Toughest football rebuild of p5 teams?

[EvilBetty]

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.

They could have at least given cyclonefanatic credit for the conversation. Would have been a better conversation with more folks involved (since neither team is involved is a candidate and both parties can probably agree ISU was there 4 years ago but no longer).

 

[EvilBetty]

tennessee is another tough one to figure out. similar to nebraska in unrealistic expectations, but damn, they have all of the money, massive stadium, faithful following of 98% of tennessee residents. how are they at least not average?

 

[Remo Gaggi]

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.

Over on the hok forums they are burning his ass, they are so pissed off. It's quite wonderful to witness.

 

[jbindm]

tennessee is another tough one to figure out. similar to nebraska in unrealistic expectations, but damn, they have all of the money, massive stadium, faithful following of 98% of tennessee residents. how are they at least not average?

Just a stunning run of bad coaching hires. Since they sacked Fulmer it's been:

Lane Kiffin
Derek Dooley
Butch Jones
Jeremy Pruitt

Dooley was the one that really put them in a deep hole. At least when Kiffin bailed he left a little in the cupboard.

I guess it's still too early to be sure on Pruitt but it's less than encouraging that he was something like their third or fourth choice, and the strategy of "just hire an Alabama coordinator" has yielded mixed results at best.

 

[SouthJerseyCy]

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.

I agree with you and I do think Rutgers or KU is probably the toughest job today. However, if they make the right hire and investment in the program, either could turn around. What was ISU's situation like 6 years ago at the end of the Rhodes era when it looked like the B12 was going to break up? Things can change.

 

[jbindm]

I agree with you and I do think Rutgers or KU is probably the toughest job today. However, if they make the right hire and investment in the program, either could turn around. What was ISU's situation like 6 years ago at the end of the Rhodes era when it looked like the B12 was going to break up? Things can change.

They can, but I think you're overlooking the fan support aspect of it. Rutgers is smack in the middle of a pro sports market. Tough to make inroads even if a coach could get the players to turn things around. ISU boasted - that's maybe not the right word in this instance - a fanbase that was still turning out for home games and was ******* desperate for a winning program to support. Campbell knew it was an opportunity where if he could even just get the ball rolling he'd have fan support. And ISU is in a market that doesn't have to compete with any pro teams for attention.

 

[heitclone]

I feel like we saw Rutgers ceiling when they were in the Big East, they had a couple decent teams, like the one we lost to but even still, they were never dominant. Probably weren't even a top 3/4 program (WV, Cincy, Lville, Pitt were all better programs) in the league and they really only had success after the league lost teams like Miami, Va Tech and BC. I think they are the toughest jobs because at the end of the day, even when they win, no one really cares.

 

[StClone]

Which team would be toughest to rebuild? I think id go with rutgers. No history, brutal schedule every. Kansas and oregon st a close second with indiana and vandy right there.

Thoughts?

I like this topic, but have a peeve.

If hypothetically Rutgers had no prior history of success, what are they "rebuilding." Why is it always rebuilding? For Iowa State you could say rebuilding, but we are doing stuff we have never accomplished before. Isn't that just building?

 

[EvilBetty]

I like this topic, but have a peeve.

If hypothetically Rutgers had no prior history of success, what are they "rebuilding." Why is it always rebuilding? For Iowa State you could say rebuilding, but we are doing stuff we have never accomplished before. Isn't that just building?

Fair enough. How would you have phrased the question? Most teams on the list have had enough success at one point or another to "rebuild" (and potentially) exceed their previous level of success.

Perhaps toughest "build"?

 

[SouthJerseyCy]

They can, but I think you're overlooking the fan support aspect of it. Rutgers is smack in the middle of a pro sports market. Tough to make inroads even if a coach could get the players to turn things around. ISU boasted - that's maybe not the right word in this instance - a fanbase that was still turning out for home games and was ******* desperate for a winning program to support. Campbell knew it was an opportunity where if he could even just get the ball rolling he'd have fan support. And ISU is in a market that doesn't have to compete with any pro teams for attention.

Maybe...I guess I am a bit biased, given my username you can tell where I'm located. I kind of feel Rutgers is a sleeping giant given the right circumstances. The Alumni base is huge, the recruiting base is fertile, there are few college programs to compete with...

I recognize it's much easier to do in wrestling, but I see it similar to when PSU decided they wanted to invest in wrestling. All the elements were there, they just had to make the investment and they went out and got the coach and built the facilities.

 

[JM4CY]

Maybe...I guess I am a bit biased, given my username you can tell where I'm located. I kind of feel Rutgers is a sleeping giant given the right circumstances. The Alumni base is huge, the recruiting base is fertile, there are few college programs to compete with...

I recognize it's much easier to do in wrestling, but I see it similar to when PSU decided they wanted to invest in wrestling. All the elements were there, they just had to make the investment and they went out and got the coach and built the facilities.

I get what your saying but football is completely different beast. Like apples to not even bananas, more like apples to a cardboard box. Nick Saban ain't going to Rutgers.

 

[weR138]

Maybe...I guess I am a bit biased, given my username you can tell where I'm located. I kind of feel Rutgers is a sleeping giant given the right circumstances. The Alumni base is huge, the recruiting base is fertile, there are few college programs to compete with...

I recognize it's much easier to do in wrestling, but I see it similar to when PSU decided they wanted to invest in wrestling. All the elements were there, they just had to make the investment and they went out and got the coach and built the facilities.

I don't disagree, and obviously you're there and I'm not...but...does their alumni base even care? Would they ever?

I look at Rutgers and see exactly what you see; plenty of talent base and singularity as a P5 in the region. Add to it the new B1G money...so where's the success? Maybe it's as simple as they made a bad hire in Ash. But a big difference between Rutgers and ISU is fan passion. We've got it and it doesn't seem like they do or will with the distractions of the Jets & Giants (and other pro sports).

It's kind of like Fleck (and the success so far this season) at Minnesota...are the Gophers selling out? Do UM fans care?