A good job in a good conference. Nice fan support. Lots of the elements for decent success.
On the other hand, they are the clear 4th in their half of the Big 10. It will be tough for them to surpass any of the 3 ahead of them on a consistent and lasting basis.
If they were in the Big 10 West, I think a good coach would give them a chance to compete to go to the Big 10 title game on a somewhat regular basis. Would take a fantastic coach to do so in the East.
So you're saying that Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska