Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Be nice to keep things like they were around 2000 or so,smaller programs still had a punchers chance

Not really.  They didn't have 4 impossible hurdles to leap in a 12-team playoff or the 2 they have now, but they had no way to earn their way in back then.
Even if they scheduled tough OOC, their overall schedules were still comically weak.  And so they were dismissed, a la Utah in 06 (being pitted against a crap Pitt conf champ) or the year Boise and MWC TCU were paired (in an ultimate slap in the face).

98 Tulane had no chance.  Their best win was 5-6 Rutgers from the Big East.  And their conference bowl tie-in was the Liberty.  That's not a glass ceiling, that's an underground bunker.
Louisville had some good teams in Conf USA, but they didn't warrant any real chance.  Weak-ass resumes, all.

Even the quintessential mid-major to actually summit the mountain, BYU, simply lucked into it.  Didn't really win their way in, facing a .500 UM.  
If Warshington lost to USC earlier in the year or won the PAC, they'd have been NC.
If OU had won the Orange vs UW, they'd have been NC.
If Florida wasn't on probation and beaten someone decent in the Sugar, they'd have been NC.
If Nebraska had beaten OU, they'd have won the NC.
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By the late 90s, I don't think BYU wins the NC in the same circumstance.  Warshington does.  This "shrug and blindly reward the zero in the loss column" crap was thankfully gone, thanks to some brain evolution.  

Not really.  They didn't have 4 impossible hurdles to leap in a 12-team playoff or the 2 they have now, but they had no way to earn their way in back then.
Even if they scheduled tough OOC, their overall schedules were still comically weak.  And so they were dismissed, a la Utah in 06 (being pitted against a crap Pitt conf champ) or the year Boise and MWC TCU were paired (in an ultimate slap in the face).

98 Tulane had no chance.  Their best win was 5-6 Rutgers from the Big East.  And their conference bowl tie-in was the Liberty.  That's not a glass ceiling, that's an underground bunker.
Louisville had some good teams in Conf USA, but they didn't warrant any real chance.  Weak-ass resumes, all.

Even the quintessential mid-major to actually summit the mountain, BYU, simply lucked into it.  Didn't really win their way in, facing a .500 UM. 
If Warshington lost to USC earlier in the year or won the PAC, they'd have been NC.
If OU had won the Orange vs UW, they'd have been NC.
If Florida wasn't on probation and beaten someone decent in the Sugar, they'd have been NC.
If Nebraska had beaten OU, they'd have won the NC.
.
By the late 90s, I don't think BYU wins the NC in the same circumstance.  Warshington does.  This "shrug and blindly reward the zero in the loss column" crap was thankfully gone, thanks to some brain evolution.

That's the exactly it but now you bitch about air force getting in.Just WTF is your point?
Purdue,Rutgers,Indiana had a much better chance than today's situation with NIL $$$ and delevoped talent portaling.Because a better chance with established Programs and all of their resources towards the sport whether work out and conditioning facilities or nutritional programs and even better coaching(for the most part). All of that get's them to the LEAGUE quicker if that the destination and for many it is.There is a much bigger disparity in those today than just 20-25 yrs ago

If a program has up to date equipment that is properly maintained with good instruction is the point.Look at Iowa sticking with Brian - that may have put them in a hard hole to climb out of  and that is rightfully a black eye for pops.Kirk kinda comes away richer than anyone with his resume deserves to be.Think he may reward his employer by taking the high road and doing the right thing but N-O-O-O.Kinda mimmicks the Whitehouse

My GUESS is a decent S&C guy is pretty easy to find, and a brilliant one is likely not any better realistically.  Maybe the latter is more motivational.

The WOW stuff is for recruits.

I'd guess some programs struggle to spend money productively, the end up throwing money at "stuff" that looks nice.

Maybe so, I don't know how one could quantify it.  I know personal trainers around here are "dime a dozen" and struggling for business (not that they all are competent of course).  

Technical coaches like OL coaches I'd GUESS can be elite, or not, and hard to find.

I watched a video yesterday about the fastball and it talked about some dude who never made the majors and may have thrown hardest of anyone (Steve Dalkowski).  I was thinking about pitching coaches.  It's about as technical as a golf swing I'd opine.

Fastball (2016) - IMDb

‘Dalko’ Tells the Story of Orioles Fastballer Steve Dalkowski (baltimoremagazine.com)

There's a lot to stay on top of as far as incorporating the latest workout routines and dietary findings, because science, yo.  LSU's Tommy Moffit was long considered to be one of the best in the biz.  Frequently turned down attempts to hire him away to other programs.  Alabama's red-headed guy, can't remember his name, learned his chops under Moffit at LSU and is now often regarded as the best.  Probably already was for a while, imo, with Moffit getting older and dealing with bouts of cancer in his later years.  

Because the "best" routines are so person-specific, I don't know that there's a stock program that can be implemented for a team, or even for positions groups.  As far as wins on the field, well, maybe, indirectly at least.  An elite S&C routine can help avoid injuries and lead to faster recovery times if injured.  If a key player can make it back that one game earlier than he otherwise would've, that could be significant.