Coming off another embarrassing performance against Ohio State and the fifth blowout loss of Mike Riley’s three-year tenure, there were going to be no shortage of columns written about the trajectory of Nebraska.

These always follow the same thread for the most part, pointing out that Riley is a well respected, well liked coach, but Nebraska’s program hasn’t turned for the better since the decision to remove Bo Pelini and replace him with the current regime.

Then there’s some discussion about some of the changes made, some of the problems faced, and how the Nebraska fans have reacted to it.

Rinse and repeat.

Saturday night, however, featured a particular topic of conversation that always makes me uneasy, and at least one national writer posited that the next five games don’t matter and the Huskers should break from Riley right now.

Here’s a bit from Nicole Auerbach’s piece from The All-American:

“What’s left now? What’s the point of Riley finishing out the final five games? Why bother?

There aren’t many benefits to a midseason firing, really. Sure, it symbolizes change and suggests to season ticket holders that the status quo is unacceptable. But to most, the negatives — including a sense of quitting on the players and program mid-year — outweigh the gains.”

Ignoring whether Riley is the long-term answer, I’m blown away anyone working in the collegiate sports industry would say the games don’t matter.

Perhaps not to the columnist, some segments of the fan base or other media, but these games do matter to the people most important and that’s the players.

I can’t fathom how I’d write a column suggesting Nebraska fire a coach in the middle of a season, because the long-term outlook is murky at best, then turn around and ask Chris Jones about his rehab process is going.

This senior leader aggressively rehabbed a tough knee injury in order to get back as soon as possible to help his team, and I’m going to suggest the five games that he might play to finish out his career don’t matter?

Mick Stoltenberg has sat out times at practice since the spring game because of various ailments, but he hasn’t missed a game this season. Should I be the one to break it to Stoltenberg that his sacrifice doesn’t matter and the Huskers season is a lost one?

Chris Weber walked-on to Nebraska. He poured his heart into being the best player he can be at practice. He’s battled past a number of injuries, worked his way into being a starting linebacker for the program he grew up with and is a senior captain. Should I be the one to let Weber know that his senior year isn’t relevant to the outlook of the program’s long-term goals?

Firing a coach during the season should be a last resort, only done in times of scandal or when a team has clearly quit on its staff. Neither of those are the case for Riley and Nebraska.

The case for firing Riley during the season is only to provide instant gratification for some in the fan base, but it puts Nebraska no closer to anything. The team’s next coach has a season of his own to finish.

Instead, it hands over the reins of a multi-game stretch to people far less qualified to coach the Huskers.

It potentially alienates players, who instead of getting important reps and working to develop, are cast off or coached by a staff that knows its fate. The demand to improve goes down, the work goes down and the development stalls.

College athletes should be about the players first and foremost. Quitting on them with five games to go isn’t the answer.