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Yes, it was a win. But nothing yet has convinced me that Riley is other than what he has always been; a .500 coach. I would love to be proven wrong. I was very excited about this season, despite my trepidation about Riley's past performance, but a game like tonight's just makes me think that this "nice guy" needs to retire so that the Huskers can hire a coach with more desire to win. Riley was a bad hire. I am not calling for his firing, that would just make NU look like a bigger dumpster fire than it already does...but he should just get out of the game. He was fine as an Oregon State coach, but he doesn't have what it takes to coach at a place with the expectations that are placed on the coach the way they are at NU. ...one more thing...before someone tries to "correct me" and say that Riley is above .500 at NU, I know what his record is, but playing like a .500 coach will keep us middle of the pack (at best), which is what Riley has done in his first couple of years at NU.

They were 9 yards from tieing. I worried and am. The "bubble screens" didn't hurt us got them 36 points, 497 yards and almost won. They threw the ball at will with only penalties and their own drops hurting them. We got absolutely no pressure against their front. They replaced their entire front OL this year. They averaged 219 yards per games last year. Hanson completed 57% of passes last year. Last night over 67%..... Don't worry? My a$$.

Of course it is unacceptable....to the media. It highlights how useless they are. Anybody that has a brain and watches the games doesn't need some know it all sportswriters spinning tales of what really happened. I don't have much use for the Nebraska sportswriters coverage of football. They all seem to have their own little agenda whether it be creating controversy, generating clicks or propping up or tearing down certain coaches. I'm glad he dodged them.

Two excuses I keep hearing that I think are ridiculous: 1. We were very vanilla on defense. Even if that's the case you pull the plug on that B.S. when ASU keeps scoring and driving the ball. You especially pull the plug on it when they recover the onside kick or the drive before that where they scored to bring it within 7 points! 2. They have won the SunBelt conference several times over the past 6 years.................uh so? It's still the SunBelt, we're in the B1G, no way this team should be able to hang with us.

Whether we 'hid' anything schematically is different argument from acknowledging the personnel groupings we ran last night. IIRC, we only went into nickel or dime personnel 1-2 times last night, in all the plays we ran defensively. Instead, in 4 WR sets, we had Newby, Ferguson, Barry and Gifford trying to cover WRs in the flats and down the field. We may learn that Diaco is a stubborn man, but an unintelligent man isn't something I would put on him. So take from that what you will. But one thing is certain, if we do that again next week, we are easily getting 50+ on the board put up against us.

When Riley was hired, I had to google who he was.At the time, in his college career, he was a .504 coach. I was concerned. I thought he was the wrong guy for the hire. A west coast guy with no NU ties. A coach who hadn't won anything of note. A coach who was known to throw. A lot. He came here and I was disappointed in his first game. BYU hail Mary. One play that was allowed by clock management I would expect form a first year staff. Not a staff with the experience he brought. Several other in game issues cost us more....Not what I'd expect from a seasoned coach and staff. We all heard how it would be. Great guy, does more with less..... Here is my philosophy on that. Winners win. It's that simple. A guy who isn't used to winning (or succeeding at a high level) begins to accept that in their psyche. It truly becomes their DNA. He is and was ecstatic for a 9 win season. His level of expectations is (or acceptance if you will) is, IMHO, less than a coach who is a "winner". The staff he brought were also .504 guys...This mediocre "mindset" transcends into performance and success on the field or life. Coaches, businessman, military teams etc have greater success than those contemporaries who accept loss. Or expect it.......They try harder, have higher expectations and refuse to accept mediocrity. Clock mismanagement last night again....The stupid penalties again.....A team or business or unit takes on the personality of its coach, CEO or leader.... Riley,IMO then and now, wasn't brought in to win. He was brought in as the anti-Bo. Nice, likable, friendly. Heal the fractured fan base, press and alumni athletes. He has done a great job at that. He has assembled, by all accounts some great pieces on his staff. He also appears to be recruiting at a high level. BUT I do not expect a .504 coach, in the twilight of his career, to suddenly know how to win at a high level. I just don't think that switch gets "turned" on. Thats just my .02. I hope for his success as it means success for NU.

One of the responses to that Diaco media tweet was gold.... something like "did the reporters all give him a 15 yard cushion?"

Our secondary looked like it had no clue what to do. That is going to be a massive problem next week, let's not sugarcoat it.

I have been on this board for years, and every year I see the same comments about why our defense is terrible. "We don't want to show (insert top 25 team here) our whole package... so we were just playing our 'base defense'." Seriously? Do you think Alabama ever just plays their base defense because they are afraid of giving something away? It shouldn't be about gimmicks and secret tricks up your sleeve. It should be about execution week in and week out. We bring our best game every week, put it on the field, and adjust as needed to whatever the other team has prepared for. This pathetic excuse that so many have used for so long needs to go to the garbage can along with every Blackshirt given out to these mediocre players, and the paychecks we give to defensive coordinators.

Yep. I was there. Kind of sucked. But does anyone remember the 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons? It's POSSIBLE that there was more reason to expect a quick improvement then than there is now.

If they don't, I just try to look at our team for the season they have. Footballs a weird game sometimes. I'm thinking of the Flea Kicker game Mizzou finished 7-5, we won the NC. They had no right to be playing us that way, but they did. At the end of the day, wins are wins. If we win every game we're supposed to in this super stressful way, I'm all for it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not thrilled about the game, but I'm still willing to give the team a chance.

Nobody is going to hire away Diaco any time soon. Everybody relax. It's one game. It's one college football game and the vast majority of us are older than the players. We have other things to really worry about. Kids. Jobs. Significant others. Perspective

Why exactly is this a bad thing? Usually everyone complains about the coachspeak answers they give. Without reading the article, the title makes Shatel sound as if he is entitled. Did he write anything about the positives that came out of the game? Why not write about the game itself, why make up a controversy where there doesn't need to be one? Nebraska just played a game where 11 defensive starters were playing in an entirely different scheme, of course there were going to be growing pains. Now Diaco, and crew, have game footage to take to practice and make adjustments.

My life revolves around Husker football as much as yours does. I'm on a message board making a comment after a disappointing game and pointing out that, at least so far, this is pretty much what I expected from a .500 coach. It's not what I wanted, but what I expected. I guess I just don't have the exciting life you do...you know, the one where you read huskerboard posts and comment on them and hurl insults at people who are expressing their opinion.

When does the whining end and the objectivity resume?

Step up to the plate. Own it like a man and a Husker. The kids couldn't side step it. Lead by example. We aren't ND or Connecticut fans. We know a crap show when we see it......Not saying it can't/won't improve, but the schtick will get old if you don't own up.

One thing that's being overlooked/forgotten in the defense discussion is how the offense could help them out...but failed to do so. How many times, late in the 4th quarter, did Langsdorf stop the clock by going for a pass instead of running the ball? The best teams with the best coordinators realize there's a symbiotic relationship between the offense and defense. Langsdorf could have helped the defense out by sticking with the running game (which was hotter than the passing game at that point), and running the clock down so ASU didn't have enough time to open up more season tickets via heart attack. Problem is, Langsdorf has failed to learn this lesson repeatedly, and it's a lesson that is going to kill us in a tight/close game that matters down the stretch. For all the talk talk about this being a new offense and new expectations, it's disappointing to see this issue at the OC/playcalling level creep back up, especially since the offense did have a good night overall.

Hope we can keep ASU on the schedule. They aren't a creampuff program that allows us to feel good about our program. They do a good job of exposing our weaknesses. I respect them

"Bend don't break" is just a politician's way of saying "defense like a sieve". Offense looked pretty good with Lee and Bryant in the backfield. Big Money Bob better have some things up his sleeve for Oregon.

A coach's success at one place is hardly an indicator of how they'll perform at another place. Heck, if you looked at how Nick Saban did as head coach at Michigan State and with the Dolphins, you'd never guess the guy would be widely regarded as one of the best coaches of all-time. If you thought a .500 record at Oregon State means he's not capable of more at Nebraska, that shows you weren't even prepared to give him a chance. Whether he is or isn't, the record alone is not an indicator of how well he will do here.

2016 Auburn L 51-14 2015 USC L 55-6 2014 Tennessee L 34-19 I know this may be news to some, but Nebraska is not in the Sun Belt.

If you were toying and playing vanilla defense all game long to try and "hide" something from Oregon, then I would hope we'd say enough is enough when Arkansas State is down 14 and about to score to make it a one score game within the final minutes. Then I would hope if Arkansas State gets the onside kick we would really turn up the defense to make sure they got nowhere close to scoring or tying the game. IMO, the hiding playbooks to keep things secretive against future opponents is hogwash, and it certainly shouldn't and wouldn't apply when you may lose a game.

If Riley really praised the defense, he is totally out of touch with reality.

No one thinks Diaco held back his blitz packages for Oregon?

In all honesty now with no spin or bulls$$t do we look like a team that is heading out of the quagmire of mediocrity we have become. A team that has a china mans chance in hell of contending for the league title any time soon. Now take the blinders off and be HONEST!!!!!!!

Welp...

Oh no, they put up 77 points against Seward High School! WE'RE DOOMED!!!

A friend once told me chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please.

I keep seeing people say, "I'm happy we faced a good opponent so that our coaches see our faults and will address them," and, "I'm glad that end-of-game clock mismanagement didn't bite us in the butt, the coaches can learn from this near disaster." But, do coaches every learn anything new? And do they consequently adapt to it? Maybe it is because they are stubborn. Maybe it is because they aren't smart enough to adapt. Maybe it is because, in some instances, adapting would hurt more than help (i.e. if Diaco decided to have the cbs press instead of play off, possibly resulting in getting burnt deep). Whatever it is, coaches never actually seem to learn/adapt. Mike Riley is the second(?) most experienced coach in college football, yet routinely mismanages the clock and hasn't learned how to close out opponents. Diaco apparently never learned throughout his ND/UConn years to bring his cb's closer. So should we go into next week, and every week from here on out, expecting to see these same mistakes? Or do we believe something changes?

One game in and all of the naysayers come on and I told you so in several threads. Very tiring!

Really? An unimpressive win is a lower point than a 70-10 beatdown from Texas Tech? Or lower than giving up a then NCAA rushing record? Or a couple other Wisconsin games? Was McNeese State your previous low point?

Yes. It may lack the flailing, kicking and screaming but it's still just somebody that wants everyone else to conform to their way of thinking the way things should be.

I don't get why people do this year in and year out. Lots of teams struggle with bad opponents in the 1st or 2nd games of the season. Some of them go onto be good, others don't. Louisville beat Purdue by 7 points. This happens every single year. Ya, we might be bad, but there are loads of people around here who are SURE we're going to be awful. That's foolishness.

And after much much later you will still be trying to sugar coat it. Been a whole lot of talk and excuses and not a lot of substance over the last however many yrs.

Hot: The Tanner Lee hype is real. May have the best pure arm talent at the position since maybe Brook? Cold: Langsdorf's playcalling in the middle of the second half. We could run the ball at will at times, yet we throw on 3rd and 4? Hot: Tre Bryant showed Ameer-like vision to find holes and cutback lanes. Cold: Bryant doesn't have the top end speed to turn the 5-6 yard runs into 15-20 yard runs. Hot: Run the Damn Ball Guy had to be happy tonight. Cold: Too many carries for Bryant. Have a feature back that get a majority of the carries is good, but 30+ is too much IMO. Hot: The O-line provided nice running lanes and good push for the running backs. Cold: The right side of the O-line is not on the same page. Farmer and Knevel's inability to decide who to block cost us a safety, and almost got Lee killed. Hot: Carlos Davis was almost the entirety of our pass rush last night. Cold: Carlos Davis was almost the entirety of our pass rush last night. Hot: Young defenders played older than their years last night. Berry, Bootle and Thomas come to mind. Cold: Vanilla D put us in bad positions last night Cold: LB corp is a mess right now. The OLBs were picked on in the bubble game, and the MLBs didn't know which player or zone to cover half the night. I'm betting at least one of our MLBs that started last night won't be starting at the end of the year. Hot/Cold: Special Teams looks like it's being coached by 6 different people right now.

Well....you can say it's an excuse and be all passed off about it, but it's true that we showed absolutely nothing special last night. During fall camp camp we heard constantly that our o line was seeing a lot of different stuff from the front seven. Fact is, there is a lot more to this defense than what we saw.

Riley isn't a guy with 2 seasons and 1 game under his belt. His whole head coaching career has been full of poor clock and game management. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, and it won't get better "with more experience".

Mr. 8fidy can't stand in front of the press core and defend his defense but makes a journalist do it? That's chicken poop and is crowdardly as his bend don't break defensive philosophy.

The good news is Oregon might have their third string offense in the game by the 4th quarter so they might not put up more than 70 on us.

Thanks for that. This ASU team is regarded by many as the most talented we have ever had. Just have to go out and back that up. Many ASU fans thought if things went right that we could be in it in the 4th quarter. Now we have some things to improve on to gear up and open up a can of whup@$$ on Miami next Saturday. Same thing with Nebraska, things to work on and improve to go up there and spank Oregon.

IDK - maybe from watching the last 15 seasons of total suckage that is Nebraska football?

Yes, against the SUN BELT. Look at their record the past few years, especially against P5 teams, and especially in the early part of the schedule. That's not the profile of some overachieving small program, that's the profile of a team that gets into bowls because the bar is very low and they play in a low tier conference. This was a team that lined up poorly, had to take unnecessary timeouts, unnecessary penalties, bad snaps, bad tackling, turned the ball over, gave up points on special teams, gave up points on offense. I dont care what their shirt says, this was not a good performance they put up today.

Sweet, sweet tiny bit of karma. I hope Baylor never wins another football or basketball game - I'll just say any game in any sport to make it easy to remember.

Plenty to be upset about don't make stuff up though. Arkansas State is not a FCS team for crying out loud, they have a chance to win their FBS league. Don't be Trump guys. Be better.

Sure, and if frogs had wings they wouldn't bump their ass when they hop.

Lee threw passes that would have made Armstrong blush. Receivers dropped sure catches.. we ran straight at the line expecting a result other than a minimal gain... But...the MAC crew did royally screw us on like 3 big calls.

You know that wasn't the defense. Why would you play vanilla like it's a scrimmage? I don't know. Kind of puzzling mindset. Doesn't portend well. But it wasn't the defense. 8 minutes left in a 2-score game...you still need to score. Being passive is more likely to put you in a nailbiting situation. Of course, so does trying to score and failing to. But at least you try to put it away. Hopefully we plug those faucets