Cal, in a previous thread, I think you made some great points, and I think long term you may be right. That being said, I don't think we need bemoan the fact that it's not 1969 anymore and Michigan and OSU can't enjoy the inherent advantages they did in the early/mid 1970s. The fact is, we have a much more relevant set of data from which to draw that's directly applicable to one of the principles--Jim Harbargh.
At Stanford, Jim inherited talent far inferior to that which he currently enjoys at Michigan, and he left at/just he completed a full 4-5 year recruiting cycle at Stanford. What's more, the classes that were fully Harbaugh's recruits (2008-2010) ranked 50th, 20th, and 26th, respectively, according to rivals. By, comparison, the previous 4 classes (2004-2007), Stanford ranked 149th(!), 41st, 54th, and 51st. USC, on the other hand was in a position at or better than OSU currently enjoys. I didn't check the class rankings for all of the years in question (2004-2010), however, USC was number 1 in the country in 2006, 2010, and number 2 in 2007 (ironically, behind Urban Meyer's Florida team, fresh off a 2006 national championship). Despite all of the inherent advantages that USC enjoyed, Jim Harbaugh's Stanford team was 3-1 against USC teams that were even more loaded (by a wide margin) than what's on OSU's roster right now.
At Stanford, Jim inherited talent far inferior to that which he currently enjoys at Michigan, and he left at/just he completed a full 4-5 year recruiting cycle at Stanford. What's more, the classes that were fully Harbaugh's recruits (2008-2010) ranked 50th, 20th, and 26th, respectively, according to rivals. By, comparison, the previous 4 classes (2004-2007), Stanford ranked 149th(!), 41st, 54th, and 51st. USC, on the other hand was in a position at or better than OSU currently enjoys. I didn't check the class rankings for all of the years in question (2004-2010), however, USC was number 1 in the country in 2006, 2010, and number 2 in 2007 (ironically, behind Urban Meyer's Florida team, fresh off a 2006 national championship). Despite all of the inherent advantages that USC enjoyed, Jim Harbaugh's Stanford team was 3-1 against USC teams that were even more loaded (by a wide margin) than what's on OSU's roster right now.
