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This post may get a bit long – I apologize for that.
It’s easy to look at W/L and see 2012 as the “downfall†of the program. However, the reality that 2009-2011 were truly the “death†of the program as we knew it. Here’s my reasoning
I’d actually start with Richmond 2008 as the actual start. 2008 was “our yearâ€. Montana hoodoo aside, the 2008 UNI team wasn’t losing to Montana in the title game. The way that game ended was the first nail in the coffin so to speak. In so many ways that game epitomizes what we know as “Farely being Farleyâ€. Getting conservative on offense late with the lead. Playing prevent defense late. Having a late lead blown by doing those two things. I think Farley knew beating Richmond in that semi-final would have put a national title trophy in the UNIDome. It may have actually been good for the program going into 2009.
Going into the Iowa game, and 2009 in general, expectations were sky high. It was, essentially, the same team as 2008. Farley put literally everything he had physically, mentally, and game plan wise, into the Iowa game to open that season. He didn’t play safe. That game was it. Then it ended the way it did, and it mentally broke him. There was nothing else he could do that would get the team over that hump if it didn’t happen that day. Couple that with it being the first game since the Richmond game and there isn’t a more mentally breaking way to lose “back-to-back†games. 2009 would go on to be marred with a the start of the Zach Davis saga. The locker room started to fall apart. Farley started his deep transition into the Farley we know today. 2009 May have been saved when Zach Davis led the team to a touchdown in the season finale with 56 seconds left that gave UNI the lead in Normal, IL. A win that day and UNI is in the playoffs at 8-3. Illinois State marched down the field and scored in the final 20 seconds to retake the lead, win, and knock UNI out of the playoffs. That led to 2010, where things really started to pick up speed.
Farley had always seemed to be fascinated by a running QB but never wanted to commit to one. Then Rennie ended up at UNI by way of Ellsworth CC by way of Florida for spring ball. Davis was “supposed†to be the starter, it was assumed for years leading into it. Rennie got to spring ball and blew everyone’s mind with the plays he made in the game. I was there, it was just stupid. Come to find out later he didn’t know a single play in the playbook and every play he made was him not listening to the coaches, but the plays he made were unbelievable and it was clear you couldn’t keep him off the field. One could argue he should have been moved to RB, but we already had Carlos Anderson established there and they wanted the ball in his hands at all times. As 2010 entered fall the Zach Davis drama got real bad. Locker room completely ripped apart. It was Zach vs. Rennie. You could see the team wasn’t actually a team. That team simply got REALLY lucky that the MVFC was as bad as it ever had been and still managed a league title – a MASSIVE band aid over the hemorrhaging program.
Davis left the program after 2010 and 2011 had a chance to “save†the program. The season played out damn near perfectly – but there were a ton of issues hidden behind Rennie’s ability. A
Because Rennie was so electric the fact UNI had gone away from the WR that made the offense click. Gone were the bigger WRs and in were the 5’7-5’10 just speed guys. The offensive line was in transition from maulers to whatever we attempted to put out there. The coaching staff had no idea how to run that kind of offense. If you’ll recall Rennie’s years nearly tore this board apart. Honestly, Rennie “saved†those two years – but ultimately him performing as well as he did was a mortal wound moving forward.
Anyway – UNI finishes with another league title and top 4 ranking. Goes into the playoffs and the “we don’t look at bids†committee ended up sending UNI to Montana. Just like this year, the UNI team that took the field that night was vastly superior to the Montana team, but that game was over before it started. Montana’s history with UNI had already beaten Farley. Couple that with the fact it was cold and there was zero chance UNI wins that game. It wasn’t just that UNI lost, it was how bad it was. If there was anything left in Farley after Richmond/Iowa/Illinois State in the span of 11 months from 08-09 it died in Missoula that night. That game was the final death blow of the program – but it isn’t what killed the program.
As I type this I take back Montana being the final death blow – it got UNI/Farley to within a microfraction of death. Wisconsin 2012 finished it. 2012 was going to be a rough year anyway, but literally every break UNI needed went the other way. Starting a freshman Kollmorgen and freshman DJ at Camp Randall UNI lost by 5 with the ball in their hands with under 2 mintues left inside the Wisconsin 30. Iowa 2 weeks later, combined with Wisconsin in week 1 left the team as a mash unit. Then UNI loses to YSU with the ball inside the YSU 10 as time experies (UNI was screwed, there was time left on the clock but home clock runner let it run). Lost to SIU in OT. By October 13 2012 the team was 1-5 and 0-5 vs D1s. Going into November UNI was 2-6 and 1-6 vs D1. It was a bad year filled with bad breaks, but there was a ton of young talent there.
2013 was decimated by injuries. Started the season beating Iowa State, boat racing Drake and UNC, and then just making #6 McNeese State our *****. Then the injuries just came running in faster than the trainers could get the previous one off the field. Lost 5 straight games, the first 4 of which were OT games. 2013 Also saw the start of the true QB controversy period. Sawyer couldn’t not get a concussion every time he was touched, and Carnes came in from Nebraska. As I said, Rennie hid a ton of issues in 10-11. There was a shift in recruiting tactic, but a coaching staff wasn’t put in place and the offense was never committed too. Rennie doing well also meant Farley fell in love with that type of QB.
I don’t think I need to rehash Carnes/Bailey and now apparently Dunne/Howell but starting in 2012 we saw the cracks that formed starting Richmond 08 start to turn into more than just cracks.
It’s now 2018 and we are seeing the same issues we’ve seen since 2008. We are also far enough away from those 05-08 teams that the luster is gone. The leash Farley bought himself is gone. I don’t know that Farley knows exactly what to do at this point. Imagine being a coach recruiting the talent he has – putting players into the NFL like he has – and not getting results. Think about how mentally taxing that has to be. This program has had about 18 “breaking points†over the last decade. That wears on a coach. It’s why I think a new voice wouldn’t hurt. Get a guy in that isn’t haunted by dozens of ghosts. The Montana game last week was over before it started because of those ghosts. You’ll see there were many who called that type of result weeks before the game. This program is stuck in Groundhog Day.
There’s been a ton of shifting in the coaching staff – which hasn’t helped style of play be developed. Recruiting tactics – especially on offense – have chanced so often that there doesn’t seem to have been a consensus for what type of player at each position to go for. That, plus not always playing the guys that *should* has probably broken trust from players to the coaches.
I don’t have a TL;DR version other than simply looking at records and going “what happened starting in 2012?†is completely missing the picture of what lead into 2012 and created the issues. Not that I want anyone to do this – but if you go read PN during the timeline I posted above you’ll see two sides of the fan base – the people who were “negative†(like me) and pointing out in real time the cracks getting bigger and then the people who believed Farley wouldn’t let those cracks actually be anything. They weren’t wrong to hope for that to happen, but they did and because as a fan base (in general) and administration are so in love with what Farley represents about UNI we were blind to the reality of what was happening. How it was putting UNI behind. How it was having a massive negative impact on the program. So to that point of your post - there were actually plenty unhappy with the direction of the program program before the 2012 season. But we were drowned out because "WE'RE WINNING. JUST ENJOY IT AND STOP BEING NEGATIVE"
Hopefully this season isn’t what it looked like in Montana. At this point I’ve completely disconnected myself from the results of the program – and to a large extent the program itself.
It’s easy to look at W/L and see 2012 as the “downfall†of the program. However, the reality that 2009-2011 were truly the “death†of the program as we knew it. Here’s my reasoning
I’d actually start with Richmond 2008 as the actual start. 2008 was “our yearâ€. Montana hoodoo aside, the 2008 UNI team wasn’t losing to Montana in the title game. The way that game ended was the first nail in the coffin so to speak. In so many ways that game epitomizes what we know as “Farely being Farleyâ€. Getting conservative on offense late with the lead. Playing prevent defense late. Having a late lead blown by doing those two things. I think Farley knew beating Richmond in that semi-final would have put a national title trophy in the UNIDome. It may have actually been good for the program going into 2009.
Going into the Iowa game, and 2009 in general, expectations were sky high. It was, essentially, the same team as 2008. Farley put literally everything he had physically, mentally, and game plan wise, into the Iowa game to open that season. He didn’t play safe. That game was it. Then it ended the way it did, and it mentally broke him. There was nothing else he could do that would get the team over that hump if it didn’t happen that day. Couple that with it being the first game since the Richmond game and there isn’t a more mentally breaking way to lose “back-to-back†games. 2009 would go on to be marred with a the start of the Zach Davis saga. The locker room started to fall apart. Farley started his deep transition into the Farley we know today. 2009 May have been saved when Zach Davis led the team to a touchdown in the season finale with 56 seconds left that gave UNI the lead in Normal, IL. A win that day and UNI is in the playoffs at 8-3. Illinois State marched down the field and scored in the final 20 seconds to retake the lead, win, and knock UNI out of the playoffs. That led to 2010, where things really started to pick up speed.
Farley had always seemed to be fascinated by a running QB but never wanted to commit to one. Then Rennie ended up at UNI by way of Ellsworth CC by way of Florida for spring ball. Davis was “supposed†to be the starter, it was assumed for years leading into it. Rennie got to spring ball and blew everyone’s mind with the plays he made in the game. I was there, it was just stupid. Come to find out later he didn’t know a single play in the playbook and every play he made was him not listening to the coaches, but the plays he made were unbelievable and it was clear you couldn’t keep him off the field. One could argue he should have been moved to RB, but we already had Carlos Anderson established there and they wanted the ball in his hands at all times. As 2010 entered fall the Zach Davis drama got real bad. Locker room completely ripped apart. It was Zach vs. Rennie. You could see the team wasn’t actually a team. That team simply got REALLY lucky that the MVFC was as bad as it ever had been and still managed a league title – a MASSIVE band aid over the hemorrhaging program.
Davis left the program after 2010 and 2011 had a chance to “save†the program. The season played out damn near perfectly – but there were a ton of issues hidden behind Rennie’s ability. A
Because Rennie was so electric the fact UNI had gone away from the WR that made the offense click. Gone were the bigger WRs and in were the 5’7-5’10 just speed guys. The offensive line was in transition from maulers to whatever we attempted to put out there. The coaching staff had no idea how to run that kind of offense. If you’ll recall Rennie’s years nearly tore this board apart. Honestly, Rennie “saved†those two years – but ultimately him performing as well as he did was a mortal wound moving forward.
Anyway – UNI finishes with another league title and top 4 ranking. Goes into the playoffs and the “we don’t look at bids†committee ended up sending UNI to Montana. Just like this year, the UNI team that took the field that night was vastly superior to the Montana team, but that game was over before it started. Montana’s history with UNI had already beaten Farley. Couple that with the fact it was cold and there was zero chance UNI wins that game. It wasn’t just that UNI lost, it was how bad it was. If there was anything left in Farley after Richmond/Iowa/Illinois State in the span of 11 months from 08-09 it died in Missoula that night. That game was the final death blow of the program – but it isn’t what killed the program.
As I type this I take back Montana being the final death blow – it got UNI/Farley to within a microfraction of death. Wisconsin 2012 finished it. 2012 was going to be a rough year anyway, but literally every break UNI needed went the other way. Starting a freshman Kollmorgen and freshman DJ at Camp Randall UNI lost by 5 with the ball in their hands with under 2 mintues left inside the Wisconsin 30. Iowa 2 weeks later, combined with Wisconsin in week 1 left the team as a mash unit. Then UNI loses to YSU with the ball inside the YSU 10 as time experies (UNI was screwed, there was time left on the clock but home clock runner let it run). Lost to SIU in OT. By October 13 2012 the team was 1-5 and 0-5 vs D1s. Going into November UNI was 2-6 and 1-6 vs D1. It was a bad year filled with bad breaks, but there was a ton of young talent there.
2013 was decimated by injuries. Started the season beating Iowa State, boat racing Drake and UNC, and then just making #6 McNeese State our *****. Then the injuries just came running in faster than the trainers could get the previous one off the field. Lost 5 straight games, the first 4 of which were OT games. 2013 Also saw the start of the true QB controversy period. Sawyer couldn’t not get a concussion every time he was touched, and Carnes came in from Nebraska. As I said, Rennie hid a ton of issues in 10-11. There was a shift in recruiting tactic, but a coaching staff wasn’t put in place and the offense was never committed too. Rennie doing well also meant Farley fell in love with that type of QB.
I don’t think I need to rehash Carnes/Bailey and now apparently Dunne/Howell but starting in 2012 we saw the cracks that formed starting Richmond 08 start to turn into more than just cracks.
It’s now 2018 and we are seeing the same issues we’ve seen since 2008. We are also far enough away from those 05-08 teams that the luster is gone. The leash Farley bought himself is gone. I don’t know that Farley knows exactly what to do at this point. Imagine being a coach recruiting the talent he has – putting players into the NFL like he has – and not getting results. Think about how mentally taxing that has to be. This program has had about 18 “breaking points†over the last decade. That wears on a coach. It’s why I think a new voice wouldn’t hurt. Get a guy in that isn’t haunted by dozens of ghosts. The Montana game last week was over before it started because of those ghosts. You’ll see there were many who called that type of result weeks before the game. This program is stuck in Groundhog Day.
There’s been a ton of shifting in the coaching staff – which hasn’t helped style of play be developed. Recruiting tactics – especially on offense – have chanced so often that there doesn’t seem to have been a consensus for what type of player at each position to go for. That, plus not always playing the guys that *should* has probably broken trust from players to the coaches.
I don’t have a TL;DR version other than simply looking at records and going “what happened starting in 2012?†is completely missing the picture of what lead into 2012 and created the issues. Not that I want anyone to do this – but if you go read PN during the timeline I posted above you’ll see two sides of the fan base – the people who were “negative†(like me) and pointing out in real time the cracks getting bigger and then the people who believed Farley wouldn’t let those cracks actually be anything. They weren’t wrong to hope for that to happen, but they did and because as a fan base (in general) and administration are so in love with what Farley represents about UNI we were blind to the reality of what was happening. How it was putting UNI behind. How it was having a massive negative impact on the program. So to that point of your post - there were actually plenty unhappy with the direction of the program program before the 2012 season. But we were drowned out because "WE'RE WINNING. JUST ENJOY IT AND STOP BEING NEGATIVE"
Hopefully this season isn’t what it looked like in Montana. At this point I’ve completely disconnected myself from the results of the program – and to a large extent the program itself.
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