Obvoiusly records don't mean much because if you told most people we would go 6-6 this year, they would have said, yeah, that sounds about right. It's more than just records. If that's the mindset you are going to take, you can't look at the final record hardly at all then. How about we focus on these things:
1) Quarterback play MUST improve. Along with that, the offense itself will obviously improve dramatically as those third down throws that miss suddenly become 1st and 10, or even touchdowns in the case of that ISU game when two easy TDs were missed. In turn this gives the offense more rhythm and more plays to succeed with.
2) Running game needs to take a step up and be more consistent, which is reliant on both better RB vision as well as better run blocking and then 2nd and 9 becomes 2nd and 4 or 5, a much different offensive approach ensues.
3) The young defensive talent needs to begin to rise up, starting with the defensive line play, specifically the edges.
Those are the three main pieces IMO for any type of success in 2010. Going into a season where more of the "talent" is more and more experienced it's really not out of the question that all three of these things could happen, and don't be surprised if you see 8, even 9 wins with good breaks. More likely 6 or 7. Looking at the schedule, I can see wins against MTSU, SoDak, NIU, Northwestern, Purdue, and yes, finally a rivalry win against Wisconsin. A win @ MSU or Illinois as well, and that's 7 wins. Play competitively against USC, OSU, PSU, and Iowa and you have yourself a decent year. This is where the breaks come in, where you could steal a big home win against one of those four.
It's really quite simple. If none of those things happen, then the on field product will show itself and Brewster will be handled accordingly. I wouldn't make assumptions either way though as the talent that will be on the field for 2010 will be better than it has been in who knows how long. Give this a chance before you blow it off as crap.