http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nca...s/3311799/

Quote:Paul Haynes, Kent State: After stints as defensive coordinator at Ohio State and Arkansas, Haynes returned to his alma mater after the Golden Flashes narrowly missed a BCS bid last season. Though last season was widely regarded as an anomaly for the program, few thought this year would be this bad, with Kent State starting 2-7. Many thought Haynes would be able to right the ship defensively, but the team is allowing 32 points a game.

Quote:Rod Carey, Northern Illinois: He picked up where Dave Doeren left off and has the Huskies 8-0, eyeing their second consecutive BCS berth. A matchup with 8-1 Ball State on Nov. 13 will decide the team's fate, but Carey looks primed to keep this program relevant for a long time to come.

Quote:P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan: The youngest coach in FBS finally got a winlast week, improving to 1-8. Fleck has tried to change the culture at Western Michigan, but the results aren't showing on the field. "DJ Illmix" and a nonsensical "row the boat" philosophy alone aren't going to score you more than 15.3 points a game.

We'll see how good Carey is when Lynch leaves. If they can keep it going then, I'll really be impressed.

(10-31-2013 08:37 PM)MileHighBronco Wrote:  We'll see how good Carey is when Lynch leaves. If they can keep it going then, I'll really be impressed.

We will return most of our offense next year. We have no seniors at WR, return all our RBs, most of our OL, and all our TEs. We lose Lynch but whoever is our QB next year gets a lot of weapons and returning players.

I think that NIU is here to stay.

Looking at Kent State, it's amazing what a difference a year can make; goes to show to those at the top that it is easy to find yourself at the bottom if you have a bad hire.

(10-31-2013 09:47 PM)Seth Wrote:  I think that NIU is here to stay.

Looking at Kent State, it's amazing what a difference a year can make; goes to show to those at the top that it is easy to find yourself at the bottom if you have a bad hire.

See: Miami post-Haywood (though their peak last year was much higher and the apparent decline unfortunately seems more sudden).

I watched Haynes in an interview prior the the start of the season, and I honestly saw a lot of Treadwell in him and his approach. It really would be a shame if Kent State fell back to where they were for so many years before Hazell.

I think a lot of people are getting too high hopes for kent. Last year, they had the perfect storm hit.

They had a player who is arguably the fastest guy to ever play in the league.
They had a RB who was serviceable enough to keep people honest.
They had a very experienced team, especially up front.
They won the turnover margin in like every game.

Last year was an anamoly. I don't expect them to be a contender regularly.

As many have said about NIU, it will be interesting. The new QB is going to have a tough out of conference schedule. I think Anthony Maddie will be the starter, and from what I saw from him in HS and read at WMU, he should be serviceable.

Yes, losing lynch is huge. But like mentioned above, every skill offensive player returns. Left guard Volk leaves, but his replacement already rotates in as is. If the new QB is halfway decent NIU should compete in conference for a west title. NIU will also get Akeem Daniels back next year.

(10-31-2013 10:19 PM)HuskieJWN Wrote:  I think a lot of people are getting too high hopes for kent. Last year, they had the perfect storm hit.

They had a player who is arguably the fastest guy to ever play in the league.
They had a RB who was serviceable enough to keep people honest.
They had a very experienced team, especially up front.
They won the turnover margin in like every game.

Last year was an anamoly. I don't expect them to be a contender regularly.

As many have said about NIU, it will be interesting. The new QB is going to have a tough out of conference schedule. I think Anthony Maddie will be the starter, and from what I saw from him in HS and read at WMU, he should be serviceable.

Yes, losing lynch is huge. But like mentioned above, every skill offensive player
returns. Left guard Volk leaves, but his replacement already rotates in as is. If the new QB is halfway decent NIU should compete in conference for a west title. NIU will also get Akeem Daniels back next year.

I don't think anyone would argue that Kent didn't have the fastest player in MAC history. They just didn't have him last year. Gerald Tinker's 1972 Olympic gold in the WR tieing 4x100 ( third leg) is a heck of an argument.

(10-31-2013 09:47 PM)Seth Wrote:  I think that NIU is here to stay.

Looking at Kent State, it's amazing what a difference a year can make; goes to show to those at the top that it is easy to find yourself at the bottom if you have a bad hire.

Very early to call him a bad hire and when it's all said and done he'll prove it wrong. While he did inherit a couple of nice pieces the cupboard is absolutely bare in other areas. Also, this season started with a horrible schedule while injuries mounted. They are much better than the record would indicate.

(11-01-2013 06:23 AM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  

(10-31-2013 09:47 PM)Seth Wrote:  I think that NIU is here to stay.

Looking at Kent State, it's amazing what a difference a year can make; goes to show to those at the top that it is easy to find yourself at the bottom if you have a bad hire.

Very early to call him a bad hire and when it's all said and done he'll prove it wrong. While he did inherit a couple of nice pieces the cupboard is absolutely bare in other areas. Also, this season started with a horrible schedule while injuries mounted. They are much better than the record would indicate.

Agree with PH. Way too early to call Haynes a bad hire. He has a ridiculous schedule; STILL hasn’t had a bye week. Our first and second depth charts have a good deal of freshmen, reshirts and a few juniors. We have about 7 seniors who are consistent contributors. The two stars he inherited, Nix and Archer, have been banged up most of the season.

On the bright side, if the commitments hold, Haynes has an outstanding recruiting class, including a four star OSU safety transfer who will have three years left with us. I think he’s learned a lot in his first year as a HC.

I’ll be as tough as anyone if Haynes doesn’t work out, but it’s way,way too soon to tell. Still believe in him and that he’ll be successful as KSU.

The damage to NIU will eventually come through coaching turnover. So much of their foundation for success was set by Joe Novak. Novak was one of the old breed of coaches who would stay after righting the ship. NIU fans will happily correct me, but have they kept a HC more than 3 seasons after Novak? All I remember is guys leaving.

Take the Carey situation. Either he takes the money and leaves this year, which is likely if he has the chance. Young head coaches know they may never look as good next season. Or, he stays next season, wins again, and leaves then. Or, he stays and suffers through an .500 or so season. All three options spell eventual change at NIU.

Enjoy the success while it lasts. When you change the coach as many times as NIU has had to, eventually it doesn’t.

They pretty much nailed it for WMU, and extra depressing when positioned side by side with NIU who's living the football dream. Even "Illmix" sounds like a rapper name unearthed from 1990. I wouldn't call Row The Boat nonsensical (if you read the rationale behind it) as much as it is unfitting for 'Broncos'. If we were the Grand Valley Lakers, then great.

Aside from RB, we return nearly everyone next year (whether that's a good or bad thing) including some injured guys who were supposed to contribute this year, especially Jaime Wilson, and what so far looks to be a very good recruiting class if most keep their verbals. Not a big fan of Fleck, obviously, but I'm willing to allow him this one stinker of a season and see if things get turned around in 2014.

(10-31-2013 10:19 PM)HuskieJWN Wrote:  I think a lot of people are getting too high hopes for kent. Last year, they had the perfect storm hit.

They had a player who is arguably the fastest guy to ever play in the league.
They had a RB who was serviceable enough to keep people honest.
They had a very experienced team, especially up front.
They won the turnover margin in like every game.

Last year was an anamoly. I don't expect them to be a contender regularly.

As many have said about NIU, it will be interesting. The new QB is going to have a tough out of conference schedule. I think Anthony Maddie will be the starter, and from what I saw from him in HS and read at WMU, he should be serviceable.

Yes, losing lynch is huge. But like mentioned above, every skill offensive player returns. Left guard Volk leaves, but his replacement already rotates in as is. If the new QB is halfway decent NIU should compete in conference for a west title. NIU will also get Akeem Daniels back next year.

The defense scares me though. On the DL, Bishop, Wells, Windsor and Meehan are all gone, and maybe 1 or 2 others. And Ward is gone.

(11-01-2013 08:25 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-31-2013 10:19 PM)HuskieJWN Wrote:  I think a lot of people are getting too high hopes for kent. Last year, they had the perfect storm hit.

They had a player who is arguably the fastest guy to ever play in the league.
They had a RB who was serviceable enough to keep people honest.
They had a very experienced team, especially up front.
They won the turnover margin in like every game.

Last year was an anamoly. I don't expect them to be a contender regularly.

As many have said about NIU, it will be interesting. The new QB is going to have a tough out of conference schedule. I think Anthony Maddie will be the starter, and from what I saw from him in HS and read at WMU, he should be serviceable.

Yes, losing lynch is huge. But like mentioned above, every skill offensive player returns. Left guard Volk leaves, but his replacement already rotates in as is. If the new QB is halfway decent NIU should compete in conference for a west title. NIU will also get Akeem Daniels back next year.

The defense scares me though. On the DL, Bishop, Wells, Windsor and Meehan are all gone, and maybe 1 or 2 others. And Ward is gone.

Meehan is only a junior. Rainey is the fourth senior.

(11-01-2013 09:06 AM)BarsemaBone2 Wrote:  

(11-01-2013 08:25 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-31-2013 10:19 PM)HuskieJWN Wrote:  I think a lot of people are getting too high hopes for kent. Last year, they had the perfect storm hit.

They had a player who is arguably the fastest guy to ever play in the league.
They had a RB who was serviceable enough to keep people honest.
They had a very experienced team, especially up front.
They won the turnover margin in like every game.

Last year was an anamoly. I don't expect them to be a contender regularly.

As many have said about NIU, it will be interesting. The new QB is going to have a tough out of conference schedule. I think Anthony Maddie will be the starter, and from what I saw from him in HS and read at WMU, he should be serviceable.

Yes, losing lynch is huge. But like mentioned above, every skill offensive player returns. Left guard Volk leaves, but his replacement already rotates in as is. If the new QB is halfway decent NIU should compete in conference for a west title. NIU will also get Akeem Daniels back next year.

The defense scares me though. On the DL, Bishop, Wells, Windsor and Meehan are all gone, and maybe 1 or 2 others. And Ward is gone.

Meehan is only a junior. Rainey is the fourth senior.

Thanks, thought I was missing somebody as a senior and I wasn't sure about Meehan without looking it up.