The Lions' Pride

They say not considering the sanctions, but if you read the final verdict section they basically say the job would be higher after the sanctions are over.

Fair, very fair, considering sanctions. If not, that's bunk.

The Con they list is that Penn State went through a drought of 4 losing seasons between 2000 and 2004, and big-time programs don't have droughts like that.

Between 97 and 87, Texas won a single Big 12 Championship, and had 6 season is 6 or fewer wins. They haven't had double digit wins since 2009.

With Alabama, since 97 through now, around half of those season they won 7 or fewer games (I'm giving them the vacated games), and 3 of those seasons they had a losing record, and one of them they finished 500.

@ USC, between 96 and 2001, they had one season where they won more than 6, and they won 8. They had an incredible run under Carroll, and since then had just one season where they won double digits.

Michigan - the last 5 years they've averaged under 7 wins, with 2 losing season.

We had a pretty bad 5 years it's why we call it the dark years. But this kind of thing happens to everyone, perhaps not quite that bad, but pretty freakin close.

I don't know, they have a new coach every week, seems like everyone wants the job.

Florida below PSU, and the the top 7 there can be placed wherever and have argument.

Agree. Florida is in the grouping/tier behind PSU. Otherwise, I too basically agree with PK5's listing.

Rutgers - Final Verdict: Long considered the sleeping giant on the East Coast, Rutgers has emerged as a consistent winner in the Big East."

If we are talking about atmosphere, Woodland Hills and the Wolvarena definitely takes Pitt, among many other Division 1 schools. It is always nice to be able to call Arnold Slick from Turtle "Crick."

i would agree with these rankings. while psu has all the resources it hasn't exactly been the recruiting force it was in the past. however psu is still a MUCH better job than FSU and texas a&m. PSU still is in the top 10 for most wins of all time.

I'd agree with PSU being a better job than Texas A&M, but not Florida State.

Oklahoma is much closer in proximity to an elite recruiting ground, and has much more success to draw from than PSU does. Penn State is a great job, don't get me wrong, (and I am biased, can't deny that) but Oklahoma blows it away. The recruiting grounds are much better than those that Penn State draws from.

Florida State also has pipelines to many incredible HS programs in Florida, and has an easier road to a championship than a lot of other top programs. They have an incompetent HC at the helm now in Jimbo, but if they get a coach worthy of their program then the sky is the limit.

Penn State is a great job with a very good tradition and a phenomenal fanbase, but we are not in a very fertile FB state and have relatively high standards as a program. Not that we wouldn't let a Vince Young type athlete in if we got him, but that we don't tolerate kids not going to class and following program rules, like other schools at the top do. There are obstacles here that aren't there at other programs. Facilities and funds are top class, but based on geographic location alone we are at a disadvantage to other elite programs. Also, we were the original Boise State, so that top 10 win percentage wasn't really done against the best competition as a whole.

I love this school, but to say this is a better job than Oklahoma is a joke. We'd need a few more championships first, and then we'd be talking.

I have only been a PSU fan for two and a half years, but I'd like to think that I've studied up quite a bit on my PSU history.

PSU is not the program Oklahoma is historically. We're just not. We have 2 natties, with an argument for a third ('94), while OU has 7. We have 39 consensus All-Americans while OU has 75. We have 1 consensus conference title while OU has 44, which isn't entirely our fault because we were independent for so long, but since PSU has joined the Big Ten, we have 1, while OU has 7 since 1996. They are closer to a GREAT recruiting ground in Texas, while we are close to Ohio (a good but not great recruiting state) but don't get many solid players from there. We are forced to have to try to lockdown the Northeast as a whole, and cherry pick what we can from VA. Big difference in recruiting there.

I think #8 for PSU is much too high for us. We are a great program and a great place to coach, but to have us as the #8 job in the country is a bit much. We're top 15, but not top 10 IMO. Our location hurts us more than anything else. PA football isn't great, and State College isn't a huge attraction for most kids.