The season's still a long way off, there's still 18 days until NCAA 09 comes out, and the venom over the idiocy of McHale will eventually ware off. So try this one on: Which Big Ten team has the best 5-year outlook, and which one has the worst? Feel free to use homerism here, because I sure am going to.
Best Outlook: (Wait a second, I need a chug of Maroon kool-aid before I do this...)
Minnesota. Brewster has done a better job recruiting of any Minnesota coach since integration in the south ruined our program up here (Thanks a lot, liberals), and he has proven assistants in Roof and Dunbar. The changeover from Mason's pound-the-rock offense and nonexistant defense has been, ahem, less than smooth, but I think that as the players get replaced by more talented ones that are a fit for the system more acclimated to the schemes, things will get much better.
Brewster is the CEO of the Gophers. His job is to spread positivity and recruit while letting the coaches he's brought in do the daily work. But this could get ugly. His ability to recruit here could be extremely compromised if he can't string together a couple wins this year. Also, more idiots are probably going to turn on him this year, especially ones that don't have the ability to form their own opinions by watching the games and processing what they saw, instead relying on columnists and sports radio hosts to give them opinions.
Best Case 5-year Outlook: (Need more Maroon kool-aid...) Rose Bowl appearance to get slaughtered by USC.
Worst Case 5-year Outlook: Brewster gets fired, we have to start all over again.
Honorable Mention: Michigan State. Dantonio is a great recruiter like Brewster, but has more experience coaching and an easier school to get "questionable student-athletes" into.
Worst Outlook: Penn State. JoePa has been slowly sliding from one of the giants of the game to Willie Mays stumbling around in the outfield for the Mets in the span of 15 years. Since the 1994 team that was one of my lifetime to now, it's been a steady slide to mediocrity (with a hiccup in 2005) for a great coach and man. The longer he sticks around, the worse things will get. And like many other situations like this, there's no easy fix. Who do you hire to follow Joe Paterno? How do you find a combination of ethics and ability? Michigan couldn't even do that, and they're better than the rest of us (They've told us so plenty of times).
Best Case 5-year Outlook: Paterno gets one last recruiting coup and has an unbelievable season (National Title? Rose Bowl?) to ride off into the sunset.
Worst Case 5-year Outlook: Joe Paterno passes away, and PSU hires either Jay Paterno or Glen Mason to replace him.
Honorable Mention: Michigan. Tressel has sealed off Michigan's source of talent lately (Ohio), and Rich Rodriguez isn't the type of coach (read: horse's ass) that will get many chances from the Michigan faithful for poor seasons.
"I have such bad luck at the moment that if I fell in a barrel of boobs I'd come out sucking my thumb."
- Ian Holloway
