LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) Mike Riley has been at Nebraska for only 29 games, yet there is an air around the program that his job is on the line as the Cornhuskers get ready to open Big Ten play against Rutgers.

The 64-year-old Riley said he knew what he was getting into when he left Oregon State to come to Nebraska in December 2014 for, as he called it, "one last great adventure." This is a school that has won five national championships, went to bowl games every year from 1969-2003 and where two of the previous three coaches were fired after nine-win seasons.

With no conference titles since 1999, a fan base that has sold out every home game the last 55 years has become edgy after a second 1-2 start in three seasons. The howls about Riley, who has never had sustained success in 26 years as a head coach and is 16-13 at Nebraska, and athletic director Shawn Eichorst, the man who hired him, have grown loud after the embarrassing 21-17 loss at home to Northern Illinois on Saturday.