Some here have compared Bill Snyder and K-State to Ohio and OUr coach.

No.

From SI this week

On Jerry Kill building Minnesota up..Kill said, "(i)t's going to take six or seven years. It's just the way it is." (Is ten more or less than six or seven?)

From article on UMiss/MissState rivalry: Re Alabama beating MissState 'they execute at such a high level. If you make one or two mistakes it can cost you the game. (hmm..NIU)
After one potential hire characterized MissState as 'losing and boring,' their AD couldn't decide which was worse. "The losing you can't change overnight. But the boring you can--in a day--if you get the right guy."
MissState fans love how now coach Mullen battles for every recruit w/in six hours (vs. UMiss, Alabama, Auburn), even putting up PLAY WITH THE BEST billboards in Oxford.
"In today's America nothing beats sports as a marketing peg...eyes and minds will follow. we're going to see an increase in applications."

Is it not a fact Kansas State football went 69 years between conference championships?

Is it not a fact, that despite coaching 22 years at Kansas State, Bill Snyder has but two (2) conference championships?

Solich had Ohio "built up" faster than that. While he actually won the MAC East in year 2, he really didn't have the program "built up" until 2009, which was year 5. That doesn't mean there won't be rebuilding cycles after it is "built up", though.

Note that I think Kill is doing a fantastic job at Minnesota, but even so, how long will it take Minnesota to get to the B1G Championship game? How long to win a B1G Championship game? I think it's very, very unlikely that he will get to the Championship game 3 times in his first ten years, and I'm not convinced he will get there once, but he might.


OK, I'll play. Yes, I think so. The next few years will be his most talented teams yet. The recruiting classes of 2013 and 2014 are going to win a lot of games. There is always the luck of the game, so the most talented team doesn't always win the Championship (for example, I think Toledo is the best MAC team this year, but won't be in the MACC game). I do think that the odds are reasonably good that he can win one in one of the next three years, and I think he will retire in 2017.

Now it's my turn. Doe anyone honestly think that Ohio won't gravitate back to the bottom of the MAC over the next 10 years after Solich retires?

+1 +1 = +2

Agree Paul.

Schaus would hire a great young coach who is also a good recruiter. We may also get a talent bump.

BUT; we might be losing our coach every 2-3 years to a Power 5 school.

The Big 12 is definitely equivalent to the MAC. The Big 12 definitely has about six teams each year that are among the worst in college football and it definitely only somewhat rarely has a team break into the top 25.

Baylor TCU Oklahoma Texas WVU Oke State Tex Tech Kansas IowaState.

Monroe, do you really try that hard to miss the point of the parallel between Snyder and Solich, or does it come naturally to you? It has nothing to do with the relative ranking of the MAC and the BigDozenTen. It has to do with coaching pedigree, experience, past record and understanding that having a little patience in this rebuilding year will be pay dividends down the road. It also has to do with not picking some arbitrary timeframe and making all of your points based on that arbitrary timeframe. No, I'm not satisfied with the results on the field in the last two years. However, I'm smart enough to see improvement in this year's team as the year progressed. I'm smart enough to see that we have recruited well and that we have very good players in the pipeline. I'm smart enough to know that we were one of the youngest teams in FBS football this past year. I'm smart enough to know we instituted a brand new defensive scheme this year, which takes time to learn. Now, all of this doesn't mean I have a very high football IQ, because I don't, but I know enough to have optimism for the future and to know that OHIO has a very good football coach who is building a football program and culture in Athens that hasn't existed in the past.

+1

lol

One of the announcers for the OHIO-Oxford Prep game said that Ohio was something like the third youngest team in FBS football. Any idea what metric he could have used to come up with that stat? Most number of freshmen starting and playing significant minutes? It sure sounded interesting -- and hopeful for the future -- but I'm not sure I understood how he might have come to that conclusion.

[I watched the first half of this game on my iPad at my daughter's house utilizing the WatchESPN app and the second half back at our hotel on ESPN on TV. I believe, though, that all the commentary was the same, though the iPad WatchESPN app kept buffering. Two days later at my daughter's I used the FoxSports app to watch Marshall and WKU and it didn't buffer once. Same Wifi, same iPad. Seems ESPN needs to get its act together better. WatchESPN via AppleTV at home is excellent, however.]

The only parallel I see between Solich and Snyder is their age. Snyder has accomplished so much more.

Situation, you might not like Monroe, but you're dead wrong on your almost apologetic view of the football program. I am tired of hearing people on this board lambast those of us that expect more than finishing 2nd in the MAC East.

After 10 years, we are not seeing forward momentum.
We are not winning the recruiting battle in our own pathetic conference.
We have a boring program, which is probably part of the recruiting problem.
Wv have a boring schedule, which turns the casual fan off.
We have a bad stadium, no video board and weak gameday operations.
We do not have any possible corporate money in the region to provide your fairy tale infusion of cash.
Until the team starts winning more and gaining national attention, the program is stuck in neutral in all areas.

I am well aware that Solich has turned the program around, but I also am of the opinion that we have seen a plateau. I would like to see only one change, a more dynamic Offensive Coordinator. Solich has been too loyal and it has been a glaring problem. If he is not able to make tough decisions on personnel, then that is not the definition of a great leader.

Monroe does what few on this board do. He opens up his checkbook and supports the university, as well as the athletic department, at a very high level. There is nothing wrong with having a high expectation of success. The truly successful people in this world are always looking for a way to get better. I grow weary of the constant justification of mediocrity, as well as the sales job put on us about how things will be "really good next year".

Thanks, Situation. That chart says 8th youngest (least experienced), which is still pretty wet behind the years. That's 8th out of 128. I probably just remember wrong when I said "third." I didn't write it down at the time. Still I was in the ballpark and the conclusion is that we are very young, and improving team. Notre Dame was one above us, and it's interesting to note how they faded at the end of the year, while we got stronger -- not talking wins here but how we played and how competitive we were.