(01-14-2012 02:44 PM)onlinepole Wrote:  ...but the talent he has so far at least according to Rivals is not B10 calibre.

This was my biggest concern when NIU hired him. If you look at his recruiting classes even back then, there was a lot of "not MAC caliber" talent he was bringing in. He is grossly overrated as a recruiter, but I will give him deserved credit for getting the most out of his players. His training and development program seemed to be an improvement over what was in DeKalb when he arrived, so credit there as well.

I picked NU over Minny and Minny over UI this year mainly due to home-field. I expect these 3 teams to be very close the next 2-3 years with the advantage going to the home team. After that (approx. enough time for 1 recruiting cycle to show), things will depend on how the two new coaches in Minny and Champaign do.

I contend that NU peaked during your current coach's playing days, hit a lull then came back a bit, but realistically, has hit a ceiling. This is not so much against the school, your coach, or the football program, but rather the nature of the Beast. NU is at a disadvantage against other Big 10 schools. And the ability to compete in one's conference will always be a factor.