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Mike Riley, as usual, handled an unfortunate situation with a high degree of class and integrity.

Regarding Nate Gerry's academic ineligibility for the Dec. 30 Music City Bowl, the second-year Nebraska football coach said all the right things Thursday — with one notable exception.

"You have to reflect with your staff: How could we have changed this?" Riley said.

Perhaps Riley could've walked the 21-year-old Gerry to his classes and helped him with his homework.

Yeah, right.

I hesitate to place any blame for Gerry's irresponsibility on Riley or Nebraska's athletic department. Good luck finding an athletic department that does a better job of providing student-athletes with all the tools necessary to succeed academically.

Gerry evidently chose to eschew those tools. That's on him.

I've talked to several people close to the situation. This wasn't a case of an extenuating circumstance waylaying Gerry. This was the senior safety — a team captain — simply allowing his academics to slide to the point where he will fail to reach the finish line of his college career with the teammates he professes to love.