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I have long felt that Northern Illinois is a role model for building a program from little or nothing with the patience and support of administration. If so, then 2006 needs to be Phil's Year with a winning record and a bowl bid.

The attached is from today's Chicago Tribune:

College football preview: Northern Illinois

Behind their explosive senior running back, Huskies aim to capture elusive MAC title

By Reid Hanley
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 27, 2006, 9:01 PM CDT

At a lot of schools, the Joe Novak coaching era would have ended in 1998 after three years and a 3-30 record.

But the Northern Illinois administration was patient, and Novak has rewarded his bosses with six straight winning seasons.

This year the Huskies are favored to win the Mid-American Conference and are so solid that Big Ten powers Ohio State and Iowa can't overlook tailback Garrett Wolfe and his teammates.

"It's an exciting time," Novak said. "We have 14 seniors, and the thing that excites me the most is this is the best group of leaders we've had."

UNI can get transfers and marginal qualifiers that we cannot

NI had a great run several years ago when they beat Maryland and someone else, but then got steam rolled by Bowling Green who had a great run the year before that beating Missouri and Kansas by big margins. If we could have some of their success, we'd be in a good position to win a lot of games. Their coach probably will get some BCS offers if they win the MAC this year. If Illinois doesn't turn it around this year, he might get an offer out of UI.

I tell you that Joe Novak is never going to leave Northern Illinois. Building a strong program and remaining is the best alternative, e.g. Synder at KSU, Alvarez at Wisconsin. etc.

Chasing money or prestigue is fool's gold. Ask Coach Matt. Staying with something you helped create is a career worth maintaining, e.g. PSU, FSU, etc. If Phil succeeds, moving on is nuts.

For us, it would be a nice problem to think about. Until then, I say this must be his year. Period.

GoRedGoBlue wrote:UNI can get transfers and marginal qualifiers that we cannot

Not true, check both your acceptance rates and avg SAT.

This is SMU, not TCU

Very good, but, is the toad right, though?

NO! Water Pony posts about his favorite coaching comparison every few months or so and every few months I have posted a response showing NIU has some of the most lax recruiting standards of any school in the country. That program was built by academic risks. No comparison.