Behind which peers? You expect him to come in with a walk on QB and by year 6 have the same conference winning percentage as well established Iowa and Wisconsin programs? You’re really holding his feet to the fire for his first two years.
Honest question. Would you rather have our last 6 years
Nice analysis for a wintry Saturday morning.
We were pining for mediocrity in that period! The football was downright putrid for the most part mixed in with a couple of years that were meh!!!
Yep, I think that's the problem some people seem to have (not as much on gopherhole but just "fans" in general). Some seem to think being happy and proud of the last few yeas means you're fine with mediocrity or whatever. Happy with what's been accomplished but also want more.
If you are just taking those two windows of time as a static period then I would take Northwestern's because of the 2 trips to Indy.
The question will always come down to how much more is realistic. I definitely don't think the program has peaked but I also don't think there is a ton of upward mobility left either.
Northwestern is spending a boatload of money on new facilities. The success Fitz has garnered is with very subpar facilities. That changes soon.
Nebraska used to win an automatic 8-9 wins every year under Bo Pelini, whom they fired because he wasn't winning enough (and was a monumental jerk). Nebraska's hubris in firing a guy for winning only 8-9 games a year has produced for Nebraska fans a decade of humiliation on the field. PJ, IMH estimation, is a kind, empathetic man--the opposite of Pelini. And PJ is now attaining that regular 8-9 win "ceiling," where the next few wins (the ones that get you top 10 finish), are much more difficult to attain on a regular basis. It has taken 6 years of building to get us to this place of consistent winning. The institutional framework has been laid in. The culture is there. The recruiting is coming along realistically, recognizing that we are a developmental program (we ain't getting field-ready 5 stars). I believe PJ can push the Gophers up one more notch. This is a learning process for him, too, not just for his players. All things in time.
Also keep in mind Fitzgerald was already at NW for 11 years prior to the last six years.
Yeah but that’s not even the debate
For me, the next step besides beating Iowa would be a playoff appearance. Winning the west won't be an option after next year and winning the Big Ten would be extremely difficult. The expansion of the playoffs makes that easier to achieve than winning the conference, especially with the addition of USC and UCLA.
No doubt the Gophers program is in a better spot currently and the landscape of CFB with NIL, portal and super conferences may not be favorable to programs like Northwestern where Fitz’s recruiting job is way harder than Fleck’s.
Stop calling the Outback Bowl a NYD bowl! It was such a mainstay as a "NYD Bowl," it doesn't even exist anymore.
WTactualF is a "co-champ West Title??"
Will never really understand what drives someone to be so motivated to troll other team boards, especially during the off season. Just pathetic.
He will decide when to leave. Fitz is the kind of guy who will go to the AD and resign with a nice package of it gets to that point. it's his hometown. The school is spending a ton on new facilities for athletics, especially football. My guess is at some point he will become the AD, but not for at least a good 5-10 years.
I think winning the West is overrated, winning the west by having a bunch of others lose is just not that impressive. The only reason the west is a big deal is because it gives you a shot to win the conference, even that is cheapened by a title game in my opinion. I think finishing high in the AP poll is more impressive.
OK. NW was 8-1 in conference for 2018 title. They ended up ranked #10 in 2020 for that title.
2018 they started the year losing 3 of 4 including Duke and Akron.
Yep. They still won and were ranked top 10. If it was the Gophs instead in 2020, pretty sure we wouldn't be discounting it.
Yup it’s a pretty close call to me which 6 years I’d rather have. I guess I take the gophers since they won 11 more games over that span and have a #10 finish as well. If NW didn’t have three seasons of 3, 3, and 1 win I’d go with them.
That's fair. Given what Fitz has to work with, both are quite a feat. NW is a very tough school to get into and his facilities have been bad. That part is about to change.
There will be no more West Division after next year. in fact, there will be no more divisions after next year.