1 week Ago
New Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen will make his Husker debut Saturday against a team whose head coach already knows him well. That would be USC’s Lincoln Riley, whose career has intersected with Holgorsen’s both as colleagues and rivals. Both were on the same Texas Tech staff under Mike Leach from 2003-07 with Holgorsen ascending from inside receivers coach to offensive coordinator.
Riley began as a 20-year-old student assistant during that stretch and moved up to a full-time assistant working with receivers. They crossed paths again in the Big 12. Riley was the Oklahoma offensive coordinator who beat Holgorsen’s West Virginia teams in 2015 and 2016, then Riley won the next two meetings as head coach — the 2018 version saw the Sooners survive a 59-56 shootout.
Holgorsen moved to Houston for the 2019 campaign and Riley’s OU team bested him again 49-31. People are also reading..
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“Really, really good coach,” Riley said. “It’s unique timing, obviously. Kind of late here.
The natural questions which everybody will discuss will be how much can you do in a few weeks. Those will be the decisions they’ll have to make. Dana is a tremendous offensive coach — has been for a long time.
Very innovative and I’m sure he’ll come in and make a positive impact there.” Saturday’s 3 p.m.
CST tilt in Los Angeles will bring an old Big 12 history between Riley and Nebraska’s Matt Rhule into the Big Ten. Riley and OU went 4-0 against Rhule’s rebuilding Baylor teams from 2017-19, including the Sooners’ 30-23 win in the league championship game in a top-10 matchup in December 2019. “(Rhule) is also taking over a big one, a historical one, that’s had a little bit of its struggles and is battling his way back,” Riley said of Nebraska.
“You definitely see improvement from the previous year and obviously they’ve got a really committed place that’s a great place.” The USC leader whose quarterback proteges include eventual NFL starters Baker Mayfield, Caleb Williams, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts said Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola has done a “good job” and had some “great moments” as a true freshman facing Big Ten defenses. Riley noted Raiola’s “gifted” arm and strong build as a player who continues to learn on the job.
Riley said that while the move to the Big Ten has been “not quite kind” for the Huskers, he sees a school with the right ingredients for future success. The coach last week was part of a groundbreaking for USC’s $200 million performance center that will open a few years after Nebraska’s Osborne Legacy Complex, which opened its doors this fall. “Hard not to imagine them coming back,” Riley said.
“I think it’s another one of those programs you look at and say those guys getting better would be good for college football because it is such a tremendous program and has been for a long time.”.
