(01-20-2020 09:35 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(01-20-2020 09:19 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  Without rehashing anything the fact that the weakest programs of the SEC will still get four or five guys in a recruiting class with 4 stars just by default because they play in the SEC does make a difference.

I follow both the SEC and the AAC. There is a clear talent difference. But the American's best team any given year — and I'll use Memphis from this season (since I pull for the Tigers) — could have beaten in a one-game situation this past season any SEC team not named Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Georgia or Florida. Ditto for UCF two years ago (and that team was MUCH better than this Memphis team and probably could have beaten any SEC team other than Bama).

Now — and we'll use UCF and South Florida in this example, as those are two G5 programs that could do well in a P5 league — to just "throw in" an American team for one year only ... yes, that team would get pounded game in and game out more so with an SEC slate than an AAC schedule. We all know that.

So, and to make the hypothetical as legit as possible, you have to give (in this case) UCF and USF multiple seasons to both "recruit up" and for their players to adjust to the back-to-back roughness of SEC play. I believe that a UCF or USF could be as good (but not necessarily better) as any of the SEC programs year in and year out — other than the five I note and Texas A&M — if given time.

Navy (as many of you have debated withing this thread) is a VERY different animal. Put Navy in the SEC and over, say, five seasons ... nothing really changes. Navy would still recruit the same type player and that would not suffice in the SEC.

Bill - you're absolutely right that Navy would not benefit from a move-up like Cincinnati, Memphis, the Florida twins, etc. The academics and military commitment and infintisemal chance at the NFL (we'll see how this new policy works out, but that is potentially temporary as well) create a ceiling.
However, Navy isn't yet at that absolute ceiling, nor Navy's AAC ceiling (which is also lower than all our conference mates).

Surprised there's less talk of Cincinnati by the way. Not in my measurements data because not on Navy's '19 schedule, but at/near the top. Fickell's model is to build a Big10 like team.