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Reasonable expectations in college football

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Jake_Taylor, Dec 8, 2010.

  1. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    Spinning off of the coaches firing/hiring thread, I thought it might be interesting to discuss what certain college football programs should be able to expect in terms of success. Pitt was discussed in the other thread and I tend to agree that 7-9 wins on average with the occasional 10-win season and maybe the occasional five or six-win season is reasonable these days.

    What about other programs that may or may not be making changes? Minnesota keeps changing coaches, but can the Gophers really expect to get more than what they had in the Mason era? Miami, there I can see getting rid of a guy that was only winning seven or eight a year. Whoever takes over at Florida should be in the national championship picture at least every few years or so.
     
  2. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Programs that believe they should win 10 games every season

    Nebraska
    Texas
    Oklahoma
    Ohio State
    Michigan
    Penn State
    USC
    Florida
    LSU
    Alabama
    Auburn
    Tennessee
    Notre Dame
    Florida State
    Miami

    That's 15 teams and 14 of them have won titles in the last 25 years.
     
  3. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Some Georgia fans still think they should be in that group, but their time ended when Florida became a powerhouse.
     
  4. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    I'd say that's pretty reasonable for most of the list. I'm not sure about Notre Dame anymore. There are places like Pitt and Texas A&M that have a decent history, but fans are crazy if they think they are getting back to the glory days any time soon.
     
  5. WriteTank

    WriteTank New Member

    I follow Notre Dame, and I'm amazed by any victory they can get. I guess you could call it "Charlie Weis Syndrome."
     
  6. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    The only problem with the list is it's not realistic for five teams from the same conference to win 10 every season.
     
  7. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    True, it's not going to happen. But I don't think fans and decision makers at those schools are crazy for thinking it should happen for them. What I don't get is a place like Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Pitt, etc going to bowls almost every year, but expecting to go to bigger bowls every year.

    Two programs I follow pretty closely are Kansas and Virginia. As a Kansas alum I'd be perfectly content with an average of 6-8 wins a year and accepting of the occasional four or five win season and thrilled with the occasional 10-plus year.

    At Virginia you have to deal overcome some academic restrictions, though I think those are overstated by people that want to make excuses, and you have to reclaim a lot of ground in-state recruiting, but that program ought to be able to win eight or nine games a year, occasionally going 6-6 and sometimes slipping into a fairly major bowl.

    Schools like Vandy, Baylor, Indiana, Washington State should cherish every bowl game because you can't count on making many.
     
  8. ucacm

    ucacm Active Member

    Michigan has one national championship, which was shared, in the past sixty years. That's pretty amazing.
     
  9. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    If you're not one of those 15 schools, I think the best you can hope for is to consistently win 8-9 games a year and occasionally break through and contend for a BCS bowl.
     
  10. bydesign77

    bydesign77 Active Member

    @playthrough I don't think I've met a UGA fan that didn't expect to be a conference title contender. They think one national championship win 30 years ago means they should buy top ranked every year. And when they lose the whining is unbelievable.

    So it isn't some, I think it is most.
     
  11. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I'd say the second tier is

    Oregon
    Wisconsin
    Texas A&M
    TCU
    Iowa
    Arkansas
    Boise State
    Colorado
    UCLA
    Georgia Tech
    Virginia Tech
    Georgia
    Utah
    Pittsburgh
    Boston College
    South Carolina
    Clemson

    With these schools if they have a great season, they can contend for a BCS bowl, but in most seasons 8-9 wins is considered acceptable/realistic. It's also not unheard of for one to have a losing season.
     
  12. albert77

    albert77 Well-Known Member

    The college closest to me is Southern Miss, and their minimum expectations are fairly lofty for a so-called mid-major. In Conference USA, they should win at least 8 games every year and get to some kind of a bowl game (they're currently at 13 straight and counting). They ought to be playing in the CUSA championship game at least every other year, and every 4-5 years they should spike a 10-11 win season where they at least get into the conversation about BCS-busters. Given their history, I'd say those are not necessarily unrealistic expectations.
     
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