Toughest football rebuild of p5 teams?

[FinalFourCy]

The Nebby situation got me thinking, what is a rebuild? How long should someone get to rebuild? On the second question, I used to think you should get enough time to have a roster full or your own recruits but CMC swung this dumpster fire around in about a year and a half. Honestly, after his first 3 or 4 games, he had us competitive. In '16, following the SJSU win, only Texas and #19 WV were lopsided games. If a guy can that at ISU this quickly, are fans at a school like Nebraska (history, resources, fan support, only in state d1 program) justified in thinking a coach only needs a couple years to be where they expect?

That’s the thing- It’s far more about the competency of the staff than inherent qualities of the program. The second biggest factor is ease of schedule imo.

If a school has the funds, and more importantly the AD, to hire a good staff, they’ll turn it around.

 

[Frak]

That’s the thing- It’s far more about the competency of the staff than inherent qualities of the program. The second biggest factor is ease of schedule imo.

If a school has the funds, and more importantly the AD, to hire a good staff, they’ll turn it around.

Yeah, no program is impossible to rebuild if they hire the right coach, have money for facilities and fan support. ISU had all three and we're now winning games. The biggest thing is getting a coach that can spot talent, because the sure things will always go to the blue bloods.

 

[Antihawk240]

I'll submit my vote for Arkansas. If the Big 12 was ever to open it's arms to another member I bet Arkansas would be jumping up and down for it.

Arkansas has to live the life of being part of the SEC family and is forced to compete against Alabama, LSU & Auburn plus the speculated crookedness of the Mississippi's. That is a losing battle. I'd rather take my chances at Kansas or Rutgers before Arkansas.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Rutgers was my first though, but I'm going with Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt has nearly 20,000 less seats than its closest SEC counterpart and still comes a long ways from filling their stadium. When you add in their academic requirements, sprinkle in a lack of fan support and throw them in a conference with a number of traditionally tough teams, I'm giving them the edge in the toughest rebuild department.

They may catch lightning in a bottle every once in awhile, but a sustained successful rebuild in today's environment is gonna be tough.

 

[LarryISU]

Agree with that, but I believe Rutgers will be happy at 7-6 type season, even 6-7 with a bowl loss. A 10 win season at Nebraska will get a coach fired possibly.

if it is just who to build to 9-10 wins, NU will be easier, if to build to expectations, NU is harder.

Nebraska and its fans will never admit or recognize that they are not elite. After all these down years and going 4 - 8 the last two seasons, they still believe there is Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska and Michigan as the top teams in the B1G. Then ten nobodies make up the rest of the conference. So the challenge of a rebuild is that making the national playoffs is the minimal acceptable goal, and that is as attainable for that program as would be eliminating cancer. Even as they lose to Minnesota, Northwestern, Illinois, Iowa or Purdue, they still go on tv or radio and talk as if those teams are a bunch of deplorables.

 

[CYCLNST8]

If Northwestern & Stanford can do it, so can Vanderbilt- but the Commodores get my vote. The rest of their conference is football-fanatical. They also lack the support of a fanbase or administration that cares.

If not for Rutgers, Indiana would be on this list. Rutgers could do a better job of frontloading their schedule with cupcakes and compete with the likes of Indiana, Maryland, Illinois, & Purdue. Mangino showed it can be done at Kansas plus they have a passionate fanbase & an administration that's not afraid to cheat.

Iowa is one bad hire away from a repeat of the 70s. I'm on the Brian Ferentz bandwagon all the way.

 

[harimad]

No SEC school belongs on the list. Not even close. The schools in the NW have a tough go because they have a hard time recruiting nationally and schools without history to the north, are on the list. If you're in the south or even vaguely to the south, you get no excuses.

Disagree, but only because Vanderbilt. That school should pull a University of Chicago and just drop out of D1 athletics entirely. D1 doesn't make any sense for their mission.

 

[EvilBetty]

We are like the guy who got a raise and has a little pocket change and is now mocking the guy who got laid off but used to drive this car we would have swapped for a few years back. It's just ******* weird.

ISU would be squarely on this list had it not been for the last 3 seasons and the current trajectory they are on.

 

[Tre4ISU]

Disagree, but only because Vanderbilt. That school should pull a University of Chicago and just drop out of D1 athletics entirely. D1 doesn't make any sense for their mission.

Not really. Northwestern seems to do fine, Stanford is fine, Michigan does fine. I get that not all them are equals to Vanderbilt, but they all have some sort of academic limitation as well. The only thing I'd say about Vanderbilt is that they have to compete with a bunch of schools who aren't playing by the rules on a week to week basis. At least ISU doesn't have that issue to that degree.

 

[SEIOWA CLONE]

Its Rutgers, and it really is not close. While New Jersey may produce a lot of HS football players, most will not go to Rutgers to play, when they could go to Penn. St, OSU, hell even Iowa. The athletic program is broke, so there is not money to build a new locker room, dress up the stadium or even pay assistant coaches decent money. You are playing a nine game conference schedule, so you can only play 3 cupcakes and you are in the Big 10 East, so you have to play 4 out of the 5 best teams in the league every year, and an improving Maryland team.
Go look at their schedules when they were in the Big East compared to their current schedule, ISU would be winning 8 to 10 games each year with that schedule.

Vanderbilt has money, they need to try to pattern themselves after Northwestern or Stanford and get the better academic kids. They play in the SEC East division, the easier of the two, and their yearly crossover game is with Ol Miss. So they only play one other team from the West each season, with 4 cupcake games.

 

[MeanDean]

Glass houses and all. Rutgers is down and the future looks bleak, but they went to 9 bowl games in 10 years prior to the last 4. They've also had an 11 win season. We've done neither.

Oregon State went to the Fiesta Bowl the same year we won the Insight.com bowl in 2000. We all remember KU going to the Orange Bowl. See classic 'separated at birth' photo below.

In a way they're ALL more successful up to this point than ISU. Sadly. But our future is definitely WAY more promising than any of them at this point.

 

[Acylum]

LOL: https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/threads/toughest-p5-rebuild.288884/
I wonder which hok loser that posts here is Cradleking26. He's probably never had an original thought in his life.

 

[FinalFourCy]

Its Rutgers, and it really is not close. While New Jersey may produce a lot of HS football players, most will not go to Rutgers to play, when they could go to Penn. St, OSU, hell even Iowa. The athletic program is broke, so there is not money to build a new locker room, dress up the stadium or even pay assistant coaches decent money. You are playing a nine game conference schedule, so you can only play 3 cupcakes and you are in the Big 10 East, so you have to play 4 out of the 5 best teams in the league every year, and an improving Maryland team.
Go look at their schedules when they were in the Big East compared to their current schedule, ISU would be winning 8 to 10 games each year with that schedule.

Vanderbilt has money, they need to try to pattern themselves after Northwestern or Stanford and get the better academic kids. They play in the SEC East division, the easier of the two, and their yearly crossover game is with Ol Miss. So they only play one other team from the West each season, with 4 cupcake games.

Vandy has decades of proving that “they” don’t care, particularly compared to their conference peers. At this point I don’t think it can be discounted. The apathy is worse than ISU in the 80s-90s, and it’s already a small base.

They’ll never have the fans, but they have the innate wealth and a niche. There are kids that want top academics and to play in the SEC.

 

[CloneGuy8]

Vandy. Same challenges as the other tough ones, plus the academic restrictions.

 

[NoCreativity]

Not really. Northwestern seems to do fine, Stanford is fine, Michigan does fine. I get that not all them are equals to Vanderbilt, but they all have some sort of academic limitation as well. The only thing I'd say about Vanderbilt is that they have to compete with a bunch of schools who aren't playing by the rules on a week to week basis. At least ISU doesn't have that issue to that degree.

It doesnt help Vanderbilt either that they play in a professional sports city.

 

[HFCS]

Hear me out on this, Nebraska

If we go with expectations, it has to be them. They will be unhappy unless they are in a title game. 10-3 will not cut it with them. They lost their advantages of the past and now even playing in one of the softest divisions in CFB, they can’t get any traction.

This is the right answer. Any other program in this thread a coach is fine with 5-7 wins. Nebraska has few advantages and expects 10.

 

[kingcy]

Amazing turnaround but they had a few tangibles. For one, at the time you could schedule 4 cupcakes in the non conf. Second, when the Big 12 came around, they didn't have to play TX/OU every year. 3rd...Jucos man..Jucos

And where there is a JUCO in Kansas there are well to do KSU boosters.

 

[kingcy]

So yeah, since they left a conference that amounted to an easy button for 6 wins and bowl eligibility it's been a precipitous drop. It's not getting easier any time soon unless they leave the B1G. This is today, not 6 years ago. It's a near impossible situation.

They joined the B1G for cash and in the mean time destroyed their athletic dept.

 

[kingcy]

OK State has had a tough time historically. They’re at a big risk for regression post Gundy.

It’s not the toughest, but it’s hard.

They are close to a lot of talented players though and that helps them a lot.

 

[Cycsk]

Vandy has decades of proving that “they” don’t care, particularly compared to their conference peers. At this point I don’t think it can be discounted. The apathy is worse than ISU in the 80s-90s, and it’s already a small base.

They’ll never have the fans, but they have the innate wealth and a niche. There are kids that want top academics and to play in the SEC.

The floor is pretty high for Vandy. Even when they suck as sports, they are still in Nashville! Everyone else can only hope to visit.