LINCOLN - In the wake of a 55-45 loss at Big Ten straggler Purdue, Nebraska coach Mike Riley figured reporters at his Monday press conference would be armed with questions about the state of the Huskers.
So Riley made detailed notes on Sunday night, and offered to the media - and, by proxy, the NU fans - his thoughts on where Nebraska's program stands, and where he thinks it will go.
"There's no doubt we want to win a championship, and there's no doubt what we want to do inside the program," Riley said.
That optimism was matched in a rare statement of public support from Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst, who released a letter Monday morning before Riley made his comments.
"While many are understandably disappointed in the current record of the football team and the heartbreakingly close losses we have suffered, I am confident the future is bright because I see it in the eyes of our players, coaches and staff and I am impressed by what I know is going on behind the scenes," the letter read in part.
Later in the letter Eichorst wrote: "Coach Riley has a vision and a plan and is committed to providing the Husker faithful with a sustained winner which will compete annually for championships."
Riley got a heads-up before it was released that Eichorst's statement was in the works. Riley said he appreciated it. But he'd already planned, he said, to address "the elephant in the room" - that Nebraska is 3-6 after winning at least nine games for seven straight seasons.
"I know we're doing good things," Riley said. "Good things in the program and good things in solidifying what we know to be good football. And we have to spend our time and our focus to make sure those (players) are all growing and OK. It's a mental battle, as much as anything, that we encounter in these situations. But we can't be distracted by that. We have to stay the course and do what we think is right and keep doing it - and know that better days are ahead.
"I'm more confident about that - even in a bad situation - than ever."
Why? Through answers to several reporter questions, Riley touched on a few topics as the team prepares for undefeated Michigan State:
» The relatively close nature of several losses. Though Nebraska barely led against Purdue and was playing catch-up for the entire game, NU's other five contests came down to the game's final minutes. Riley said his assessment of the program and the Big Ten left him feeling confident for the future. Close games, Riley said, are a separator among teams.
"Could we take our team and change those games in a rematch day?" Riley asked rhetorically. "We can't do that, obviously. Could we make a few different plays to win those games? I've said … your season plays out on those games. Michigan State's had those games. Iowa's had those games."
Said quarterback Tommy Armstrong: "We have that fight, we just don't have that way of getting over the hill. But we have to figure it out."
» Recruiting. Nebraska currently has 15 commits and its largest recruiting weekend of the year when the Spartans visit. Several committed and uncommitted prospects are scheduled to attend the rare November night game.
"I know this is such a powerful place that we can recruit to, and try to make it better in years to come," Riley said.
» Belief in his culture. Some coaches, in the first few years of their program, will use the word "culture" as a way of explaining the difficult nature of transition from one administration to the next. Riley is opposite of his fiery predecessor, Bo Pelini, in demeanor and, to some degree, world view. Riley would not "compare and contrast" his style with Pelini's on Monday and added that, even if he'd taken over for Nick Saban at Alabama, he'd make changes to the culture, because he has core principles he believes in.
"I know everybody wants to win and I know in general, if you have people one on one in a corner and say what do you want here, they want that," Riley said. "They want what we bring and I'm proud of that and we won't lose that. That has nothing to do with not winning. We can't cloud that."
Defensive coordinator Mark Banker after practice told reporters that Riley has "always found a way to find the positive."
"We always talk about keeping the positive and taking the bad out," Banker said. "And then just trying to build on that. I think that's the test of anybody's mettle. I think anybody can win. It's when it's tough - not everybody deals with it the way Coach Riley does."
In his letter, Eichorst referenced his prior experience at other schools - which include Wisconsin, Miami and South Carolina - when speaking of the culture he thinks produces winning programs.
"What the best administrators and coaches have in common is a consistent commitment to teaching young minds to do things the right way and to instill a values system that emphasizes hard work, discipline, loyalty, teamwork, compassion and excellence," Eichorst wrote. "Those principles coupled with a positive attitude generally result in championships."
Eichorst also wrote that Riley had to rebuild the program "one brick at a time." Riley demurred when asked if he thought the job was a rebuilding project.
"I don't take jobs with that intention," Riley said. "My goal in taking the job was to establish good football and a program that everybody could be proud of."
Riley said he understood that fans weren't happy and were expressing their displeasure to Eichorst and on up the administrative chain of command. He said he appreciated Chancellor Harvey Perlman, who retires next year, and new University of Nebraska system president Hank Bounds, who occasionally comes to watch practice. The Nebraska Board of Regents - comprised of eight elected voting members - doesn't typically weigh in on coaching and athletic director matters, but Riley said he appreciates their presence, too. Two regents - board president Tim Clare and board vice president Kent Schroeder - watched Nebraska's loss to Purdue from the sidelines.
Riley said he didn't mind the questions, which is why he initiated the conversation. He just doesn't want the team thrown off by it as Nebraska prepares for Michigan State.
"When I leave this room, I go back to 135 players and I've got to get a game plan ready to go," he said. "That's what we'll do. Everybody's going to have a reaction. They care, so they're going to be sad, they're going to be encouraging, they're going to be mad and probably the same person is all of those at different times, so we get all that. I just wanted to say I know that, I know we have to do better and I really know how we can."
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