Which programs could be better?

#26
#26
UCLA & USC fo' sho'. LA County by itself roughly has the population of the whole state of Tennessee, great football programs and coaching at the high school level. USC is held back for now by a bad coaching staff and previous to that sanctions due to Reggie Bush. But UCLA has no excuse for being as bad as they have been along with hiring Chip Kelly for now.
 
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#27
#27
Love the off season thread ideals! Keep them coming!

My List:

Miami- Should be Top 25 caliber program EVERY season. Tons of talent and the history and brand name to promote itself.
Texas- Pretty much the same as Miami...should annually be a Top 15 program.
Colorado- I'm honestly not even sure why I feel this way about the Buffs but feel their location & Pac12 ties should make them a Top 20-30 program most seasons.
Nebraska- Top of the line facilities, amazing fanbase and great history. I think we all know from a recruiting standpoint it actually hurt them moving to the B1G but they should still be able to recruit top talent and yearly be in the race for the B1G West with the likes of Wisconsin, Purdue and Minny

Not on List that others Have Mentioned:

Indiana- IU will NEVER be a football school. The fans, boosters and administration could careless about IU football. They are still living in the past drooling over their 40 plus year old hoop banners and believing they are still a basketball blue blood.

Georgia Tech- They are in a tough place. Solid school and program but impossible to out recruit UGA and the other SEC schools. Lots of talent in Georgia but the players pecking order is UGA,Florida, the rest of the SEC and then maybe GT. Their option style also scared off a lot of top talent in years past.

UCLA- I totally get where some would think UCLA/USC should be a top 25 program every season but and it's probably just me I don't think most West Coasters care about football as much as the rest of the country. Watch any Pac 12 football games outside of Oregon and the stadiums are half empty every week.

Maryland/Pitt/Rutgers- If your a top football player in the DC/NY/Pitt area I don't think any of them are thinking I wanna play at these schools. It's just not the sexy thing to do.....They wanna play at Penn State,VT or the ACC
 
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#28
#28
Cal and UCLA in the PAC-12 are both sleeping giants. Virginia, Pitt, GT also come to mind.
 
#29
#29
Hoosier_Vol said:
Miami- Should be Top 25 caliber program EVERY season. Tons of talent and the history and brand name to promote itself.
Texas- Pretty much the same as Miami...should annually be a Top 15 program.
Colorado- I'm honestly not even sure why I feel this way about the Buffs but feel their location & Pac12 ties should make them a Top 20-30 program most seasons.
Nebraska- Top of the line facilities, amazing fanbase and great history. I think we all know from a recruiting standpoint it actually hurt them moving to the B1G but they should still be able to recruit top talent and yearly be in the race for the B1G West with the likes of Wisconsin, Purdue and Minny
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Other than Texas, I think there are OK reasons why the other programs aren't good/aren't good anymore.

Miami is one of the most interesting and unique programs in all of CFB. If you look at them just in terms of national championships won, they actually have been a wildly successful program (5 national titles since 1983). However, despite their football success and overall image they actually are a small private school with a good academic reputation, and the academic side and athletic side are in perpetual conflict. Miami isn't quite the academic school that Vanderbilt is, but you can kind of picture them like if Vandy had these periods of time where they were really good at football, even winning multiple titles. Weird, right?

As for Colorado and Nebraska, I think those schools are places that you actually shouldn't expect to find great programs. A huge part of Nebraska's story I think is just for that reason...you wouldn't necessarily expect a CFB powerhouse to come from there. Neither Nebraska or Colorado are high population states, neither produce much football talent, and both states are relatively far away from locations that do produce football talent. At present, both are poor fits in their conference. The only things Nebraska has going for it at the moment are their history and a large, passionate fanbase/administration that will spend money and try to improve the program. Colorado, unless I'm missing something, doesn't really have a whole lot going for it.
 
#30
#30
South Carolina seems like the easy answer, but the rise of Clemson has been difficult to contend with. The “Spurrier Era” may have been the ceiling for them. Even with Spurrier, they only had one SECCG appearance and got embarrassed by Auburn. Texas A&M should be much better than they are especially with the fertile recruiting grounds of Texas.
 
#31
#31
PEPPERJAX said:
South Carolina seems like the easy answer, but the rise of Clemson has been difficult to contend with. The “Spurrier Era” may have been the ceiling for them. Even with Spurrier, they only had one SECCG appearance and got embarrassed by Auburn. Texas A&M should be much better than they are especially with the fertile recruiting grounds of Texas.
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Agreed, and what's funny is that team he won the SEC East with wasn't his best team. After that he rattled off 3 straight 11-2, top 10 seasons. His 2013 team had their season ruined by the Vols.
 
#32
#32
MemphisVol77 said:
They're presently at their apex. I'll be happy for our Tiger High little brother if they sustain it, but I'm skeptical.

Norvell turned into a good hire after Fuente but even that was the first time in their programs history they've managed to pull off back to back good HC's.

Off returning talent they should be competitive in 2020, but I won't be the least bit surprised if they begin a gradual slide and taper off into mediocrity after this coming 2020 season. Now that coaching is seemingly settled in the SEC at Ark, Ole Miss, Miss St., & UT they won't be able to punch above their weight and grab recruits that finish out the bottom of SEC classes.

I think Tommy West summed up Tiger High pretty succinctly with his scorched earth exit interview after he was fired a decade ago. Paraphrasing, "Until UofM becomes willing to commit finances & facilities to the football program they will never be more than a midtier program that occasionally overachievs"..

I thought after losing Norvell they should have made a run at H. Freeze(he could have made a great prodigal son returning home redemption story), or gone after an established HC if the administration was serious about building a sustainable program.

Instead they stuck to their historical norm and went cheap with an in house promotion. They lucked into Fuentes & Norvell, there's little to no reason to expect them to sustain overachieving coach hires. Their facilities and decrepit stadium don't attract a higher pedigree than G5 recruits.
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So better or worse then Vandy?
 
#34
#34
05_never_again said:
Other than Texas, I think there are OK reasons why the other programs aren't good/aren't good anymore.

Miami is one of the most interesting and unique programs in all of CFB. If you look at them just in terms of national championships won, they actually have been a wildly successful program (5 national titles since 1983). However, despite their football success and overall image they actually are a small private school with a good academic reputation, and the academic side and athletic side are in perpetual conflict. Miami isn't quite the academic school that Vanderbilt is, but you can kind of picture them like if Vandy had these periods of time where they were really good at football, even winning multiple titles. Weird, right?

As for Colorado and Nebraska, I think those schools are places that you actually shouldn't expect to find great programs. A huge part of Nebraska's story I think is just for that reason...you wouldn't necessarily expect a CFB powerhouse to come from there. Neither Nebraska or Colorado are high population states, neither produce much football talent, and both states are relatively far away from locations that do produce football talent. At present, both are poor fits in their conference. The only things Nebraska has going for it at the moment are their history and a large, passionate fanbase/administration that will spend money and try to improve the program. Colorado, unless I'm missing something, doesn't really have a whole lot going for it.
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You are missing a lot when it comes to Colorado. I used to live next to CU and often wondered why they were not still elite. They won a National Championship in 1990 and a Heisman winner in 1994. The school is in one of the most beautiful cities in the country. The Stadium has a gorgeous backdrop of the flatirons. Boulder is only a few minutes from Denver giving them a population big enough to recruit locally. One visit to that college town and I would be hooked.
 
#35
#35
I'd have to say:

Nebraska: Historically, there is no reason they shouldn't be a top 25 or even a top 10 team every year
Texas: Much as I'd love to see them go 0-12 every year, there is ample enough talent in Texas they shouldn't have any problems recruiting and putting that talent to use
Pretty much the same goes for Texas A&M, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor and Houston. Other than beating each other up, there should never be a losing season for a P5 Texas team or Houston
USC and UCLA: See rationale for Texas teams. With that much talent right in their back yard and the history there, both teams should be fighting it out for the Pac-12 championship every year
Georgia seems to have done less with more than any team I've mentioned. Even worse than Texas in my opinion
Tennessee: You guys have the heritage and are the only decent team in that state. There is no reason you shouldn't be a powerhouse and lock down recruiting for any player 3 stars or better
Virginia: I just feel this team should be doing far more than it does
Colorado: Great location, only P5 team in the state except for Air Force which doesn't count and has a good heritage. There is no reason they shouldn't be contending for the Pac-12 as well

Now, teams that are better than they "should" be:

Air Force, Navy and Army: All three have ups and downs, but with the recruiting limitations they have, none should really ever have a 10 win season
Appy State: Small obscure college in the backwaters of North Carolina that rarely cracks the top 50 in recruiting?
Boise State: See Appy State. Who wants to move to Idaho to play football?
Both Appy State and Boise State have done more with less than any other team in history.
 
#36
#36
05_never_again said:
As for Colorado and Nebraska, I think those schools are places that you actually shouldn't expect to find great programs. A huge part of Nebraska's story I think is just for that reason...you wouldn't necessarily expect a CFB powerhouse to come from there. Neither Nebraska or Colorado are high population states, neither produce much football talent, and both states are relatively far away from locations that do produce football talent. At present, both are poor fits in their conference. The only things Nebraska has going for it at the moment are their history and a large, passionate fanbase/administration that will spend money and try to improve the program. Colorado, unless I'm missing something, doesn't really have a whole lot going for it.
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The thing about Nebraska is Tom Osborne pretty much recruited most of his talent in state and from the immediate surrounding states.

Provided the times have changed, but overall, they are the only game in town and no ranked recruit from that state should ever leave for another program without serious consideration for Nebraska first. I'm talking parents disowning them kind of decision.
 
#38
#38
Only_1_OK said:
The thing about Nebraska is Tom Osborne pretty much recruited most of his talent in state and from the immediate surrounding states.

Provided the times have changed, but overall, they are the only game in town and no ranked recruit from that state should ever leave for another program without serious consideration for Nebraska first. I'm talking parents disowning them kind of decision.
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Very few of their ranked recruits leave the state (2019 Top Football Recruits in Nebraska - just an example). Nebraska's problem is that there aren't very many of them. In any given year, there are only 5-10 guys in the entire state that 247 even bothers to rank.
 
#39
#39
Lane Train 4 said:
You are missing a lot when it comes to Colorado. I used to live next to CU and often wondered why they were not still elite. They won a National Championship in 1990 and a Heisman winner in 1994. The school is in one of the most beautiful cities in the country. The Stadium has a gorgeous backdrop of the flatirons. Boulder is only a few minutes from Denver giving them a population big enough to recruit locally. One visit to that college town and I would be hooked.
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Not much football talent, no large and passionate fanbase are pretty key drawbacks. Look at the history of their program - the success they had in the 90s is the exception, not the rule. It is a great location - Denver is one of my favorite cities in the entire country - but not for football.
 
#40
#40
05_never_again said:
Not much football talent, no large and passionate fanbase are pretty key drawbacks. Look at the history of their program - the success they had in the 90s is the exception, not the rule. It is a great location - Denver is one of my favorite cities in the entire country - but not for football.
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They have a great coach. Recruiting is getting better. They will be back soon imo.
 
#42
#42
05_never_again said:
Colorado, unless I'm missing something, doesn't really have a whole lot going for it.
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They actually have a lot going for them. They have a respectable history on the field and produced a ton of nfl players between 1989-2002. They have arguably the most underrated facilities in the country. Seriously go watch the videos on YouTube that give you a behind the scene look. The state doesn’t produce a ton a blue chip prospects, but there’s enough to build a solid foundation. Then they can always go recruit Texas and California. That’s how Bill McCartney built his program. I’m not saying CU should be a perennial title contender, but if Utah can consistently churn out 9 win seasons, there’s no reason Colorado can’t.
 
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#43
#43
UGA. They have the one title in 1980. A couple SECs. But really they should be the class of college football. Their run and ranking right now should be commonplace to the point where Bama is. Running off a coach for going 11-2.
 
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#44
#44
05_never_again said:
Not much football talent there though. Similar to New York. Huge state population-wise, but they don't play good football.
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Chicken or Egg?
If they had a quality program would all that population produce better talent.
I think the Titans brought improved HS football talent to middle TN
 
#46
#46
Wireless1 said:
Chicken or Egg?
If they had a quality program would all that population produce better talent.
I think the Titans brought improved HS football talent to middle TN
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Not necessarily. Wisconsin has had a quality program for years but produces little in-state talent. Even a state like Michigan, which has a historical blue blood program, doesn't produce an inordinate amount of football talent like you might think (they've always had to poach talent from places like OH and PA). That's one of many reasons why that program is overrated, the expectations are way too high, and the head coaching job there is nowhere near as good as people think it is.

In Tennessee the talent has gotten better in recent years, but that is because of the population growth in the Nashville metro, not because the Vols or Titans have been good. Tennessee actually has less football talent overall than you would think too.
 
#48
#48
MemphisVol77 said:
Presently Tiger High is better then Vandy. When they're both at their norm I'd give Vanderbilt a slight edge.
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When did Memphis become an FBS level team? I know they where back in the 90s but at one point where Missouri Valley conference members. That was never an FBS conference.
 
#50
#50
Bry said:
Wake Forest
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Tiny private school with less than 8000 students (smallest enrollment in the ACC), overshadowed by UNC, NC State and Duke in terms of exposure...located in a state not known as a hotbed for blue chip talent?

Respectfully disagree.

Anytime Wake Forest is bowl eligible, let alone ACC title contenders like they were in the mid 2000s, consider it to be a minor miracle given their resources and in-state competition.
 
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