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Mike Riley says Nebraska needs to rely on ‘personal pride’

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

If there was even a shred of thought that believed Mike Riley would be on the sideline for Nebraska in 2018, it all but vanished after a 54-21 blowout loss to Minnesota on Saturday. Now, with two games left, it just seems like a matter of time before Bill Moos parts ways with the head coach.

After the loss, Riley met with a the media in the post-game press conference. In a dejected atmosphere, Riley sounded uncertain about what his team just experienced and what it means for his future in Lincoln. He was confused by the outcome and struggled to come up with an explanation for another blowout loss.

So where does Nebraska go from here? With two games remaining — a trip to No. 14 Penn State before coming home to play Iowa — Riley says his players and the coaching staff will need to rely on personal pride moving forward.

“Sometimes, right now, it’s personal pride,” Riley said following the loss. “Just the idea of ‘you like football, we like to coach football, let’s help you get better, let’s put a game plan together, let’s go play another game.’ From where we sit right now that’s going to be, I think, a big part of it.”

Nebraska is now 4-6 on the season and needs to beat both the Nittany Lions and the Hawkeyes to get to 6-6 and bowl eligibility. That’s a pretty tall order, especially for a team that’s been blown out in several big games this season.

Though Riley will continue to try and stay positive, it sounds like he knows he might be on his way out as the Nebraska head coach.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB