Examining Colorado, Pac-12, and Big XII Football over the last 10 years using the Hist-O-Graph...and then saying stuff.
Today we look at two teams who, over the past decade have been kinda good in their own special way. They also share that this year they've shown a spark of greatness alongside their pair of losses.
The Arizona State Sun Devils Hist-O-Graph: They Were Kinda Good that One Time
See the first half of the decade? That's where ASU fell for the same trick we did: hiring a highly successful Boise St. coach for a big-boy football program. Arizona St. hired Dirk Koetter in '01, after he took Boise to consecutive Big West Conference Championships (remember that conference? Neither do I!). Koetter was eventually canned for... you guessed it... not winning.
In profiling Pac-12 teams, one name in particular is recurring: Dennis Erickson. The guy's been everywhere, (man). He was at Idaho 3 times in 3 different decades, Wazzu, Oregon State (from where he was poached by the 49ers). He was at Miami in the early '90's and oversaw infractions so egregious and far-reaching that he had to retreat all the way to the Seattle Seahawks, which is apparently the standard stop for college coaches in hot water (it's like a Swiss Bank). Eventually Erickson arrived at Arizona State ('07), where he is today.
With him, the Sun Devils were co-Pac-10 champions in his first year, and then not much else. Last year in '10, ASU resorted to playing two I-AA football teams in the same season, and they were still 6-6.
Who is ASU's counterpart? Whelp, there's only two teams in the Big 12 that have played in a bowl game every year since 2000. One of them is Oklahoma, and the other is not who you think it is...
The Texas Tech Red Raiders Hist-O-Graph: Good in their Own Special Way
Texas Tech is yet another Big 12 team that never set foot into the conference championship game. Strangely though, under Mike Leach ('00-'08) Tech always played in a bowl game. Most of Leach's teams epitomized the classic Pac-10 team than anything else in their 'pass always, defense maybe' mentality and performances.
Aside from being really into pirates and passing the ball, Leach made the Red Raiders about as good as anyone can expect a football team in Lubbock to be. They're in a dry county (rain and alcohol) in the Texas panhandle, even when they made a menage-a-trois of the Big 12 South division championship in '08, they were still recruiting 60% 3-star players.
Will Tech change under Tubbs? It seems like they're still basically the same team; a wicked passing attack with the ability to maybe beat a top team once a year, but lacking the depth to win the conference.
What does this mean for the Buffs?
As conference-mates, we always seemed to have Tech's number. Our short history with ASU is 0-3, but I think that over the years we will match up well against them as a Pac-12 foe.
Why? Because I said so!
Go Buffs!
#1: Introduction: Colorado and the Hist-O-Graph - It explains *mostly* everything
#2: The Three Kings: Texas, Oklahoma, and USC
#3: California Bears Have A Deal With the Devil, and the Missouri Tigers
#4: The Colorado State Rams Suck
#5: Ohio State Buckeyes: OSU, the OSU, and the other OSU
#6: Washington State Cougars and Iowa State Cyclones: Just... How?
#7: Stanford Cardinal and Texas A&M Aggies: Luck Has Everything to do With It
#8: Washington Huskies and Kansas State Wildcats: Here Comes a New Challenger!
#9: Oregon Ducks and Texas Longhorns: Here there be Monsters