Howell was a little before my time, so it's hard for me to say. But Marshall has taken the Valpo program back to the heights it was at during Hoffman's tenure after it fell off a bit in the years proceeding the legendary coach's retirement. He knows that he'll always have big, physical lines and he takes advantage of that and has built the team around that. Their power spread offense and 4-man front defense are perfect for the personnel they have. I thought they were in serious trouble when they practically started the game down 10-0 but credit to their staff and kids for staying composed and keeping chopping. But really they did that all tournament. Everyone talks about Davis coming back from injury, and he was obviously a huge lift in the playoffs, but he didn't get hurt until Week 4. Clark coming in for the injured Ian Wilson against MC ended up being just as impact as Davis's return when it was all said and done. Not only for the fact that Clark ended up being a 1000 yard passer and runner, but also that Wilson ended up coming back and making huge contributions as a receiver. He caught a 4th down TD vs Merrillville, and then both the 3rd & 18 and 3rd & 12 completions on the game-winning drive in State. That's a testament to that young man - to lose your job to injury but to then come back and change positions and still make a giant impact. I've said on this forum before that while running is king, in big games you will almost assuredly be forced to make some plays in the passing game. Valpo's 2018 and 2019 teams were significantly better than this one, but what set this team apart was the fact that they made huge plays in the passing game every time they needed to throughout the tournament. Like you said, they've got a lot coming back too. But at this point I think no matter how much Valpo brings back they'll always have to be considered a threat. I mean this year they brought back almost no one, and we saw where they ended the season.