Around the Big Ten

[madootra]

Doctor.

[Mike]

Hey- what do you call 1,000 lawyers at the bottom of the sea?...

An Italian cruise?

[WM Wolverine]

Yeah, those recruiting rankings are looking like a bit of a big two, little ten...

PSU is obviously headed for mediocrity with possible if not likely, LOIC. Nebraska is targeting top talent but isn't getting recruits interest in return; entropy? Wisky has a subpar class and is graduating a lot of talented seniors, they are bringing in some quality OL but they NEED those OL as they are losing a lot of talent there...

Purdue is only highly ranked because they have so many recruits are their class has to be full, they'll drop when other programs sign more kids... Sparty is hurt badly by Hoke taking back control over the state of M, impressive he did it in just one season; they graduate most of their offense too...

I've brought this up before but I feel M & OSU are headed for another 10-year war, more often than not they'll be the #1 & #2 teams in the conference, both ranked in the top 10 in the nation before they play and with the conference arrangement, we could see them play twice a year quite often in the B10 CG.

[Optimus Prime]

I am a little hesitant to claim that Blue is back, not just yet anyway. For example, Weis had a few BCS games early, screwed ND for $40 million was finally shown the door when he was exposed as essentially a head coaching fraud. ND was so desperate to be relevant again, obviously it was premature and Weis was not the coach they had hoped he would be.

Most early signs look very encouraging though.

[Chuck Mallory]

Michigan is not back to where they once were or where I envision them, however were on the right track. The Alabama game is gonna be a great measuring stick to see how we stack up against the elite of CFB.

[whodean]

I'm with you OP, BCS in the first year of Hokemania is great but realistically we're probably looking at a step back next season (just hope not 2 or more steps back)

[SeanB]

I'm with you OP, BCS in the first year of Hokemania is great but realistically we're probably looking at a step back next season (just hope not 2 or more steps back)

Agree with you guys as well. M is certainly headed back in the right direction, but they have a long way to go to get their 2-deep where they want it. They are not elite yet. Next year could be tough with the schedule and the defensive losses on the line.

As it has been said here many times, Rodriguez's hiring was a 6-year disaster. Year 5 is coming up, but Hoke seems to have what it takes to get this program turned around.

He earned a ton of good will his first season. Very cathartic for Michigan fans. Now let's see if he can sustain it. I'd like to think he can, but we need to keep those recruits interested AND signing!

[hodgkal]

We'll know more after Feb 1st. I agree we are facing a down year after exceeding expectations with the current squad. I would expect a slow start but improvement as the season progresses. That's where the Hoke hire is making a difference.

Nobody seems to know whether RR recruited mediocre talent or it was actually elite talent that he did not know how to use. Maybe a little of both. Either way Hoke brought out its potential as the season progressed. This impacts how next season will evolve.

[Optimus Prime]

As it has been said here many times, Rodriguez's hiring was a 6-year disaster. Year 5 is coming up, but Hoke seems to have what it takes to get this program turned around.

He earned a ton of good will his first season. Very cathartic for Michigan fans. Now let's see if he can sustain it. I'd like to think he can, but we need to keep those recruits interested AND signing!

I read in a Michigan periodical that RR had nearly 9 de-commits, Urban Meyer had none and I think it was the same for Hoke....IMO that really says a lot. To this day, Mallet's parents said RR never contacted them, his mother told the FreePress that Ryan probably would have stayed at Michigan had it been anything less than pure hubris, RR was one arrogant ass IMO.

[iam416]

UFM hasn't had any decommits, but he will have attrition. Coach Tressel and UFM have very different approaches to things. I'd expect another 4-5 kids to transfer, maybe more.

[Jamie H]

Rodriguez seemed to accept any level of commit, even the softest of commits. This meant he was filling slots with guys that were still on the fence. It was pretty much the exact opposite of Hoke's approach.

I do wonder if we might lose some wafflers with the way Hoke does things. Not every kid that waffles is uncomitted or a bad-seed. But I guess we have a lot less drama this way.

[Optimus Prime]

Seriously, doubt it. Borges had success running a "spread-coast" while Mattison took the insane 3-3-5 (fast-midgets) and had tremendous success with 4-3 even a 3-4 at times, good coaches take full advantage of what they have and not piss and moan about what you don't.

Meyer is a dynamic guy, he will get them to buy-in. As I posted earlier, I had the opportunity to observe Meyer as he recruited the kid standing next to me at a Florida practice in Boca Raton prior to the Orange Bowl national championship, Meyer is gifted.

[Jamie H]

Yeah, if anyone was going to jump ship from OSU, I would think it was because of the uncertainty that was surrounding the program. Now we know everything--the penalties are done and you have your coach. If they are still with you at this point, why would they bail?

[iam416]

Meyer is a dynamic guy, he will get them to buy-in. As I posted earlier, I had the opportunity to observe Meyer as he recruited the kid standing next to me at a Florida practice in Boca Raton prior to the Orange Bowl national championship, Meyer is gifted.

He will get most to buy in, but this is a sea change for these kids. He'll lose some more. That's a certainty.

[WM Wolverine]

1 year after the 6-year RR mistake; 11-2, Sugar Bowl Champs...