riley was a good decision. I like him and think he's good with offense and quarterbacks, but I still think he's a head-scratching hire. We needed to build around someone who recruits his ass off and hates losing. Riley seems like the respectable, smiling face of a 5 loss team.
The Miami game today was just another moral victory in a post-Osborne era punctuated by moral victories and embarrassing blowouts. It sucks. Riley should be given the same chance to build that I would give any new coach, but he should also know that our expectations and goals are different than Oregon State's.
Other thoughts from today:
--I admire Tommy Armstrong Jr. The comeback he led was amazing. Yes, he made a few bad decisions, but truthfully he needs a running game to take some pressure off. He was trying to do too much because he seemed at times to be the only one interested in winning the game.
--That is the most sparsely attended game i can ever recall us having.
--Our team looked lethargic.
--I've never seen two players from the same team get ejected in a game for targeting.
--The stupid penalties of the Pelini culture need to go.
--Pelini, like Solich, sucked at recruiting. We look thin.
--Sucks to be Al Golden. He won, but they are still out for his job.
