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(01-14-2022 03:26 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  People do have insane recency bias when it comes to the elite programs. Growing up, I thought of the Florida gators the same way people think about Alabama now. Those Tebow championships were the first "dynasties" I witnessed in College football.

There's no doubt there's a caste system in the sport. I also think people exaggerate how big the gap is. Alabama was 6-7 the last year before Saban got in. This year's Florida team almost lost to an FCS school. Programs change.

Yeah, I think that people overestimate the importance of the program. Saban is the best coach of all time according to most and rightfully so. But Alabama as you mentioned was lost for a long time before he got there and Saban won a title at LSU. My point is it's mostly a coach driven sport. If Saban hadn't hadn't gone to the NFL LSU would be what Bama is; he'd probably have the same level of success at Georgia or Florida too. Urban Meyer won two titles at Florida and they've been going through coaches like crazy since.

I think the upper caste you talk about is about 6-8 schools and if you pair program without resource limitations with special coach you get these types of runs.