(12-23-2014 10:35 PM)cuseroc Wrote:  

(12-23-2014 03:15 PM)UConn-SMU Wrote:  

(12-23-2014 11:22 AM)ken d Wrote:  

(12-17-2014 10:05 PM)dmacfour Wrote:  

(12-17-2014 03:43 PM)Eagle78 Wrote:  IMO, the OP's premise is silly. There are not 32 or 36 "elite" teams in the P5. If you go back and look at actual on-the-field-performance, there are probably less than 10 or so programs that one might claim to be "elite". Specifically, programs that, year in and year out, are often in the national championship conversation. On the other end, there are probably a handful of programs that have been largely uncompetitive for extended periods of time. The rest of the programs - the vast majority - are good, competitive programs who are roughly the same from a competitive standpoint. In some years, some of these programs can hang with the elite programs, and in other years, they fall back with the broader group. On the whole, however, IMO, they are very good programs that are generally (with some exceptions) stronger than the G5 programs as a whole.

I have a feeling that OP wasn't thinking about just how mediocre the top half of the G5 can be when he said it's on par with the bottom half of the P5. We're talking about a group of schools that only managed to get one team ranked. There are maybe <10 teams G5 teams that would compete the P5. None of them, other than Boise State, are now ranked. There are probably <10 P5 teams that would have their hands full in your average G5 conference.

To further your point, the entire G5 this year managed to win only 12 times against P5 teams, against 94 losses. The 12 losing P5 teams had a combined record of 51-93 (including their wins against FCS teams) while the G5 teams they lost to were a combined 92-55. G5 winners included Northern Illinois, Colorado State (twice), East Carolina (twice) and Utah State. So, every year, there are a few G5 teams who can play with the weaker P5 teams. But even those few don't do it consistently. The gulf between the level of play in the P5 vs the G5 has never been wider.

Give P5 money to UConn, UCF, Memphis, BYU, Boise, Cincinnati, Fresno, USF, etc. and they'll outperform Syracuse, Washington State, Pitt, BC, Indiana, Wake Forest, Iowa State, Kansas, Vanderbilt, etc.

I can see why someone would say this about schools like Cinci, BYU, Boise and UCF. But a school like UConn actually did have P5 money for 8 years and still hasn't even been bowl eligible for at least the last 4 years. The same can be said for USF, which is a head scratcher for me with all of their recruiting advantages. Having P5 access is no magic bullet. You need coaching and commitment as well. Schools that are committed to fb can have success without P5 access. Just ask UCF, Boise and BYU.

UConn more than held it's own in the Big East. We're just suffering from the Pasqualoni hire. Every program has an occasional bad hire. In the last 10 years, schools like Michigan, Florida, BC, and Tennessee have struggled with that.

UConn and USF will rebound.