[BostonCard]

Indeed, Stanford did--and CAN--run with The Big Dogs. And I repeat: Shaw has failed to replenish and restore what he inherited in January 2011. No amount of hand-wringing and spinning by the chorus of Shaw-pologists here can refute this simple truth.

The problem is that every team uses this logic.  Washington State makes it to the Rose Bowl twice in a span of five years under Mike Price and Cougars fans become convinced it means that Wazzu can and should run with the "big boys" every year.  Dennis Erickson leads the OSU Beavers to the Fiesta Bowl in 2000, and all of a sudden it shows that OSU can and should run with the "big boys" every year.  Hell, Cal fans haven't been to a Rose Bowl since 1958, but Tedford has a couple of years where they almost win the conference, and Bear fans too believe that it proves that they can and should run with the "big boys".  And that's to say nothing of expectations at USC (last national title 17 years ago, but somehow thought of as a birthright there), Washington, UCLA, and pretty much every other team).

It's great to aspire to be excellent every year.  But it is also important to recognize that college football is a zero sum game, and by definition, the average team loses half their games, and that everyone wants/expects their team to be above average.  Sorry, but this ain't Lake Wobegon.

BC

[BostonCard]

Indeed, Stanford did--and CAN--run with The Big Dogs. And I repeat: Shaw has failed to replenish and restore what he inherited in January 2011. No amount of hand-wringing and spinning by the chorus of Shaw-pologists here can refute this simple truth.

The problem is that every team uses this logic.  Washington State makes it to the Rose Bowl twice in a span of five years under Mike Price and Cougars fans become convinced it means that Wazzu can and should run with the "big boys" every year.  Dennis Erickson leads the OSU Beavers to the Fiesta Bowl in 2000, and all of a sudden it shows that OSU can and should run with the "big boys" every year.  Hell, Cal fans haven't been to a Rose Bowl since 1958, but Tedford has a couple of years where they almost win the conference, and Bear fans too believe that it proves that they can and should run with the "big boys".  And that's to say nothing of expectations at USC (last national title 17 years ago, but somehow thought of as a birthright there), Washington, UCLA, and pretty much every other team).

It's great to aspire to be excellent every year.  But it is also important to recognize that college football is a zero sum game, and by definition, the average team loses half their games, and that everyone wants/expects their team to be above average.  Sorry, but this ain't Lake Wobegon.

BC