[NU Sports] OSU game highlighted Randy Walker's shortcomings

[Arthur Miller]

-----Original Message-----
MHRJGScott at aol.com writes
>We are not Tulane (where my ex-wife worked 15 years), Rice, Vandy,  or even

>Stanford. NU is so much more.


Agree with you on these first three, but Stanford presents an interesting
comparison.  Let's park on them for a moment, and consider what the Stanford
football program has going for it.

For starters, Stanford University is on everyone's list of the top 5
all-around universities in the country, right up there with Harvard and
Princeton.  Stanford also has great weather, and an ideal location on the
West Coast.

Most importantly, Stanford's institutional commitment to athletics is
unsurpassed.  The administration does NOT accept mediocrity in athletics, as
their standings in the Sears Cup every year will attest: they have won for
*11* consecutive years, and counting.  This I find utterly amazing.

Stanford has just about every advantage a private school could have.  And
how competitive is the Stanford football program?  Well, I compiled this
data after last season, and found that over the past 20 seaons (1985-2004),
Stanford football is 107-117-4, with a 73-85-2 record in the Pac-10.

Think about that...all these advantages, and Stanford manages an average of
only 5.4 wins per season, and only 3.7 wins against their conference foes,
who we all know are a lesser bunch than our B10 compadres.  And Stanford's
success has been pretty even over the past 20 years; their averages over the
last 10 years are identical.

Perhaps, in light of this, RW's accomplishments don't seem that bad.

Regards-
Art Miller

P.S. For the record, here are some other stats:

Duke 1985-2004
69-153-2 overall (3.5 wins/season)
33-120-1 ACC (1.7 wins/season)

Vanderbilt 1985-2004
56-165-1 overall (2.5 wins/season)
20-129-1 SEC (1.0 win/season) <- ouch!