What are the biggest arguments against Petersen at this point? That he hasn't won at a BCS level? That he hasn't recruited at the BCS level? And that he's not a flashy, sound-biting, awesome, kick-ass presser kind of guy?
The argument that he hasn't won at a BCS level is probably a fair one to make until he does. However, his career record suggests that he's won and won big when competing against his peer level. I don't think anybody expects that he's going to win 90% of his games in the PAC, but even if he's at 70% going forward, I think everybody would be more than happy what those results would lead to.
The recruiting at a BCS level is similar to the coaching. It's apples and oranges. One thing that he's proven to be able to do is develop talent. Many are bagging on the fact that at this point Petersen isn't doing anything more than getting verbals from 3-star kids. What most miss is that the success of a program is often driven by these "boring" 3-star kids developing and forming a basis of solid performance for the program. The difference then becomes the kind of elite players that you are able to surround the foundation with to rise the program to a championship level. Not every player can be an all-star on a team ... in fact, that's a recipe for disaster.
To the argument that Petersen isn't a flashy enough coach, let's look at the coaches in the current Top 10:
1) Florida State - Jimbo Fisher: The foundation of Florida State's success is that they dominate people on the OL/DL. They are a top 25 rushing team in the country averaging over 200 yards per game and a top 15 defensive team against the run giving up just over 100 yards per game.
2) Auburn - Gus Malzahn: Everybody wants to look at what he does with the spread and think that he's all flash. The balance of their run game still comes up the middle and they use their explosive runs to the outside to get you just spread out enough to make the middle runs work. He might have some flash to him, but at the end of the day, he's all about making sure that his bigs outperform your bigs.
3) Alabama - Nick Saban: Personality isn't what he's known for - cold, calculating, ruthless winning he is
4) Michigan St - Mark Dantonio: His teams are built on having one of the better defenses in the country, a bruising running game built off of strong OL play, and QBs that are adept at making the plays required by them. This isn't a flashy team, but a highly effective team.
5) Stanford - David Shaw: Physical running game combined with a hit you in the mouth defense. Not flashy ... highly effective.
6) Baylor - Art Briles: Perhaps the first coach on this list that is more of a flash coach than a physical coach (unless you throw Malzahn into the flash category). However, Baylor is a Top 25 run offense and run defense so they are not just a flashy team w/o substance.
7) Ohio State - Urban Legend: He's famous for turning Tebow Time into a multi-championship team. He's known for running the ball. He's known for physical defense. The fact that his Ohio St teams have had some defensive issues you know will get fixed in time as his recruits continue to dominate the program. BTW, Ohio St was a Top 7 team in the country in both rushing offense/defense.
8) Missouri - Gary Pinkel: DJ pedigree ... nothing more needs to be said.
9) South Caorlina - Ol' Ball Coach: Let's just say that he's been around long enough to know that you can't be the Ol' Ball Coach without rolling up your sleeves from time to time
10) Oregon - Mark Helfrich: We don't know enough about Helfrich to know much ... what we do know about the Oregon program though is that when they get hit in the mouth, they tend to back away.
Bottom line, if you want to be a Top 10 team, you are far more likely to be there by being willing to not only pop somebody in the mouth, but to fight back when someone tries to KO you. If you're soft, you'll fall on your face. Petersen's teams have consistently shown over time that when you hit them in the mouth, they get right back up and take their shots. Sark? Not so much.
