Plough doesn’t seem like a guy who’d settle for “coasting,”

100% agree.

Bingo. They'll do it big or not at all

Not me. I think its a mistake. If Nebraska can't break through, I'm not sure how North Dakota can.

And Les' record here is around .500.

I just can't get fired-up about playing "exciting" new opponents (like Nevada and San Jose St.), striving for barely .500 seasons, getting monkey-stomped in another money game, and hoping to receive a crappy bowl bid. Give me a weekend in January in Nashville and an FCS national championship (hell, even a Quarterfinal win) until college football listens to my man SailorGabe and splits and makes another level of playoffs for that lower group.

Interesting point about Nebraska and NDSU. Different measures of success there but interesting analogy. I'd bet NDSU does better as a mid-major before Nebraska does anything significant in the Big10/Power 4.

My worry is if it splits and makes another playoff we have no idea if we will get invited to join considering how big the g5 already is. Getting stuck in the third tier would be rough.

Also I think NDSU understands in the move to the new MW its a much more winnable league.

I generally agree, but I think .500 would be bare minimum assuming we retain the current staff and the positive recruiting trend continues. People seem to forget last time we played NDSU we lost by 9 (shouldve been closer) on their turf and we're arguably much more talented now.

All valid points to ponder. Hard to tell when the best time to jump is, I think we'll probably see how the next 2-3 years plays out and it might be a little more clear.

I agree with you , .500 may be a little low given the current staff and what they're doing recruiting-wise.

Not going to happen if one evaluates the economic situation. Plenty of Tier 2 programs are simply going to drop football. The only reason Rutgers has a 30m football budget is because they have a 90m conference distribution. That distribution is entirely contingent upon fielding a football team and will be reduced by 90% when they are pushed down a level. Ohio State and Texas aren’t going to willingly subsidize Rutgers or the other 50+ programs in Tier 2 after the split. Have already seen this in the northwest. Oregon State is teetering and will either fold or slide way back. They burned through the P12 residual and one time funds in under two academic years.

Another tough part about Oregon State is that the Pac 12 shake up took place just as they were completing a very expensive stadium renovation.