Oh no. This isn't good. (McCarney)

[macphisto]

If both D1 Iowa State and D2 Northern Iowa offered you a football scholarship where would you rather play?

Chances are you won't get a lot of notice by the NFL at either place.

So would you rather play for a perpetual I-A doormat that only rarely goes to bowls or a I-AA that is in the playoffs frequently where you can shine?  You'd likely be a key player at Northern Iowa compared to getting lost int he Big XII shuffle at Iowa State.

A lot of the best guys in the area could get offers from Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, K-State, Mizzou, and even down to Arkansas.  And remember that Iowa is more of a Big Ten state than it is a Big XII state.  I think Iowa State could improve if they were the 12th Big Ten team because that's where they would prefer to recruit.  But the Big Ten would prefer a stronger program like Mizzou.  The Holy Grail for the Big Ten would be to lure Nebraska away if ND won't come over.

[MikeG]

If both D1 Iowa State and D2 Northern Iowa offered you a football scholarship where would you rather play?

Chances are you won't get a lot of notice by the NFL at either place.

So would you rather play for a perpetual I-A doormat that only rarely goes to bowls or a I-AA that is in the playoffs frequently where you can shine?  You'd likely be a key player at Northern Iowa compared to getting lost int he Big XII shuffle at Iowa State.

A lot of the best guys in the area could get offers from Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, K-State, Mizzou, and even down to Arkansas.  And remember that Iowa is more of a Big Ten state than it is a Big XII state.  I think Iowa State could improve if they were the 12th Big Ten team because that's where they would prefer to recruit.  But the Big Ten would prefer a stronger program like Mizzou.  The Holy Grail for the Big Ten would be to lure Nebraska away if ND won't come over.

that seems like a bigger reach than Notre Dame, frankly.

I always have wanted to see Mizzou join the Big Ten, slot Arkansas back to it's old conference buddies, and then fill in the SEC spot with someone from the ACC, perhaps Clemson. That could lead to USF jumping over to the ACC and UCF heading into the Big East. Not saying that is a better situation or anything, but it might serve everyones purposes.

[MikeG]

This thread deserved a skim at best. No offense to McCarney, but there are alot of special coaches left out there

there is a lot of good stuff to read in here actually -- skimming is lazy

[Bulls On Parade]

How is Nothern Iowa above Iowa state ???

They're a strong I-AA that took Iowa to the wire this past year.  They have a solid history of getting into the IAA playoffs, even back in the early 90s.  Northern Iowa has often landed better talent in-state than ISU.

It took McCarney six years to rebuild Iowa State and get them to a bowl game.  He got them ranked in 2002 in the top ten and nearly knocked off FSU when FSU was much stronger.  He took them to five bowl games in six years - unprecedented for Iowa State.  He also had them knocking on the door several times to get into the Big XII title game.

When you look at how little is available to Iowa State it is impressive.  All the best kids in Iowa go to the Hawkeyes, not the Cyclones.  And for the surrounding states, they go to Nebraska, Oklahoma, even down to Texas.  They're not going to have an in down here in Florida.  So when you consider their resources, McCarney's success was quite good.  At best Iowa State is second fiddle in a state that is not abundant with football talent.

Johnny Majors was at Iowa State and had a losing record there.  I think he turned out well.  Of all the recent coaches, only Earle Bruce was able to post a winning record at Iowa State.  The guy before McCarney went 28-57-3.  Chizik went 5-19 after McCarney.  

From 2000 until 2006 McCarney went 43-43 at Iowa State.  But how well can Iowa State compete against many of the other Big XII teams?  

You make a good case for McCarney

[MikeG]

it is kind of interesting that no one is mentioning Tresey for the job

[South_Florida_Flip]

He was the Head coach at Iowa State for 12 seasons. But his overall record is 56-85 :-\

It's Iowa State. That is not the easiest place to recruit players, especially for Big 12 football. He had a good record against Iowa and there were a few season where he was 1 game away from playing for the Big 12 Championship.

He's not my first choice, but we could do much worse.

[Guest nybullsfan]

it is kind of interesting that no one is mentioning Tresey for the job

i'm sure he's on the list for the headhunter to talk to.

[Bull94]

it is kind of interesting that no one is mentioning Tresey for the job

hasn't recruited this state long enough. #5 defense in the BE with 5 NFL combine invites on the roster. I hope they don't stay in house. none of the assistants deserve a head job right now.

[LunchTimeBully]

NO! This guy is crazier than Leavitt!

[cmhatter]

NO! This guy is crazier than Leavitt!

not a chance