The thing I like most was his teams were respected, and feared. Others knew, if you didn't bring your A game, you were flat out going to get your ass kicked, likely, pretty bad.
That 7 game bowl losing streak was made to be more than it was. 4 of those teams won the National Championship by beating NU, and the other 3 finished no lower than 3rd. NU was playing the best of the best. Not many, if any, other programs were going to win those games either. Most often, pitted in someone's home state, or nearby. Pretty tough draw, for anyone.