Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (Buyer’s remorse sold separately in Baton Rouge):

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FIRST QUARTER: YOU BREAK IT, YOU PAY FOR IT

More than ever, athletic directors tie their own fates to the high-profile coaches they hire. An AD may survive one bad hire in football or men’s basketball, but likely not two. And for some of them, one major miss might be enough to send them both packing.

Which is why this is an uncomfortable Sunday for a couple of ADs at what were once football powerhouses. After terrible losses Saturday, fans aren’t just mad at their coaches – they’re mad at the guys who hired those coaches.

Start at Nebraska, where Mike Riley (1) is entering the danger zone – and bringing athletic director Shawn Eichorst (2) with him. Riley has started his third year 1-2, following a shaky victory over Arkansas State with a loss at Oregon and then a dreadful performance in a home loss to Northern Illinois on Saturday. There was a time when losing to NIU was no shame, but that time has passed – the Huskies came to Lincoln having lost 11 of their last 17 games. They also came to Lincoln without their starting quarterback, who was out with an injury.

But Northern Illinois returned two interceptions of Tanner Lee for touchdowns in the first quarter, pieced together one long scoring drive and then sealed the game with a third interception of Lee. After four games of surrendering 36 points or more, dating back to last year, it was time for the Nebraska offense to fall apart.

That loss drops Riley’s winning percentage at Nebraska to .552 (16-13), which lags far behind fired predecessor Bo Pelini (.713) and is right in line with the regrettable Bill Callahan (.551). Which should make Eichorst more than a little squeamish, since he went Lone Ranger to hire Riley away from Oregon State in 2014 – an outside-the-box move that was a personality upgrade from sourpuss Pelini but a competitive downgrade thus far.

The Omaha World-Herald reported last week that Riley was given a one-year contract extension through 2020 last winter – something the school had kept under wraps for whatever reason. Now the talk will be more about buyouts than extensions.

Eichorst made a postgame appearance Saturday to answer questions from the media and apparently didn’t pull punches. “I don’t think there’s any question that it’s not acceptable,” Eichorst said, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

Head coach Mike Riley watches pregame action before Nebraska lost to Northern Illinois. (Getty) More

If Riley can’t turn it around in Big Ten play, he and the guy who hired him will both be under fire.

The same dynamic is in the early stages of development at LSU, where the infinitely questionable Ed Orgeron (3) hire looks worse and athletic director Joe Alleva (4) will feel the heat if there are many more Saturdays like this last one.

The Tigers were pummeled 37-7 by Mississippi State, the worst loss LSU has ever had to the Bulldogs. This was a more-of-the-same loss, with LSU every bit as unproductive offensively as it had been in the latter stages of the Les Miles Era. What was supposed to be a more creative and explosive offense produced 137 yards passing and 270 yards total, with just one play from scrimmage going for longer than 19 yards.

There also was a continuation of undisciplined play from LSU: Nine penalties for 112 yards, raising the Tigers’ total to 30 flags for an SEC-high 272 yards in three games.

Amid that carnage, a couple things to keep in mind: Mississippi State might be really good, and we’re only three games into Orgeron’s full-time tenure. But you won’t find anyone who believes LSU has inferior talent to the Bulldogs, and you won’t find many outside the LSU bubble who believed Louisiana native Orgeron was more than a comfort hire.