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I just don't see how Oregon can overcome the size differential in the trenches. We've seen time and again what happens when they go up against actual National Title contenders, yet we continue to fawn over their flashy offense when they spank a bunch of teams out west. That will get you a lot of Pac 12 Titles, but it isn't going to win you back to back games against top 4 opponents. I think Wisconsin is a lot closer as they have the lines shored up consistently. They just need to sprinkle in a couple skill players and find a Russel Wilson type to get them the ball.

They have an excellent OL right now.

As for UW, they should have won more with Russel. The defense was not good that year, but they would have been a ton better had JJ Watt come back for his final year. I don't think they'd have lost to MSU and OSU on late Hail Mary plays had JJ been pass rushing.

Yay.  We're #1.

All that money, so little to show for it.  Sucking sucks.

#1 here too:


https://247sports.com/Season/2020-Football/CompositeTeamRankings/?Conference=Big-12

I'll also provide some quick thoughts regarding the rest of the schools on the list:

Baylor - To me this school epitomizes the Big 12 - flashy offense, garbage defense.  It's never going to win anything meaningful (outside of a B12 championship) until it learns to play some D.

Washington - A lot of folks like to compare it to Oregon, but I think a better comparison is Colorado.  Their glory days are well behind them, but they are also capable of coming up and putting together a strong season every now and then.  Like Colorado, they claim a piece of a natty from the early 90s.  Also, like Colorado they are heavily dependent on out-of-state talent and their facilities aren't quite as good as Oregon's.  Coach Pete showed that it's possible to win in Seattle again, but I think just reaching the playoffs is their ceiling (which is nothing to sneer at).  They simply aren't going to have the depth to beat 2 elite teams back-to-back.  Even Oregon has yet to prove that.

Iowa - They came excruciatingly close to making the playoff in 2015, but even if they had held on against Sparty, they almost certainly would have fared just as poorly in the semifinals.  They play tough, physical defense and are as disciplined as they come, but usually fall far short as far as offensive playmakers go and are simply not equipped to come back from big holes.  Depth will always be an issue and they will need to have just the right schedule to make another serious run.

Wisconsin - Much like Iowa, but the Badgers just do it a little bit better.  Not much separates these two programs, except that Bucky likes to pull the football away just as Herky is about to kick it.  The main difference seems to be the running game - Iowa is merely OK at it, but Wisconsin seemingly comes up with superstars that everyone else tends to pass on.  The offensive line is annually among the finest in CFB.  Their biggest flaw, much like Iowa, is depth, and a modest passing game.  Wisconsin QBs are traditionally efficient and rarely make mistakes, and they also (rather quietly) produce quality TEs.  If they can get a vertical passing game going, and maybe have a QB that can get things done with his feet, watch out.

Ole Miss - Probably the school on this list with the best access to regional talent.  It has a tough time competing against schools like LSU and Auburn so it has traditionally had to cheat (and cheat bigly) to nab elite classes, and of course they get busted each time for it.  Maybe they'll have an easier time getting big-time recruits now that players can receive compensation for their likenesses.  And if nothing else, having Kiffykins on the sidelines should provide high entertainment value.

Virginia Tech - The original Little Engine That Could.  Michael Vick forever shaped the dynamics of college football with his twinkling feet, and virtually single-handedly orchestrated their run to the NC game in the 99-00 season.  Ever since then they've been a very good program, but never quite replicating the success of that one magical season.  Much of their success is attributed to excellent defense and special teams (Bud Foster was one of the finest DCs in CFB for sure) and Justin Fuente has kept the program afloat (but has not yet taken it to the next level).  There is some decent talent in the DelMarVa area, plus they're not far from Jersey or the Carolinas, but the biggest problem going for VT is that a lot of those recruits aren't all that interested in playing football in the ACC (unless it's for Clemson) and would rather play for a B1G or SEC program.

UCLA - A lot of folks believe UCLA is a sleeping giant (and it may be), but it also has a lot of strikes against it.  First and foremost, it's the clear #2 behind USC in a city that isn't exactly known for being sports-crazy (except for maybe soccer).  Also, it has dated facilities, a dearth of talent (sorry, but West Coast isn't exactly lush with talent - not nearly to the same extent as in TX, GA, and FL, and the gap continues to widen), and honestly there appears to be a genuine lack of interest of building and maintaining a winner.  They were able to lure Chip Kelly to Westwood, but it hasn't panned out yet.  I don't think Kelly has forgotten how to coach, it's just that there is a clear cultural difference between Eugene and Los Angeles, and was in a considerably better position to win at Oregon (mainly due to Uncle Phil) and now he's tasked with replicating that success at UCLA.  That's not going to happen unless they find an administration that cares and is willing to make the necessary changes to put together a winner.  That may happen one day, but it probably won't be under Kelly's watch.

West Virginia - I'm not even sure why the Mountaineers even agreed to join the Big 12.  Style wise I suppose it's a fit (high-flying offense, lackadaisical defense) but as Oklahoma just proved, their best teams are simply not up to snuff on the biggest of stages.  They're probably a better fit for the ACC (which is a similarly weak conference) but no matter where they play, I think there's going to be a hard ceiling and playing for the conference title game appears to be it.

Field: Not sure who would be a realistic candidate.  Oklahoma State (which is Oregon-lite), UCF (needs a P5 invite first), NC State (has some built-in advantages, they need to capitalize) may be considered.  College football is a sport that has always been ruled by kings and barons and I don't really see that changing anytime soon.  There isn't a lot of parity - in fact, the rich only get richer.  Alabama and Clemson won't be this good forever, but it'll be a Florida or a Texas waiting in the wings.

They have an excellent OL right now.

As for UW, they should have won more with Russel. The defense was not good that year, but they would have been a ton better had JJ Watt come back for his final year. I don't think they'd have lost to MSU and OSU on late Hail Mary plays had JJ been pass rushing.

Yeah, this Oregon is not Chip Kelly's Oregon.

Yeah, this Oregon is not Chip Kelly's Oregon.

I think that's Oregon's problem right now. 

Oregon, for a span of near a decade, was "sexy". They were pioneering things offensively nobody else was doing. They had Nike money. They had horrific garish uniforms that all the kids loved for some reason. They were going toe-to-toe every year with really good USC and Stanford teams. At the time they were routinely in the top-10 in recruiting. 

I think now, they've become "just another good football team", and the shine is gone. I think they need some level of "splash" to have a chance at getting back to a potential CFP entrant, much less NCG winner, and I don't see where that splash is going to come from.

For as good as they were in 2019, and for as good as Justin Herbert was, he wasn't a national name outside of CFB die-hards like us. Using my wife as an example, if I say "Trevor Lawrence", she flips her hair derisively. If I say Tua or Joe Burrow, she at least knows who they are. If I said the name Justin Herbert, she'd have no clue, and we live in the heart of PAC-12 country. 

They're in a position right now where winning the PAC-12 is almost meaningless because the conference sucks, and when the conference rebounds I'm not sure Oregon is going to rebound entirely with it, at least not without some "splash". 

I think that's Oregon's problem right now.

Oregon, for a span of near a decade, was "sexy". They were pioneering things offensively nobody else was doing. They had Nike money. They had horrific garish uniforms that all the kids loved for some reason. They were going toe-to-toe every year with really good USC and Stanford teams. At the time they were routinely in the top-10 in recruiting.

I think now, they've become "just another good football team", and the shine is gone. I think they need some level of "splash" to have a chance at getting back to a potential CFP entrant, much less NCG winner, and I don't see where that splash is going to come from.

For as good as they were in 2019, and for as good as Justin Herbert was, he wasn't a national name outside of CFB die-hards like us. Using my wife as an example, if I say "Trevor Lawrence", she flips her hair derisively. If I say Tua or Joe Burrow, she at least knows who they are. If I said the name Justin Herbert, she'd have no clue, and we live in the heart of PAC-12 country.

They're in a position right now where winning the PAC-12 is almost meaningless because the conference sucks, and when the conference rebounds I'm not sure Oregon is going to rebound entirely with it, at least not without some "splash".

Were they ever sexy to anyone but college football fans?  My wife could name the same people you could, and no, she couldn't name Justin Herbert./  But she couldn't name Marcus Mariota or Darren Thomas or Nate Costa either.  Shed probably get Dennis Dixon as a former Steelers backup.  I just think Oregon has the biggest structural advantages of any of those schools, and the next closest (Washington) has all of the same Pac 12 hurdles.

I'd also say none, but if you had done this in 2011, subbing in Clemson for Oregon, I wouldn't have said Clemson either.

Were they ever sexy to anyone but college football fans?  My wife could name the same people you could, and no, she couldn't name Justin Herbert./  But she couldn't name Marcus Mariota or Darren Thomas or Nate Costa either.  Shed probably get Dennis Dixon as a former Steelers backup.  I just think Oregon has the biggest structural advantages of any of those schools, and the next closest (Washington) has all of the same Pac 12 hurdles.

I'd also say none, but if you had done this in 2011, subbing in Clemson for Oregon, I wouldn't have said Clemson either.

Mariota was pretty well known IMHO. The others not as much. But Oregon as a team was sexy... At least here in PAC-12 land. 

People knew who Chip Kelly was. People knew about Oregon's crazy uniforms. People knew that they had the psychotic offensive pace that nobody could keep up with and were dropping huge point totals on anyone they faced. In that sense, I think the school itself had more fans than the individual stars. 

When we've looked at that map of college football fandom by zip code, it only listed the top three schools per zip code. But SoCal was almost universally USC/UCLA/Oregon. I.e. Oregon was "sexier" in SoCal, almost 1000 miles away, than Stanford, Cal, Washington, the AZ schools, etc. 

They were a bigger thing than you might think, especially if your primary experience was Midwestern. Yet I feel like that's gone away now. Oregon now is just another football team. Not sexy at all.