Stock Tracker - 2019 RU Coach Candidates

[PSAL_Hoops]

Welcome to 2019 RU coach prospects stock tracker! The purpose of this thread is to provide relative perspective on the job our coaching staff is doing compared to “what could have been” based on performance of other coaches who were in the mix (at other places). The coaches are listed in order of their current stock (in my opinion) highest to lowest. I’ll adjust based on future results. Enjoy!

Bielema - Illinois - 2021-present (14-14) - let’s be clear here. Illinois won 6 games in 2019. The 2-6 record in 2020 was on a Covid year playing a cupcake free schedule. So Illinois’ starting point was nothing like what Schiano inherited from Ash. That said - Bielema deserves credit for a good 8 win season last year with wins over Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. He also beat PSU in his 2021 debut. He’s not off to the best start though this year with only a 2 point squeaker over Toledo to get on the win column. We’ll see how the rest of the season plays out but for now his resume over the time period secures the top spot.

Leipold - Kansas (2021-present) (11-17) - Lance inherited a tough situation, but it’s worth noting Kansas’ 55-14 victory over Rutgers in 2018 along with a 48-24 road victory by Kansas in 2019 over BC in the same year RU lost at home to BC 30-16 in its best effort of the season the year before Greg’s debut. Folks tend to underestimate how bad of a situation Ash left behind (in a class on its own). Leipold won 1 game his first season in 2021 but followed that up with a 6 win season last year to go to a bowl. He deserves a ton of credit for that. Like Bielema, he beat some pretty good teams (7-8 win level) in Duke, Oklahoma St and Houston to get to those 6 wins. So far in 2023, his team is a perfect 3-0 though they did struggle with Nevada last week, only winning by 7. We’ll see how the rest of the season goes. The B12 doesn’t appear to be that strong outside of Texas and Oklahoma.

Fritz - Tulane - (2016-present) (22-19) (since 2020 season). In 2022, 12-2 with cotton bowl win over USC? Sign us up right now. Oh wait - Fritz had a 2-10 season in his 6th year at Tulane. His best result to that point was 7-6 - and that’s in the AAC. I guess sometimes it does take until year 7 to build a program. Was Al onto something? Tulane lost to Ole Miss but beat a couple Gr5 teams to start 2-1 in 2023. I’m leaving his current stock ahead of Schiano’s for now. But nobody could really suggest Fritz would’ve turned the corner at RU by year 4 any faster than where we are right now with a straight face.

Schiano - Rutgers - (2020-present) (15-22) - Above all else, Greg was brought in to stop the bleeding. No more embarrassing blow out losses to Kansas and Buffalo types. No more losses to bad G5 teams (Eastern Michigan) or nail biters against New Mexico types. Mission accomplished there - right away. Rutgers is now 9-0 in non-conference play since Schiano’s return including 3 wins over major conference foes. Can Rutgers take the next step and reach the 6 win milestone? The 2021 season had been off to a promising start until injuries to the OL hit the team in early Michigan and OSU match ups. That team came close finishing 5-7. Last year saw some set backs with RU forced to play its 3rd string QB most of the season and hampered by injuries to key position players. So far in 2023, the team is a convincing 3-0 with Wagner a virtual guaranteed 4th win. If RU can get 2 more with a decent bowl showing, most fans will be forgiving of the setbacks over the past few years and the outlook will be pretty good. Let’s see how the season plays out.

Candle - Toledo - (2015-present) (56-33). Jason Candle is in his 8th full season at Toledo. He’s had some nice wins through the years, but was coming off back to back 6-6 seasons in the MAC while RU was searching for a coach in 2019. He won the MAC last season going 9-5, but then, what does this mean? His 77-21 showing against OSU was worse than the pounding RU took vs OSU (at least we kept it close for a quarter). Candle is a solid mid-major coach. I’m not seeing anything jumping out here though to suggest he would’ve been a better choice for RU than what we have. Toledo is 1-2 coming up just short against Illinois.

Houston - East Carolina (2019-present) (22-27). Houston inherited a 3-9 East Carolina team and qualified for a bowl in his 3rd and 4th seasons at 7-5. Considering RU went 9-0 against a non-conference slate including 5 ACC and AAC teams, this doesn’t mean a whole lot of anything. Schiano’s teams would have been bowl eligible if they played in the AAC. East Carolina started the 2023 season 0-3. Nothing about Mike Houston’s tenure at East Carolina suggests he would be doing a better job than Schiano at Rutgers.

Butch Jones - Arkansas State (2021-present) (6-21) - Jones inherited a 4 win team that knocked off Kansas State and beat 3 FBS teams. So far, his tenure at Arkansas State hasn’t been successful. His teams have underperformed the team he inherited - never more than 3 total wins or 2 FBS wins (all against terrible teams). In 2023 to date, Stonybrook is his only win. His team lost 73-0 to Oklahoma.

Hafley - Boston College (2020-present). (16-22). His similar record to Schiano’s over this time period paints a false narrative. Hafley inherited a perennial bowl team (6+ wins in each of the prior 4 seasons). He continued that trend in winning 6 games the following 2 seasons but went 3-9 last year and is off to a 1-2 start including a loss to Northern Illinois. The only win came in a nail biter against Holy Cross. Yuck. BC played tough against Florida State but almost wins do not offset losses and scares from FCS schools. Its hard to argue that the program isn’t in a significantly worse place today than where it was when Hafley inherited it. The good news for Hafley is that his schedule is so soft that 5 additional wins could still be possible. Remember when you compare BC’s record to RU - in addition to the ACC schedule being softer they play 4 non-conference games instead of 3 - against UConn, Holy Cross, Northern Illinois and Army. Regardless - nothing about Hafley’s time at BC so far suggests he would’ve pulled RU out of the ashes.

 

[Mr_Twister]

You are going to ruffle a lot of feathers here putting Leipold 2 slots above Schiano.

 

[Knight Shift]

Welcome to 2019 RU coach prospects stock tracker! The purpose of this thread is to provide relative perspective on the job our coaching staff is doing compared to “what could have been” based on performance of other coaches who were in the mix (at other places). The coaches are listed in order of their current stock (in my opinion) highest to lowest. I’ll adjust based on future results. Enjoy!

Bielema - Illinois - 2021-present (14-14) - let’s be clear here. Illinois won 6 games in 2019. The 2-6 record in 2020 was on a Covid year playing a cupcake free schedule. So Illinois’ starting point was nothing like what Schiano inherited from Ash. That said - Bielema deserves credit for a good 8 win season last year with wins over Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. He also beat PSU in his 2021 debut. He’s not off to the best start though this year with only a 2 point squeaker over Toledo to get on the win column. We’ll see how the rest of the season plays out but for now his resume over the time period secures the top spot.

Leipold - Kansas (2021-present) (11-17) - Lance inherited a tough situation, but it’s worth noting Kansas’ 55-14 victory over Rutgers in 2018 along with a 48-24 road victory by Kansas in 2019 over BC in the same year RU lost at home to BC 30-16 in its best effort of the season the year before Greg’s debut. Folks tend to underestimate how bad of a situation Ash left behind (in a class on its own). Leipold won 1 game his first season in 2021 but followed that up with a 6 win season last year to go to a bowl. He deserves a ton of credit for that. Like Bielema, he beat some pretty good teams (7-8 win level) in Duke, Oklahoma St and Houston to get to those 6 wins. So far in 2023, his team is a perfect 3-0 though they did struggle with Nevada last week, only winning by 7. We’ll see how the rest of the season goes. The B12 doesn’t appear to be that strong outside of Texas and Oklahoma.

Fritz - Tulane - (2016-present) (22-19) (since 2020 season). In 2022, 12-2 with cotton bowl win over USC? Sign us up right now. Oh wait - Fritz had a 2-10 season in his 6th year at Tulane. His best result to that point was 7-6 - and that’s in the AAC. I guess sometimes it does take until year 7 to build a program. Was Al onto something? Tulane lost to Ole Miss but beat a couple Gr5 teams to start 2-1 in 2023. I’m leaving his current stock ahead of Schiano’s for now. But nobody could really suggest Fritz would’ve turned the corner at RU by year 4 any faster than where we are right now with a straight face.

Schiano - Rutgers - (2020-present) (15-22) - Above all else, Greg was brought in to stop the bleeding. No more embarrassing blow out losses to Kansas and Buffalo types. No more losses to bad G5 teams (Eastern Michigan) or nail biters against New Mexico types. Mission accomplished there - right away. Rutgers is now 9-0 in non-conference play since Schiano’s return including 3 wins over major conference foes. Can Rutgers take the next step and reach the 6 win milestone? The 2021 season had been off to a promising start until injuries to the OL hit the team in early Michigan and OSU match ups. That team came close finishing 5-7. Last year saw some set backs with RU forced to play its 3rd string QB most of the season and hampered by injuries to key position players. So far in 2023, the team is a convincing 3-0 with Wagner a virtual guaranteed 4th win. If RU can get 2 more with a decent bowl showing, most fans will be forgiving of the setbacks over the past few years and the outlook will be pretty good. Let’s see how the season plays out.

Candle - Toledo - (2015-present) (56-33). Jason Candle is in his 8th full season at Toledo. He’s had some nice wins through the years, but was coming off back to back 6-6 seasons in the MAC while RU was searching for a coach in 2019. He won the MAC last season going 9-5, but then, what does this mean? His 77-21 showing against OSU was worse than the pounding RU took vs OSU (at least we kept it close for a quarter). Candle is a solid mid-major coach. I’m not seeing anything jumping out here though to suggest he would’ve been a better choice for RU than what we have. Toledo is 1-2 coming up just short against Illinois.

Houston - East Carolina (2019-present) (22-27). Houston inherited a 3-9 East Carolina team and qualified for a bowl in his 3rd and 4th seasons at 7-5. Considering RU went 9-0 against a non-conference slate including 5 ACC and AAC teams, this doesn’t mean a whole lot of anything. Schiano’s teams would have been bowl eligible if they played in the AAC. East Carolina started the 2023 season 0-3. Nothing about Mike Houston’s tenure at East Carolina suggests he would be doing a better job than Schiano at Rutgers.

Butch Jones - Arkansas State (2021-present) (6-21) - Jones inherited a 4 win team that knocked off Kansas State and beat 3 FBS teams. So far, his tenure at Arkansas State hasn’t been successful. His teams have underperformed the team he inherited - never more than 3 total wins or 2 FBS wins (all against terrible teams). In 2023 to date, Stonybrook is his only win. His team lost 73-0 to Oklahoma.

Hafley - Boston College (2020-present). (16-22). His similar record to Schiano’s over this time period paints a false narrative. Hafley inherited a perennial bowl team (6+ wins in each of the prior 4 seasons). He continued that trend in winning 6 games the following 2 seasons but went 3-9 last year and is off to a 1-2 start including a loss to Northern Illinois. The only win came in a nail biter against Holy Cross. Yuck. BC played tough against Florida State but almost wins do not offset losses and scares from FCS schools. Its hard to argue that the program isn’t in a significantly worse place today than where it was when Hafley inherited it. The good news for Hafley is that his schedule is so soft that 5 additional wins could still be possible. Remember when you compare BC’s record to RU - in addition to the ACC schedule being softer they play 4 non-conference games instead of 3 - against UConn, Holy Cross, Northern Illinois and Army. Regardless - nothing about Hafley’s time at BC so far suggests he would’ve pulled RU out of the ashes.

Butch Jones- can't judge him on Tennessee or his current gig at Arkansas State. We really don't know what kind of coach he would have been at Tennessee unless he followed Brian Kelly. Same for Arkansas State. Surprised that Notre Dame did not hire him!

 

[NickRU714]

Any analysis that includes "Rutgers would have won X with their schedule" without accounting for Rutgers receiving and spending tens of millions more per year is useless.

Let the program operate on $5m per year in conference revenue for a decade then compare to an AAC schedule.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Any analysis that includes "Rutgers would have won X with their schedule" without accounting for Rutgers receiving and spending tens of millions more per year is useless.

Let the program operate on $5m per year in conference revenue for a decade then compare to an AAC schedule.

Schiano already proved he could produce bowl teams in a watered down BE. We know this already. The RU team he inherited from Ash wouldn’t have won 3 games in the AAC. The ones he coached would’ve made bowls. All of them. It had nothing to do with money. NIL wasn’t even a factor yet for 2021 recruiting.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Butch Jones- can't judge him on Tennessee or his current gig at Arkansas State. We really don't know what kind of coach he would have been at Tennessee unless he followed Brian Kelly. Same for Arkansas State. Surprised that Notre Dame did not hire him!

Yeah I’m not talking about Tenn because it’s stock since 2019. He really hasn’t been good at Arkansas State so far. Amongst Arkansas State peers he’s under performed.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

You are going to ruffle a lot of feathers here putting Leipold 2 slots above Schiano.

Leipold is above Schiano for now. But he also hasn’t proven to be the super star some make him out be - not yet. He went 6-7 in year 2. We went 5-7 in year 2. Then we had a lot of really bad injury luck last season so a set back isn’t that surprising. All teams deal with injuries but not all teams end up rolling with their 3rd string QB. We’ll see if we turn it around and get to 6 this year. If we do, and Leipold wins 6-7 again their basically on similar ground in my book. Even if Leipold gets to 8 with his schedule. Most of the teams they play already have GR5 losses or are transplants from AAC / MWC.

Fritz is sort of a weird outlier in there. It’s hard not to put his stock high with his season last year, but before that he wasn’t impressive through 6 seasons.

 

[rutgersguy1]

Leipold is above Schiano for now. But he also hasn’t proven to be the super star some make him out be - not yet. He went 6-7 in year 2. We went 5-7 in year 2. Then we had a lot of really bad injury luck last season so a set back isn’t that surprising. All teams deal with injuries but not all teams end up rolling with their 3rd string QB. We’ll see if we turn it around and get to 6 this year. If we do, and Leipold wins 6-7 again their basically on similar ground in my book. Even if Leipold gets to 8 with his schedule. Most of the teams they play already have GR5 losses or are transplants from AAC / MWC.

Fritz is sort of a weird outlier in there. It’s hard not to put his stock high with his season last year, but before that he wasn’t impressive through 6 seasons.

As I’ve said plenty of times when you get a productive offense you can outperform your status on the landscape. Fritz is generally an old school physical type of coach but he was flexible enough to realize he had to change his thinking a little but within the confines of his comfort zone. He got a new OC last year (and didn’t actually use him lol), but it was one of his position coaches (OC this year) Slade Nagle that called the plays last year.

The offense jumped from the 70s 80s in total and scoring to the 20s or lower iirc. Wouldn’t you know it suddenly they had a big season and went toe to toe with USC for a win in the Cotton Bowl. If you’re going to overachieve, it’s likely on the back of productive offense.

Unfortunately this year his starting qb Michael Pratt got hurt but they still did admirably against Ole Miss, score didn’t represent how that game actually went.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

As I’ve said plenty of times when you get a productive offense you can outperform your status on the landscape. Fritz is generally an old school physical type of coach but he was flexible enough to realize he had to change his thinking a little but within the confines of his comfort zone. He got a new OC last year (and didn’t actually use him lol), but it was one of his position coaches (OC this year) Slade Nagle that called the plays last year.

The offense jumped from the 70s 80s in total and scoring to the 20s or lower iirc. Wouldn’t you know it suddenly they had a big season and went toe to toe with USC for a win in the Cotton Bowl. If you’re going to overachieve, it’s likely on the back of productive offense.

Unfortunately this year his starting qb Michael Pratt got hurt but they still did admirably against Ole Miss, score didn’t represent how that game actually went.

He had a 2-10 season the year before last. His 6th season there. Could you imagine what our fan base will be like if that happens here with Schiano?

 

[NickRU714]

He had a 2-10 season the year before last. His 6th season there. Could you imagine what our fan base will be like if that happens here with Schiano?

You left out that 3 straight bowls preceded the 2-10.
That builds a bit of leeway for a 1 year step back.

We went to 1 bowl 2 years ago and see the defending of HC Schiano.
The "overreacting" goes both ways.

Wanting a HC fired after 3 bowl games then a 2-10 is just as overreactionary.

 

[MADHAT1]

You are going to ruffle a lot of feathers here putting Leipold 2 slots above Schiano.

I'm a strong Schiano supporter , but can understand how what Leipoid accomplished with the downtrodden Jayhawks put him ahead of G2 in a lot of RU FB fans minds.
I always said there were better options out ther than Schiano but feel none would look at the job with what was being offered.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

You left out that 3 straight bowls preceded the 2-10.
That builds a bit of leeway for a 1 year step back.

We went to 1 bowl 2 years ago and see the defending of HC Schiano.
The "overreacting" goes both ways.

Wanting a HC fired after 3 bowl games then a 2-10 is just as overreactionary.

Actually, BC fired Hafley’s predecessor with better success in a tougher conference without even having a 2 win season. I guarantee you if we went 6-6 for 3 years in a row and then had a 2 win season our fans would be calling for Greg’s head.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I'm a strong Schiano supporter , but can understand how what Leipoid accomplished with the downtrodden Jayhawks put him ahead of G2 in a lot of RU FB fans minds.
I always said there were better options out ther than Schiano but feel none would look at the job with what was being offered.

He’s ahead for now but not by the margin some proclaim. He had a 6 win season in year 2 to get to a bowl. We fell just short at 5 wins in Greg’s second season. We had a year 3 set back due to major injuries last year. Year 3 for Leipold is in progress. Many of our fans seem to have him penciled in for a great season. He doesn’t have that tough a schedule so it’s certainly possible. Then again, Nevada managed to give his team a legit scare so maybe we ought to let the season play out before anointing him the next Urban Meyer.

 

[Mr_Twister]

I'm a strong Schiano supporter , but can understand how what Leipoid accomplished with the downtrodden Jayhawks put him ahead of G2 in a lot of RU FB fans minds.
I always said there were better options out ther than Schiano but feel none would look at the job with what was being offered.

BTW, today’s Sagarin rating has #49 Kansas one notch above #50 Rutgers.
I happen to think that Leipold is a terrific coach who is great at roster management, a willing chance taker as a game day coach, and he puts an entertaining product on the field that I really enjoy watching. I love Rutgers & Coach Schiano, but I admire Leipold as well.

 

[rutgersguy1]

He had a 2-10 season the year before last. His 6th season there. Could you imagine what our fan base will be like if that happens here with Schiano?

It's not easy to keep it going every year, especially at a school like Tulane but if he's getting bowls more often than not that's about what you could expect at Tulane. The 3 coaches before him didn't do nearly as well as him. Tommy Bowden had an undefeated season 25 years ago but off the rails since then until Fritz.

 

[Knight Shift]

Bielema struggled against FAU today.

PJ Fleck- Row the Boat guy lost to Northwestern today. Thanks for the strength of schedule bump!
Hafley hammered by Louisville today 56-28.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Bielema struggled against FAU today.

PJ Fleck- Row the Boat guy lost to Northwestern today. Thanks for the strength of schedule bump!
Hafley hammered by Louisville today 56-28.

On SOS - while Temple took a pounding as expected at Miami, their only other opponent Akron took Indiana to 4OT. Too bad VTech lost to Marshall.

Hopefully we can use Wagner to get GW more comfortable with a few more types of pass plays.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Stock tracker updates:

Leipold - I’ll move him to the top spot for now since he beat a quality BYU team at home. Since the context of this is comparative, major hype here should be tempered at least until we see how RU looks against the middle of the BIG pack (how RU looked at the BIg House is not apples to apples).

Bielema - A win is a win. Bielema holds his stock based on last season’s accomplishments. For now. His team did not look good in a one score win over FAU.

Fritz - holds his spot. Took care of business against a bad Nichols State team.

Rutgers - a loss is a loss but the final MoV isn’t indicative of the fight RU put up. A few questionable calls in this one really hurt RU, but even besides that - the lopsided final score is mostly a result of Rutgers decisions to go for it on 4th multiple times inside the 30. Nobody should question playing to win in those situations on the road, but perspective is needed. If we punch through a FG to cut the lead to 17-10, 7 points come off the board from the pick 6. That alone was a 10 point swing. Our second screen pass of the year didn’t go well - it was a great play by Michigan, but the question looms whether or not we can add this element to our game going forward. Lots of work to do in the Wagner scrimmage…

Butch Jones - he gets an FBS win so I’ll give him a relative bump on stock tracker for now. South Mississippi isn’t good but it’s a better win than those below him.

Mike Houston - did what he’s supposed to against a bad FCS school.

Hafley - the losses keep piling up. Will Jerry keep BC in his bowl projections?

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Stock Tracker Updates:

Leipold - while he doesn’t take a hit for losing to Texas, the 40-14 margin should temper folks who think this guy would easily have RU going toe to toe with OSU and company by now.

Bielema - He holds onto his stock by a thread based on last season’s results. The loss at Purdue wasn’t pretty, but it’s not like RU has beaten a team as good as Purdue yet on the road. So we’ll leave for now.

Fritz - he won again but his schedule is so soft it’s hard to move him up for beating a high volume of bad teams.

Schiano - Did what he was supposed to against a bad Wagner team.

Butch Jones - he’s quietly 3-2 this year. The competition stinks but his team’s been winning so he keeps his spot. Nothing he’s done so far suggests he’d be a great match for RU.

Hafley - he beat UVA but they stink. Suddenly the schedule looks ridiculously easy as Georgia Tech just lost to Bowling Green, UConn is terrible and Army is winnable. Moves out of the basement.

Houston - stock way down right now. Lost to Rice on Saturday.

 

[Mr_Twister]

Kansas was playing top notch competition without their starting QB.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Kansas was playing top notch competition without their starting QB.

Look nobody cared comparatively when we played our 3rd string QB all last year, right? I didn’t drop Leipold’s stock for this loss but regardless of injuries a 40-14 home loss to Texas shouldn’t do anything more positive for Leipold’s stock than a 31-7 road loss to Michigan does for Schiano’s stock.

 

[Mr_Twister]

I’m not going to Google and check but I think Kansas played well against Texas, or may have even beaten the Longhorns, last year with the QB who missed yesterday’s game.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I’m not going to Google and check but I think Kansas played well against Texas, or may have even beaten the Longhorns, last year with the QB who missed yesterday’s game.

Last year’s final was 55-14 Texas.

 

[RU848789]

Schiano already proved he could produce bowl teams in a watered down BE. We know this already. The RU team he inherited from Ash wouldn’t have won 3 games in the AAC. The ones he coached would’ve made bowls. All of them. It had nothing to do with money. NIL wasn’t even a factor yet for 2021 recruiting.

You mean the watered down BE that was typically ranked as high (by far less biased computers) as the B1G in the mid/late 2000s?

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

You mean the watered down BE that was typically ranked as high (by far less biased computers) as the B1G in the mid/late 2000s?

Well for starters, even if the BE was ranked better, our season was always watered down playing that conference simply because we played less conference games in general. 5 OOC games vs 3. You realize that alone is a tremendous difference right?

 

[RU848789]

Well for starters, even if the BE was ranked better, our season was always watered down playing that conference simply because we played less conference games in general. 5 OOC games vs 3. You realize that alone is a tremendous difference right?

Now you're changing the subject, but I'll play. In 2006, for example, we had the #20 rated strength of schedule and in 2007 and 2008 we were around 50th in SOS, which would've put us about in the middle of the B1G teams. Yes, there were some other seasons with weaker schedules, but the point is many of our schedules in the mid/late 2000s were quite competitive. Ergo our seasons were not "always" watered down by our OOC schedule.

 

[Knight Shift]

Kansas was playing top notch competition without their starting QB.

This is the no excuses board when it comes to Rutgers. Same applies to the teams Rutgers so-called fans stare lovingly at across the bar. OK?

 

[Knight Shift]

I’m not going to Google and check but I think Kansas played well against Texas, or may have even beaten the Longhorns, last year with the QB who missed yesterday’s game.

Last year doesn't count. 2020 doesn't count for Greg. Stop with the excuses. Leipold laid an egg this weekend. Suck it up.

 

[colbert17]

In 2005/6/7 we played six games against ranked teams. We may play that many this year alone.

 

[Knight Shift]

Stock Tracker Updates:

Leipold - while he doesn’t take a hit for losing to Texas, the 40-14 margin should temper folks who think this guy would easily have RU going toe to toe with OSU and company by now.

Bielema - He holds onto his stock by a thread based on last season’s results. The loss at Purdue wasn’t pretty, but it’s not like RU has beaten a team as good as Purdue yet on the road. So we’ll leave for now.

Fritz - he won again but his schedule is so soft it’s hard to move him up for beating a high volume of bad teams.

Schiano - Did what he was supposed to against a bad Wagner team.

Butch Jones - he’s quietly 3-2 this year. The competition stinks but his team’s been winning so he keeps his spot. Nothing he’s done so far suggests he’d be a great match for RU.

Hafley - he beat UVA but they stink. Suddenly the schedule looks ridiculously easy as Georgia Tech just lost to Bowling Green, UConn is terrible and Army is winnable. Moves out of the basement.

Houston - stock way down right now. Lost to Rice on Saturday.

Houston would lose to Condoleezza Rice and Rice A Roni.

 

[colbert17]

I’m not going to Google and check but I think Kansas played well against Texas, or may have even beaten the Longhorns, last year with the QB who missed yesterday’s game.

They beat Texas 57-56 in 2021 in a fluke win. Why was it a fluke? Well they finished 2-10 with their only other win vs. South Dakota in the opener and they lost their other 10 games by an average of 26 points.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Now you're changing the subject, but I'll play. In 2006, for example, we had the #20 rated strength of schedule and in 2007 and 2008 we were around 50th in SOS, which would've put us about in the middle of the B1G teams. Yes, there were some other seasons with weaker schedules, but the point is many of our schedules in the mid/late 2000s were quite competitive. Ergo our seasons were not "always" watered down by our OOC schedule.

Look dude - if you want to believe that 2nd ranked USF team in 2007 was comparable to Michigan, and UConn and Cincy were comparable Ohio State and PSU I don’t know what to tell you… The bottom line is UConn and USF finished with 9 wins each that year and didn’t beat anyone good. Cincy finished with 10 but also beat nobody. WVU was the only true elite team that season as an example. And they weren’t as good as the big 3 either.

You can look at blended SOS all you want and make a case. Sticking specifically with that 2007 year though - the reality is that we played a whole bunch of weaker teams that year in Norfolk (Wagner equivalent), Army (3 win team), Buffalo (5 win team), and Navy (8 win team that lost to Delaware and Ball State). Maryland won 6 games but wasn’t a great team either. And Syracuse was awful that year in conference. Definitely worse than NW. They only won 2 games which means your really bad when you play 5 OOC games. There was nobody on the schedule like OSU, PSU or Michigan.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

You are going to ruffle a lot of feathers here putting Leipold 2 slots above Schiano.

Leipold followed a coach with an MNC title.. Les Miles. You think he did not benefit from that?

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Leipold followed a coach with an MNC title.. Les Miles. You think he did not benefit from that?

Leipold has done “well” at Kansas to this point. Not one person has denied that. What I find astounding though is the fascination with this guy’s actual accomplishment last season there all off season. Duke was his only win that should really be classified as even borderline “wow factor”. Oklahoma State won 7 games but the version of them that Kansas played was badly hampered by injuries (lost 48-0 to KState the week before). Houston didn’t beat any major conference teams. Nobody else they beat went to a bowl. It was all losing teams and then Kansas didn’t win their bowl game.

Again - I am not saying it wasn’t a “nice” season for him. But Flood had an equivalent “nice” season in 2014 and he’s remembered by these same folks with a pitch fork. Yes - I get it - very different situation but the point is nobody thinks of our 2014 as this amazing season in RU history. Kansas was way better than RU when Leipold took over. We know this. The teams actually played under Ash. Remember what happened?

 

[rutgersguy1]

Leipold followed a coach with an MNC title.. Les Miles. You think he did not benefit from that?

No because it was a sh*t show and Miles was a total bomb there. There was even a scandal due to his time at LSU that got him fired. Forget about Miles, they were still suffering from Weis and getting up to the limit of scholarship players so many years later. It’s part of the reason the rules changed on annual limits and portal finally helped too. I don’t think there was a worse job in the country than Kansas in that time period. They averaged less than 2 wins for the decade preceding him. They were on the bottom of a few other categories too which I’ve posted here but I can’t remember anymore. It was a horrible job.

As to when they beat Texas. It was in his first year in OT and was their only conference win that year and 1 of 2 wins they had. I forget how long it was since they had beaten Texas before that happened.

edit: quick look to find the my post on that stat…avg less than 2 wins for a decade and no season more than 3 wins…lowest PPG in the P5 in that decade….highest avg margin of loss in the P5 in that decade…it was from a graphic I’d seen on CGD last year

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

No because it was a sh*t show and Miles was a total bomb there. There was even a scandal due to his time at LSU that got him fired. Forget about Miles, they were still suffering from Weis and getting up to the limit of scholarship players so many years later. It’s part of the reason the rules changed on annual limits and portal finally helped too. I don’t think there was a worse job in the country than Kansas in that time period. They averaged less than 2 wins for the decade preceding him. They were on the bottom of a few other categories too which I’ve posted here but I can’t remember anymore. It was a horrible job.

As to when they beat Texas. It was in his first year in OT and was their only conference win that year and 1 of 2 wins they had. I forget how long it was since they had beaten Texas before that happened.

That Texas team wasn’t good though. Not at all. And as bad a Kansas was, they absolutely torched Ash’s Rutgers team that Schiano inherited. That fact cannot be tossed when comparing the two coaches. That wouldn’t be fair.

The level of bad that Schiano started with is routinely underestimated is really the point rather than the knock to Leipold and what he did at Kansas. The biggest issue was depth because in addition to not being a great recruiter Ash was also so bad at developing players. The end result was that Schiano started with a 2nd and 3rd team of high school level players in the trenches and our OL went up against many of the best defenses in the country. Last year the line was somewhat improved but we were played a 3rd string QB so it maybe didn’t seem that way.

 

[rutgersguy1]

That Texas team wasn’t good though. Not at all. And as bad a Kansas was, they absolutely torched Ash’s Rutgers team that Schiano inherited. That fact cannot be tossed when comparing the two coaches. That wouldn’t be fair.

The level of bad that Schiano started with is routinely underestimated is really the point rather than the knock to Leipold and what he did at Kansas. The biggest issue was depth because in addition to not being a great recruiter Ash was also so bad at developing players. The end result was that Schiano started with a 2nd and 3rd team of high school level players in the trenches and our OL went up against many of the best defenses in the country. Last year the line was somewhat improved but we were played a 3rd string QB so it maybe didn’t seem that way.

Found an article about the Kansas scholarship situation. Think about that, it's taken 10 years or so for them to get up to the 85 player scholarship limit and it's because of Weis (his juco strategy) who coached there many years ago.

I can't think of worse job in the sport when Leipold took over Kansas. I've given the pathetic stats above and the scholarship situation that needed to be rehabbed over the years and just adds insult to injury. Kansas is part of the reason for annual scholarship limit changes and transfer rules. Even if those thing didn't exist, Kansas is one of the toughest jobs because of where it is and the lack of support (until recently) and "natural resources" for the team. If Leipold left, I could see it fall back into disarray.

Kansas football in 'really good shape' to hit 85 man scholarship limit for 2023 season

More here.

247sports.com

 

[ru66]

If you understand or believe that NJ is "different", "special" , or has a personality unlike other states being squeezed between two metropolises , you have to admit Schiano is the right guy for the job.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Found an article about the Kansas scholarship situation. Think about that, it's taken 10 years or so for them to get up to the 85 player scholarship limit and it's because of Weis (his juco strategy) who coached there many years ago.

I can't think of worse job in the sport when Leipold took over Kansas. I've given the pathetic stats above and the scholarship situation that needed to be rehabbed over the years and just adds insult to injury. Kansas is part of the reason for annual scholarship limit changes and transfer rules. Even if those thing didn't exist, Kansas is one of the toughest jobs because of where it is and the lack of support (until recently) and "natural resources" for the team. If Leipold left, I could see it fall back into disarray.

Kansas football in 'really good shape' to hit 85 man scholarship limit for 2023 season

More here.

247sports.com

Yes exactly - so what does it tell you about the team Schiano inherited? It was a depleted roster version of the RU team that lost 55-14 to that nightmare at Kansas (our D gave up 544 yards in that game). The team Ash left behind was in a different league of bad.

 

[rutgersguy1]

Yes exactly - so what does it tell you about the team Schiano inherited? It was a depleted roster version of the RU team that lost 55-14 to that nightmare at Kansas (our D gave up 544 yards in that game). The team Ash left behind was in a different league of bad.

And if RU beat them it wouldn't mean anything either. It's one game. Ash was here for a little more than 3 years. I gave you a decade of absolute futility in record, scoring, margin of loss, coach fired with scandal and scholarship issues to field a team. Kansas was as bad a situation as you'd find in CFB.