(08-07-2017 11:11 PM)doss2 Wrote: (08-07-2017 08:37 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote: (08-07-2017 07:14 PM)doss2 Wrote: Each of these schools need a reality check. ND will never again be ND 1960 and prior. MSU has had only a couple big time seasons before MD. TN thinks it can be AL, it cannot.
Tennessee is one of the sleeping giants of college football. They completely own one of the biggest states in the South and average over 100,000 fans per game even when they stink.
Historically, Tennessee is the 2nd best SEC school (8th on the all-time wins list and 6 national titles).
But they've made a lot of stupid coaching decisions in recent years:
firing Fulmer
hiring Lane freaking Kiffin
hiring Dooley (who had only 3 years of HC coaching experience, during which he went 17-20 at Louisiana Tech)
hiring Butch Jones (a mediocre coach who did NOT fit their values)
Ancient history. Last SEC Championship was 1998.
100,000 people in the stands is not ancient history. Even when they had 4 losing seasons in a row, Tennessee was top-8 in attendance every year.
Since 2000, only 2 schools have won a national title without being top-15 in attendance (Miami and Florida State).
Of the rest who won titles since 2000, here is their winning percentage before hiring their national-title winning coach:
.814 - OSU in 10 years before hiring Urban (9 top-25 finishes)
.761 - Florida in 10 years before hiring Urban (9 top-25 finishes)
.612 - Clemson in the 10 years before hiring Dabo Swiney (4 top-25 finishes)
.562 - Texas in the 12 years before hiring Mack Brown (4 top-25 finishes)
.556 - USC in the 10 years before hiring Pete Carroll (2 top-25 finishes)
.549 - Alabama in the 10 years before hiring Saban (3 top-25 finishes)
.549 - Oklahoma in the 10 years before hiring Bob Stoops (3 top-25 finishes)
.535 - Tennessee in the last 10 years (3 top-25 finishes)
.471 - LSU in the 11 years before hiring Saban (2 top-top finishes)
(Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, Texas A&M, and Georgia join Tennessee in the group with top-15 attendance that has not won a title since 2000)
As you see, few schools are like Florida and Ohio State, who seem to have success with every coach. But teams with giant fanbases will usually bounce back from a bad coaching hire (or even 2 or 3).