Uh Okay: Nebraska Hires Mike Riley

Raise your hands if you saw this coaching hire coming.

Nebraska has a new football coach--and no, it's not who you thought it might be. The Cornhuskers announced Wednesday afternoon they've hired now former Oregon State coach Mike Riley to be their new head coach.

Riley replaces Bo Pelini who was let go just over a week ago. He was at Oregon State for the past 14 years compiling a 93-80 record. His teams were competitive, but he was never able to compete with the remote Corvallis, Oregon location and the big Nike bucks fueling arch rival Oregon.

Riley inherits a Cornhusker program that has been good but not great for the past few seasons under Pelini. The Cornhusker alumni still imagine themselves a national power, which is no longer true, but brings added pressure to the job.

Props to Nebraska AD Shawn Eichorst who conducted his search largely in the shadows. A rumor leaked earlier this week saying Eichorst had interest in Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, but that was quickly shot down.

The search was a direct contrast to the highly visible and shaky search conducted by Florida who finally announced their hire of Jim McElwain earlier in the morning.

#6 Sun Devils Go Down 35-27 At Oregon State

The curtain has fallen in Corvalis for Arizona State's College Football Playoff chances as Oregon State defeated the Sun Devils 35-27.

The 12th man was present at Reser Stadium and that fans made life difficult for the Sun Devils.

“The crowd was awesome, the atmosphere was great." Oregon State head coach Mike Riley said. "It’s great to see us just cut loose and play football. It was hard, it was good, I really appreciate how our team responded.”

One of those Oregon State players that cut loose was Beaver QB Sean Mannion who figured out ASU's defense with a pair of second half touchdown passes. Mannion ended the game throwing for 251 yards.

"It was a great team victory just the way we won it against a great opponent." Mannion said.  "ASU is as tough as anybody we have to tip our hats to them. iI think every aspect of the game came up, the run game was outstanding."

Oregon State sealed the upset when linebacker Michael Doctor picked off a Tyler Kelly pass late in the fourth quarterback and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown that sent the Beaver fans into a frenzy.

 "We knew we didn't have anything to lose,"  Doctor said.

Arizona State falls to 8-2 overall, 5-2 in conference but it's CFB playoff hopes are pretty much dead.

Oregon State is now 5-5 overall and needs one more win to go to a bowl game.

CFB Shocker: EWU Eagles Soar Over Oregon State

Kansas State now has some company in the room of being upset by a FCS school in your home opener.

Saturday it was Eastern Washington that stunned the Oregon State fans in Corvallis by defeating the Beavers 49-46.

Sophomore quarterback Vernon Adams, who had 518 yards of total offense, punched it in the end zone with 18 seconds left to put the Eagles on top for good.




Oregon State kicker Trevor Romaine had a chance to tie it but his field goal attempt sailed wide right.



“This is a huge win." Eastern Washington head coach Beau Baldwin said. "We aren’t talking about an average team, we are talking about a bowl team and a big-time opponent that is well-coached. It took every ounce of every minute in this sucker to get it done.”

Eagle quarterback Vernon Adams deserved the game ball.  Adams threw for 411 yards and rushed for 107.


He was doing it with his legs and making all the right decisions." Baldwin said. "That was the thing I loved about it. He was making all of these plays, but he was also taking care of the football and being smart when he needed to."


“You don’t really prepare for something like that and we were a step behind." Oregon State head coach Mike Riley said. "He was eluding tackles, which I think was a major factor in the game, the number of tackles that he made us miss and number of missed opportunities we had to sack him. And then there were the big plays he made. Early in the game he set the tone for how the rest of the game went.”

Oregon State will host Hawaii in Corvallis next Saturday.

Washington Upsets Oregon State, Sean Mannion Pulled Late In Game

Sorry Oregon State but you just don't waltz into CenturyLink Field (was Husky Stadium) in Seattle with an unbeaten record and expect to stay that way.  Just ask Stanford who were beaten down in Seattle a month ago.

Especially against a desperate Washington Husky team that had lost three in a row coming in.

And when the Huskies broke out the black jerseys the “black magic” voodoo would get the best of the Beavers.

Husky quarterback Keith Price was efficient going 18-30 passing for 194 yards.  Bishop Sankey rushed for 92 yards and scored both of U-Dubs two touchdowns as the Huskies were a perfect 3 of 3 in the red zone as the Dawgs upset the Beavers 20-17.

The guys who called the game for the PAC-12 Network, Ted Robinson and Glenn Parker, say it was the Husky defense that shined in this one. (Thanks PAC-12 Network)

“It was a tremendous amount of adversity that they were faced with in the game and they continued to show the mental and physical toughness that teams need to possess to beat a top 10-ranked team opponent.” Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I was proud of the character ours guys possessed, their ability to persevere when the game could’ve really started swaying in Oregon State’s favor when they notched it up 10-10 but our defense continually came up with stops.”

Here’s more post game sound right after the game. (Thanks KING-TV Seattle)

Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion looked rusty following a three game lay off due to a knee injury throwing three interceptions.  Cody Yaz come in late in the game and led the Beavers to the tying touchdown.

“It was one of those things where I thought that it would just be good for our team.” Oregon State head coach Mike Riley said. “Cody made some good plays, almost made a couple there at the end.”

“Would I have liked to play? Obviously, but at the same time I know it’s about the team and not me. I’m behind Cody 110%.” Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion said.

Oregon State has only one tough road game left, in two weeks at Stanford.  All the Beavers want to do now is hold serve for the Civil War showdown with Oregon, this year it’s in Corvallis.