Mike Riley

Three points, 20 punts and 10 sacks. Go ahead and say it was unsightly, but Oregon State Coach Mike Riley saw nothing short of a masterpiece. In the lowest-scoring major bowl game in half a century, the 24th-ranked Beavers shut down No. 18 Pittsburgh, 3-0, Wednesday in the Sun Bowl on Justin Kahut's 44-yard field goal. "That's the game we were in," Riley said. "We played that game. We ended up winning it. Some people will call it ugly, but I can't."

The Times' Chris Dufresne unveils his preseason college football top 25, one day (and team) at a time: No. 22 Oregon St. This ranking may seem high for a school that scored three points in the Sun Bowl last year -- and won -- and also loses eight starters on defense. But it's also time Mike Riley's program gets a little benefit-of-doubt love. USC, which lost last year to Oregon State, turns its defensive roster over and no one thinks twice putting the Trojans back in the preseason top 10. Oregon State loses players and gets tossed in the rankings sock drawer.

Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers has not lost a fumble in 1 1/2 seasons. USC tailback Joe McKnight is not nearly as sure-handed. But McKnight intends to keep the ball secure tonight when the Trojans play Oregon State in a Pacific 10 Conference game at the Coliseum. McKnight's second-quarter fumble in last season's loss at Oregon State remains fresh in his mind. After taking a direct snap from center, McKnight faked a handoff to Allen Bradford and fumbled.

Mike Riley, offensive coordinator at USC the past four years, agreed to become head coach at Oregon State, the Associated Press learned Tuesday. Riley, 43, decided to return to Corvallis, where he was a prep football star, to face the formidable challenge of rebuilding a program that this year set an NCAA Division I-A mark for consecutive losing seasons at 26.

Mike Riley, USC's offensive coordinator the last four seasons, is a leading candidate for two head coaching jobs. Riley, who coached the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers to two Grey Cup championships, has been contacted about that same job. He is also applying for the head coaching vacancy at Fresno State. Lynn Bishop, president of the Blue Bombers, confirmed he wants to interview Riley after USC's season.

The firing-hiring season has come around again. Mike Riley's phone is not ringing. "Thank goodness," he said, laughing. "I'm not going to be involved, and it feels so good." There are those who can ride the coaching carousel with ease, maneuvering through the maze of interviews and offers, and then there is Riley. His pony acted more like a bucking bronco, throwing him again and again.

The San Diego Chargers won five times as many games this season as they did in 2000, but that wasn't enough to save Coach Mike Riley's job. Riley, whose team finished with a nine-game losing streak, was fired Monday after three seasons with the Chargers. The Chargers, a team that went 1-15 last season, collapsed after a promising 5-2 start. "It just came down to one bottom line, and that's winning football games," General Manager John Butler said at a news conference.

Two years ago, USC was searching for a football coach and turned to Mike Riley after serious talks with two other candidates. Now it's UCLA looking to fill a spot and Riley appears to be No. 1 on the list. Within hours of firing Bob Toledo, sources said, the Bruins dispatched representative Bob Field to New Orleans where Riley currently serves as the Saint defensive backfield coach.

And you thought Bob Toledo ran some crazy plays. UCLA's search to replace him has thus far resembled a first-down, double-reverse pass from a freshman quarterback to a shaky receiver. The quarterback is Dan Guerrero. The receiver is Mike Riley. This thing has trouble written all over it. In hiring a new football coach, Guerrero has an opportunity that occurs at UCLA only every six years. He's trying to do it in six seconds. By making one phone call.

Mike Riley will meet today with Chancellor Albert Carnesale to talk about the UCLA football coaching job, but the New Orleans Saint assistant does not expect an imminent decision. Considered the top candidate to replace the fired Bob Toledo, Riley said that he expects to return to New Orleans later today with the job still open. "Nothing will happen," he said moments after his flight arrived in Los Angeles Sunday night. Of interviewing with Carnesale, Riley said: "I'm not the only guy coming in.