Very interesting...

http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2015/5/...ng-coaches

Was just about to post this but you beat me to it! Plenty of love from Ohio State here.

Nice find. Can't really argue with any of it.

My bad Red!

Nice article although they make it sound like the team is going to fall off a cliff at any moment. In my opinion this year's team will be significantly better than last year's and 2016 is looking good too.

(05-28-2015 09:32 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  Nice article although they make it sound like the team is going to fall off a cliff at any moment. In my opinion this year's team will be significantly better than last year's and 2016 is looking good too.

Yes , my only issue with the article is that it would have made more sense, say a decade ago. "Can NIU keep defying the odds is like asking, can Facebook really catch on and be successful?" We kinda know and have already seen the answer to this question.

(05-28-2015 09:32 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  Nice article although they make it sound like the team is going to fall off a cliff at any moment. In my opinion this year's team will be significantly better than last year's and 2016 is looking good too.

Only thing I thought was a bit misguided was the huge emphasis the guy put on NIU needing to recruit better to sustain things. As far as any of us go, NIU's recruited well enough during this run. Stars and rankings don't matter as much at this level as finding guys who fit your system and coaching them up.

And even then, NIU's last 2 classes have been near the top of the MAC. It's only in comparison to WMU that they don't look as good.

The OOC schedule is about to take a massive step up from prior seasons so hopefully the program can continue to crank out wins. Any regression might be a result of playing tougher teams and we all know minimal respect is gained on a national level rolling through the MAC portion of the schedule.

I don't know about minimal respect, Huskies went to the Orange Bowl having lost to a terrible Iowa team and its best win was against Kent St. NIU has done pretty well in the respect department, lately.

What is missed in that while the last 5 seasons have been great NIU has had sustained success since 2002, and only 2 losing seasons this century. The you look at where they were the previous 5 seasons and it is nothing short of remarkable.

Boise is the only Go5 I can think of that has had more consistent success since 2000.

(05-29-2015 07:47 AM)BobL Wrote:  What is missed in that while the last 5 seasons have been great NIU has had sustained success since 2002, and only 2 losing seasons this century. The you look at where they were the previous 5 seasons and it is nothing short of remarkable.

Boise is the only Go5 I can think of that has had more consistent success since 2000.

Are you counting TCU or no?

(05-29-2015 08:02 AM)BarsemaBone2 Wrote:  

(05-29-2015 07:47 AM)BobL Wrote:  What is missed in that while the last 5 seasons have been great NIU has had sustained success since 2002, and only 2 losing seasons this century. The you look at where they were the previous 5 seasons and it is nothing short of remarkable.

Boise is the only Go5 I can think of that has had more consistent success since 2000.

Are you counting TCU or no?

Nope as they are no longer Go5.

(05-28-2015 09:32 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  Nice article although they make it sound like the team is going to fall off a cliff at any moment. In my opinion this year's team will be significantly better than last year's and 2016 is looking good too.

I don't think there's any doubt NIU should be better this year, but they can be better and still not win 11 games again.

The other day, I saw this ESPN documentary called "The U". It was about how the Miami Hurricanes went from being a below average team giving away free game tickets at Burger King in the seventies to perennial National Championship contender in the eighties and nineties.

The key was in getting local talent from south Florida to stay in Florida and play for Miami, rather than getting drawn to the SEC schools. The more the 'Canes won, the more likely the local talent stayed local, and the more the 'Canes won.

Likewise, there is plenty of talent in the high schools in and around Chicago, who are now more likely to play for NIU. I know there are many differences between NIU and Miami (FL) but there are some parallels too.

Also, whether you love or love to hate the University of Miami, this documentary will only reinforce your opinion.

The article also touched on an important step to NIU's success and that is finding talent in adjacent (WI, IA, MO, IN) and nearby (MN) states that are overlooked/,missed by the power programs. NIU has made a living pulling talent out of Indiana, an amazing feat considering there is a conference member instate along with Notre Dame and 2 Big 10 instate programs. The fact that other MAC programs have missed so much talent that NIU has corralled out of WI, MN & MO is also

The rest of the conference has only started to recruit talent in those states the last 2-3 years with the exception of Ohio working the state of Nebraska. NIU signed a K from Nebraska recently and hopefully that will begin a Huskie exploitation of that state as Nebraska is becoming a favorite recruting ground of the 4 time FCS National Champions (NDST)

It's funny how the author basically said why it's important to recognize NIU (in not so many words), with his Ohio State arrogance: "They can't beat us. They won't come close. I mean, who are we kidding? They're peons compared to us. And they can't recruit! I mean, it's a cesspool out there in DeKalb! BUT the reason I write this article is that they somehow know how to rack up these pesky mid-major wins, and hitting double-digit wins looks good for US when we stomp the hell out of them."

(05-29-2015 03:21 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  It's funny how the author basically said why it's important to recognize NIU (in not so many words), with his Ohio State arrogance: "They can't beat us. They won't come close. I mean, who are we kidding? They're peons compared to us. And they can't recruit! I mean, it's a cesspool out there in DeKalb! BUT the reason I write this article is that they somehow know how to rack up these pesky mid-major wins, and hitting double-digit wins looks good for US when we stomp the hell out of them."

Nobody with the exception of a complete homer/crazy person thinks NIU is going to beat OSU next year. That includes almost everyone on this board.

I'll be more than happy if they stay as semi competitive as NIU did the last time they played Ohio State.

Can you imagine what would happen if, by miracle, we beat them? You'd better get out of the stadium, city, and state as fast as possible. Prior to becoming suicidal, their fanbase will become violent and destructive and start burning mattresses, couches, and buildings again.

I guess I know why there are so many mattress shops in Columbus. Win or lose, they just love burning those mattresses!

I project a 14+ point plus loss. But I do think we will be able to put up some points...