Osu Coach Recalls A Better Tradition Riley’s Ties To Corvallis Date To Glory Days For Beavers

Do you remember where you were in 1970? New Oregon State football coach Mike Riley does.

As a senior that fall, he quarterbacked Corvallis (Ore.) High to the state title. When he wasn’t dominating on the field, he was watching his dad, Bud, work across town at Parker Stadium as defensive coordinator for Oregon State. No one would have thought the 6-5 record the Beavers had that fall would turn out to be a season to remember.

Yet, here we are, 27 seasons later, and OSU still is looking for another winning record; every other Division I-A program has been over .500 at least once since. Furthermore, OSU hasn’t had a sniff of the postseason since Tommy Prothro led it to the Rose Bowl after the 1964 season. But that legacy of losing didn’t stop Riley from leaving his job as offensive coordinator at USC - where he had been since 1993 - and returning home.

“It is scary, there’s no question about that,” Riley says. “There have been a lot of good coaches who have come through here, but that’s just one way to look at it. Another way is to see it as an opportunity, and another way personally is that I know this place and the town of Corvallis.

“OSU football players were my heroes growing up. When I was in junior high, OSU had a team that was in the top 10 in the nation, if you can believe that. So I have the memories of good times, excitement and good programs.”

Oregon State has consumed coaches Craig Fertig (8-36-1), Joe Avezzano (6-47-2), Dave Kragthorpe (17-48-2) and Jerry Pettibone (13-52-1) since Dee Andros last took the Beavers over .500.

Riley was a defensive back for Bear Bryant at Alabama from 1971-74, helping secure a national title in 1973. He’s smart enough not to guarantee a winning record in three, four or five years, and he tunes out those who say you can’t succeed at Oregon State. He is ready for the challenge. Despite a receding hairline, Riley, 43, looks as if he’s ready to suit up and take down a tailback coming around the corner on a sweep. His first task will be to re-introduce Oregon State to the pass, a facet of the game he knows well after head coaching stops in the World League of American Football and the CFL (where he won two Grey Cups with Winnipeg).

“We have to be wise in how we make the transition from an option team to one that is balanced,” he says. “Everyone always talks about the quarterbacks and receivers when you make a switch like this, but the offensive line probably involves the most work. They’re not used to the type of techniques and fundamentals that are employed in pass blocking. That’s our biggest job.”

When Riley was growing up in the Willamette Valley, he watched the 1967 squad that was called the “Giant Killers.” That team provided him with his favorite Parker Stadium memory. “USC was in town and O.J. Simpson was the tailback,” Riley says. “He breaks away, and Jess Lewis, an All-American defensive lineman who now works maintenance at OSU, has an angle on O.J. and catches him to prevent a touchdown. OSU hung on to win 3-0. That’s the hallmark game in OSU football history.”

Riley has a great chance to add to that history - or get consumed by it.