[Mick]

I say this with genuine respect, but given the reality of Stanford football's current program, our stance towards NIL investments, our mass net departures via the portal (to say the least), and TT's background as an FCS coach (albeit a very successful one); the odds of Coach TT outperforming expectations to the degree that he would be considered attractive to a Power 5 football program are very, very long. Not quite as long as Stanford v. USC at the Coliseum in 2007, but pretty darned close...

 

Well, let's see we shocked USC in 2007 at the Coliseum.  "It could not be done.  No way; 40 point road dog."  
Then a total beat-down in 2009 ("Hey, what's you deal?" game)... Pete Carroll quit after that; went to Seattle. 
Then edged them in OT again in 2011 (Andrew Luck; they fumbled in the end zone, we win). 
And, Hogan drilled them 41-31 again in 2015.  And McCaffrey ran all over Troy again in the Pac-12 Champ game Dec. 2015. 
So, yeah... pretty good odds?   Hey, wasn't supposed to happen.

It doesn't sound like you understand my point. The 2009 and 2011 outcomes are irrelevant to the analogy. 2007 was Harbaugh's first season. That year, there was a nice victory over outmanned SJSU, but prior to the USC game, the Cardinal were thumped by #14 UCLA (45-17), #13 Oregon (55-31) and #23 Arizona State (41-3). And Stanford was traveling to #2 USC to play at the Coliseum before 85,000+ fans. For all these reasons, it was the single greatest upsent in NCAA football history, IMHO. What I tried to convey is that Coach Taylor faces similar odds in building a team this season that is one year removed from coaching Sac State, that will render Taylor as an attractive coaching candidate to Power 5 (excuse me, Power 4) programs.

[Mick]

I say this with genuine respect, but given the reality of Stanford football's current program, our stance towards NIL investments, our mass net departures via the portal (to say the least), and TT's background as an FCS coach (albeit a very successful one); the odds of Coach TT outperforming expectations to the degree that he would be considered attractive to a Power 5 football program are very, very long. Not quite as long as Stanford v. USC at the Coliseum in 2007, but pretty darned close...

 

Well, let's see we shocked USC in 2007 at the Coliseum.  "It could not be done.  No way; 40 point road dog."  
Then a total beat-down in 2009 ("Hey, what's you deal?" game)... Pete Carroll quit after that; went to Seattle. 
Then edged them in OT again in 2011 (Andrew Luck; they fumbled in the end zone, we win). 
And, Hogan drilled them 41-31 again in 2015.  And McCaffrey ran all over Troy again in the Pac-12 Champ game Dec. 2015. 
So, yeah... pretty good odds?   Hey, wasn't supposed to happen.

It doesn't sound like you understand my point. The 2009 and 2011 outcomes are irrelevant to the analogy. 2007 was Harbaugh's first season. That year, there was a nice victory over outmanned SJSU, but prior to the USC game, the Cardinal were thumped by #14 UCLA (45-17), #13 Oregon (55-31) and #23 Arizona State (41-3). And Stanford was traveling to #2 USC to play at the Coliseum before 85,000+ fans. For all these reasons, it was the single greatest upsent in NCAA football history, IMHO. What I tried to convey is that Coach Taylor faces similar odds in building a team this season that is one year removed from coaching Sac State, that will render Taylor as an attractive coaching candidate to Power 5 (excuse me, Power 4) programs.