(07-09-2021, 10:50 AM)Giants Wrote: Of the others on the list the one that stands out for me is Sonny Dykes at #69. It's hard to believe following his dismal Cal tenure but he's doing a brilliant job at SMU. They are having unprecedented recruiting success and bringing home big time transfers who played for metroplex high schools. I would issue Buy recommendations on all of the top G5 programs since they are going to benefit from the playoff expansion and SMU is obviously in the top echelon of that cohort. Buying SMU stock now is like buying Microsoft stock in the late 1980s, and given Dykes's age and roots he should be there for the foreseeable future.
It is all about finding your niche…
He was in over his head at the P5 level. He has found a home at the lower G5 level.
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Strongly disagree. I think you are falling into the trap of simply P5 vs G5 as opposed to actually comparing the AAC and the Pac-12, and the specific teams within each.
SMU is a top half program in the AAC, Cal is a bottom half program in the Pac-12.
The top half of the AAC last year: Cincinnati, Tulsa, Memphis, Central Florida, SMU, Houston.
The bottom half of the Pac-12 last year: Arizona, WSU, Cal, Oregon State, UCLA, ASU.
It's not even close. In fact comparing the AAC and the Pac-12 top to bottom (in football) would be close.
But more to the point, if you had to bet on Cal or SMU to reach the playoff in the next five years who would take?
Dykes wasn't in over his head at the P5 level; in fact he's at a program with higher expectations now. It's really just a cultural issue, he was a fish out of water at Cal but he's found the perfect fit in Dallas where his metroplex-focused recruiting and Texas-style branding are paying off.
(07-09-2021, 10:50 AM)Giants Wrote: Too high - Harbaugh, Leach, Edwards.
Too low - Brennan, Kelly, Lake.
Jimmy Lake is two years in and already fighting against the narrative that he needs to deliver this year or be fired. Mario Cristobal's immediate success at Oregon doesn't help.