Should Oregon State fans be having second thoughts about Mike Riley?
by Steven Branscombe, The Oregonian
Well, look who's coming back to the state.
Nebraska coach Mike Riley, who grew up in Corvallis, quarterbacked Corvallis High and went 93-80 as Oregon State's coach, brings the Cornhuskers to Autzen Stadium to play the Oregon Ducks on Saturday.
Riley became a polarizing figure toward the end of his tenure at OSU. Many fans groused at his inability to win the Civil War in the Chip Kelly/Mark Helfrich years, the increasing struggles of his teams to run the ball effectively and the Beavers' perceived defensive issues.
Riley is 16-11 as Nebraska's coach, which is good but well short of the standard of excellence set by Tom Osborne, who took the Cornhuskers to three national titles.
The Huskers looked offensively explosive and defensively suspect last week in a 43-36 victory over Arkansas State.
Oddsmakers favor the Ducks to win on Saturday, the spread growing to more than a touchdown.
If the Ducks trample Nebraska in Autzen, it won't help Riley's standing in Lincoln, where the defense and new defensive coordinator Bob Diaco have been taking a media lashing. Diaco wouldn't face reporters after the Arkansas State game, leading to this:
-- Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald: "Diaco ducks the media after his scheme gets trashed."
-- Dirk Chatelain of the Omaha World-Herald: "If Riley wants to keep his job, his defensive coordinator has to earn his paycheck."
Well, nobody said coaching college football is easy.
That said, I wonder if some members of Beaver Nation are having second thoughts about Riley.
Whatever you want to say about him, Riley never had three consecutive losing seasons at OSU. His successor, Gary Andersen, went 2-10 in 2015 and 4-8 in 2016. Andersen is a shaky 1-1 so far this season.
Getting to six victories with the schedule OSU has left will be a challenge.
by Steven Branscombe, The Oregonian
Well, look who's coming back to the state.
Nebraska coach Mike Riley, who grew up in Corvallis, quarterbacked Corvallis High and went 93-80 as Oregon State's coach, brings the Cornhuskers to Autzen Stadium to play the Oregon Ducks on Saturday.
Riley became a polarizing figure toward the end of his tenure at OSU. Many fans groused at his inability to win the Civil War in the Chip Kelly/Mark Helfrich years, the increasing struggles of his teams to run the ball effectively and the Beavers' perceived defensive issues.
Riley is 16-11 as Nebraska's coach, which is good but well short of the standard of excellence set by Tom Osborne, who took the Cornhuskers to three national titles.
The Huskers looked offensively explosive and defensively suspect last week in a 43-36 victory over Arkansas State.
Oddsmakers favor the Ducks to win on Saturday, the spread growing to more than a touchdown.
If the Ducks trample Nebraska in Autzen, it won't help Riley's standing in Lincoln, where the defense and new defensive coordinator Bob Diaco have been taking a media lashing. Diaco wouldn't face reporters after the Arkansas State game, leading to this:
-- Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald: "Diaco ducks the media after his scheme gets trashed."
-- Dirk Chatelain of the Omaha World-Herald: "If Riley wants to keep his job, his defensive coordinator has to earn his paycheck."
Well, nobody said coaching college football is easy.
That said, I wonder if some members of Beaver Nation are having second thoughts about Riley.
Whatever you want to say about him, Riley never had three consecutive losing seasons at OSU. His successor, Gary Andersen, went 2-10 in 2015 and 4-8 in 2016. Andersen is a shaky 1-1 so far this season.
Getting to six victories with the schedule OSU has left will be a challenge.
