I’m 45 and, was lucky enough to be around to enjoy our amazing run in the 90’s. The fact is our reality was much different at that time.
* The Big Eight was NOT a very good football conference. We very much benefited from a weak conference schedule, and by the 90s OU was struggling.
* NCAA was just getting going with steroid testing and I don’t think that the conference tested. We were also on the cutting edge with regard to our S&C/nutrition programs...everyone does this now.
* We benefitted from low academic standards and partial qualifiers...Texas ended the partial qualifiers.
* 95-92 scholarship limit benefitted the blue bloods. Also our in state walk-on program got quite a few kids that seem to end up at places like Wyoming and the Dakotas these days.
*Our recruiting was not what people seem to remember. We had some our our greatest success leading up to and during that run, but we also benefitted from an unusual amount of local talent over those years. That said, even during our best years we did not ever have a draft class that matches some of the NFL drafts Ohio St, Bama, and Clemson have put together over the last few years. Sure we were close a few of those years, but we had a lot of mid to late round picks.
* Our success on the national scene was up and down. For years leading up to that run, we had struggled mightily in bowl games.
As much as I hate to admit it (and I’m a bit of a pessimist in these matters),I don’t ever think we will see a run anywhere near what we did back then. As fans, we need to rethink our expectations (most of us have). When Frost was hired, I told myself that he was the guy and that he would have my support until he wanted to move on.
That said, four years in the product we are putting on the field is unacceptable with the resources we still have. SF is clearly a poor game coach, and we are not getting better. Worse yet, somehow I really think he believed that we would be a good football team this year. I don’t expect to ever see much improvement in our program under Frost.
* The Big Eight was NOT a very good football conference. We very much benefited from a weak conference schedule, and by the 90s OU was struggling.
* NCAA was just getting going with steroid testing and I don’t think that the conference tested. We were also on the cutting edge with regard to our S&C/nutrition programs...everyone does this now.
* We benefitted from low academic standards and partial qualifiers...Texas ended the partial qualifiers.
* 95-92 scholarship limit benefitted the blue bloods. Also our in state walk-on program got quite a few kids that seem to end up at places like Wyoming and the Dakotas these days.
*Our recruiting was not what people seem to remember. We had some our our greatest success leading up to and during that run, but we also benefitted from an unusual amount of local talent over those years. That said, even during our best years we did not ever have a draft class that matches some of the NFL drafts Ohio St, Bama, and Clemson have put together over the last few years. Sure we were close a few of those years, but we had a lot of mid to late round picks.
* Our success on the national scene was up and down. For years leading up to that run, we had struggled mightily in bowl games.
As much as I hate to admit it (and I’m a bit of a pessimist in these matters),I don’t ever think we will see a run anywhere near what we did back then. As fans, we need to rethink our expectations (most of us have). When Frost was hired, I told myself that he was the guy and that he would have my support until he wanted to move on.
That said, four years in the product we are putting on the field is unacceptable with the resources we still have. SF is clearly a poor game coach, and we are not getting better. Worse yet, somehow I really think he believed that we would be a good football team this year. I don’t expect to ever see much improvement in our program under Frost.
