Rivera played college football for Texas Tech Red Raiders, earning consensus All-American honors in 1982.
[3] Rivera garnered significant national attention following a 10–3 loss against the #1 ranked 1982 Washington Huskies football team, in which he logged 10 tackles, 4 pass deflections, 4 quarterback pressures, and a sack.
[2] He was named as the fourth member of Texas Tech's Ring of Honor on July 2, 2014, and had his name inscribed on Jones AT&T Stadium along with fellow College Football Hall of Fame members Donny Anderson, Dave Parks and E. J.
Rivera's selection was notable because the Steelers decided to pass on hometown hero and University of Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino as heir apparent to Terry Bradshaw.
Instead, head coach Chuck Noll chose to rebuild from the defensive side as the team had done a decade earlier with "Mean" Joe Greene.
[5] As the 1983 season progressed, Rivera slowly began to come on, getting two sacks in his first six games played.