GOAT

The difference is that Harbaugh has reached elite status because he's already proven himself -- you know he's capable. With Riley, we don't know that.

A lot of people thought the same about BYU

And I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get a ticket for next week's game... what was I thinking??

I thought we were in bad shape, but Miami looks downright awful. If we lose to them, it's gonna be a loooooong season.

Asked some buddies from Pennsylvania as well... none of them had a clue. Not that it makes any difference, just sayin'.

I would say this is wrong. The average Nebraska fan might have that impression because many of us had no idea who he was. Not that name stature is very important. As the HC of Nebraska now, everyone will know who he is. This would be true even had the hire been, say, our version of Derek "Who???" Dooley. I live in Louisiana. Just for kicks, today I asked 10 of my coworkers, all of whom are avid football fans, if they knew who Mike Riley is. The number who knew? Zero. I'll stick with my opinion.

I want to see a more balanced offensive attack, with 250+ yards rushing. I want to see the defense in the QB's face all game long. I want to see fewer than 5 penalties.

Well, then by those numbers, we should be ranked 15th if we keep them under 20 and hang 50 or more on them. I mean if the vaunted SEC struggles to blow them out... IDK, they return only 5 starters from last years team, and struggled to beat Gardner Webb last week, an FCS team. They only have 5 of their own starters returning, but they also picked up some of UAB's starters, who came there after UAB's football program closed up shop after last year.

My only problem with that is, Riley's no spring chicken

What in the heck do you have to base this on? I have watched Riley for several years (since his time in San Diego), he was exalted as the next great Chargers Coach, the same things said about him today (the preseason) are the same ones said back then. he left the Chargers (fired I believe or just quit as I don't remember which) after three seasons and losing record but the fans were more than ready to run him out of town. in his three seasons (1999 - 2001) there his record was 8-8; 1-15; and 5-11. About the same as his career at OR St. So, what makes you think he is going to take NU to a conference championship win? He does win the nicest coach award. maybe he makes me and his own history a liar, I am ok with that as I want NU to win!! Just for the argument, SD had tons more resources then OR St, and still he never had a winning record. I have seen (and so have you) really good coaches win consistently at smaller/less funded programs. Agreed -- I believe that a really good coach can win no matter where he is. I think that you could put Urban Meyer at the University of Alaska-Anchorage and he'd coach the Nanooks into contention. I agree that Riley is a nice guy. But I'd rather have a really good coach than a nice guy.

Haha thanks

Yes!! Thanks Steve Pederson.. I suspect if Riley finishes the season below 500 (very..VERY possible) he and the AD both may be gone soon.. the fans are not going to tolerate another Billy Callahan. May not be fair to Mike, but the cupboard was not bare when he took over the team.. with the talent on this team, 8-9 wins is realistic and Mike has already lost one of the "should have won" games. Hope Mike turns things around as I want NU to win (I don't want Mike to fail) but I have seen Riley coach the San Diego Charges and he struggled a lot and ending up either getting fired (or quitting), I don't remember which. After which he went immediately back to Oregon St. Riley could finish with a losing record both this year and next year and I still think that he'll be given a 3rd year... last thing Pederson wants to do is admit he made the wrong hire. Firing Riley would be his absolute last option -- hopefully it won't get that far.

Is this thread for real? I can't believe that after everything Bo said and did following his firing that anyone would still support him. Will be a long season? Possibly. Was Riley the wrong hire? Perhaps. But I know one thing for certain: Bo was NOT the right guy for the job.

All Nebraska fans want the same thing: to be a successful, championship-caliber program. That being said, I was shocked/saddened/disheartened to see how argumentative and downright hateful some Husker fans can be towards each other when there are differences in opinion. I've experienced it firsthand.

I give Banker a lot of credit for making adjustments at halftime and putting us in a position to win -- unfortunately he threw it all away with that nonsense prevent garbage in the final minutes.

Why is this the only way? It's certainly a way, but, coaches at schools with less resources, less talent, less fan support, less booster support and lesser facilities have all found ways to win conference titles; which, I would argue, is the reasonable goal most of the Husker fan base would be overjoyed to achieve right now. Therefore, it stands to reason you DON'T need a big name coach/recruiter to win at UNL. I don't mean to single you out, GOAT, but this drivel flooding in from all corners of the fan base is about as interesting as watching tar dry on the road. Mike Riley may not be the guy to get us to our goals. But, he's been given a chance, and he deserves to make the most of it with our support. I'm not saying that I'm right or wrong, mind you; this is just my opinion. I just don't think that Nebraska has the big name value that it once had -- it doesn't have the allure/swagger factor that many other current top programs have. The location and weather and general "plainness" don't help, either. There's really nothing that makes Nebraska stand out. Sure, we can get a 4-star here and there, but to be truthful, if you ask the average football fan who Mike Riley is, I'd venture to say that outside of Nebraska, most people wouldn't know.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the only way this program will ever return to prominence is we we shell out the $ to hire an established big name coach/recruiter who will be able to lure prime recruits to Lincoln. Don't get me wrong, I like Coach Riley, and I support him. He seems like a nice guy. But as far as being an elite coach, he's not.

Nebraska 31 - USA 15 Passing 222 Rushing 246