If you could buy stock in...

[shetuck]

Lo siento gringo! The population influx isn't coming from Mexico - well, some of it is, but not much. If anyone has been paying attention, Arizona is becoming a much better state when it comes to football. Arizona is still growing faster than almost every other state in the union and will continue to do so as long as housing is affordable and there is job growth. That just means more football players.

Are we going to rehash this tired old "can't get no ASU love on a tOSU forum" debate once again on this thread?

What does everyone think the chances are of a team winning a football game just kicking field goals and the other team only touchdowns under the following time-frames:
1. The next five years.
2. The next five-ten years.
3. 10-20 years.
4. 20+ years.
5. In this century (but after 2028).
6. In this mellennium (but after 2108).
7. Not before Joe Pa retires.

 

[mross34]

I have to disagree on UofA consistently beating out ASU for the best recruits in AZ. Phoenix and the surrounding cities are where the growth is. Tempe is in the middle of all of it. These new kids will grow up going to ASU games - not UofA games. Plus, have you ever been to Tucson? That town is so rundown it isn't funny. It's like being in Mexico, but an hour north. Tempe is a nice city and is close to all the major professional sports franchises and the entertainment value alone is a selling point that Tucson has none of. Plus, if you grow up a Sun Devil, you most always hate UofA.

It seems like you're neglecting the fact that about as many established Phoenix residents will be the children of UofA alum as there are children of ASU alum. People will be raised fans of both schools, regardless of which one is 100 miles closer.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

Five-Year Blue Chip Stocks: Ohio State, Southern Cal -each team should win at least one NC in the next five years. Alabama should be in the mix as well, as the rest of the SEC falls back a bit after this season. Notre Dame (ugh) is a wild card, because the talent still keeps piling up in South Bend.

Five-Year Growth Stocks: In his last six seasons at North Carolina, Mack Brown led the Tar Heels to a combined record of 54-19, with three 10-win seasons and three bowl victories. With a weak ACC, Butch Davis should have similar (or better) success during the next few years. Clemson has stockpiled a lot of talent, and the Tigers will continue to recruit well ... all they need to do is start showing it on the field. South Florida is a trendy pick, but they will eventually have to start stealing some real talent from the Big Three or else they'll be nothing more than a Big East contender for the forseeable future. UCLA will remain a PAC-10 wannabe as long as Pete Carroll is down the road.

Ten-Year Blue Chip Stocks: It really depends on how long guys like Carroll, Tressel, Meyer, Saban, Brown, and Stoops stick around. Look for Nebraska to rebound big time in the next decade. Either Miami or Florida State has to be "back" at some point. Michigan will either fall apart completely or reach new heights under RichRod ... but I'm saying "sell"....

Ten-Year Growth Stocks: Mark Dantonio will need a number of years to turn around Michigan State, where the losing mentality and lack of discipline are deeply ingrained ... but the upside could be huge if he can convince the right kids to come to East Lansing. I just have a feeling that Mississippi will be a major player in the SEC West. Cincinnati is an up-and-coming program with a good "young" head coach in a fertile recruiting area. Rutgers has already taken their best shot and failed to become a consistent power.

Twenty-Year Stocks: Too hard to say ... just hold the traditional powers (Southern Cal, Ohio State, Texas, Oklahoma, SEC, etc.), and maybe take a chance on a program like Central Florida or Troy.

 

[reagdog]

5 years - Stanford, Michigan St.

10 years - Miami, ASU, UCLA

20 years - ?

 

[shetuck]

...as long as housing is affordable and there is job growth. That just means more football players.

Yeah... no doubt. Just look at Alaska!

 

[redbenn]

Love this question!!!

Really the goal is to have to pick teams that are having rough spots right now and determine how quickly they can recover.

ONE YEAR INVESTMENT - Really hard to think of a one year wonder type school. But you have to think of schools that are underperforming. And one comes to mind, Wisconsin. After their recent losses people seem to be down on them. But they are still Wisconsin and this time next year they should be better. Another one could be Miami (Fl) as they are playing ALOT of freshman and other young players and should be much better next year.

I don't know if UW is really "underperforming." It depends what you set their bar at. If it is the 2 Rose Bowls under BA, then they are below that. But IMO Wisc was overperforming then, and is really a mediocre team that went on a good run, and now will be one of the 'good once every 4 years' type teams. I think Wisc will remain in the 3-5 spot in the Big11 for a while.

 

[mross34]

Rutgers has already taken their best shot and failed to become a consistent power.

Great points all around, but disagree on this. Rutgers will be adding 12,000 seats to their stadium next season. They have the best recruiting class in the school's history piling up this year. They had a set back earlier this season, but there's a decent chance they'll still be bowl eligible this year, and if they are it'll be their 4th straight bowl game. Before that, they had made exactly two bowls in their schools history (1978 and 1989).

It's gonna be a slow, progressive change for RU, but people around here actually noticed they have a football team a few years back. Application numbers are through the roof, retention rates are way up.

If the athletic department doesn't go bankrupt before they get this ball rolling, I wouldn't be against Rutgers becoming a regional force.

 

[Mr_Burns]

I would consider Washington for a 5 or 10 year investment. You can't really lose on your investment, because they are about as low as you get right now. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to think they can get to the middle of a mediocre Pac-10 with a new coaching staff and a couple decent recruiting classes.

Also, if I had to pick two teams to short today, it would be Penn State and Texas Tech. With an improving Big Ten, Penn State will be lucky to put together another season like this in the next couple years. And once Crabtree and Harrell are gone, Texas Tech will be back to an 8-4 or 7-5 program.

 

[Piney]

I don't know if UW is really "underperforming." It depends what you set their bar at. If it is the 2 Rose Bowls under BA, then they are below that. But IMO Wisc was overperforming then, and is really a mediocre team that went on a good run, and now will be one of the 'good once every 4 years' type teams. I think Wisc will remain in the 3-5 spot in the Big11 for a while.

I should have cut Wisconsin when I realized Miami would be the better 1 year option.

But I will defend my Wisconsin pick a little. While I agree they normally overperform versus their talent. Meanwhile they are not a 4-4 team like they are right now. Which means I can 'buy' them low. Basically I am saying they will be better next year. Now in 3-4 years I think they will become a middle of the road Big 10 team. But this is only for 1 year.

Wisconsin's biggest problem this year was their QB play. And the remainder of this year they will be playing next year's starter. They are still strong at RB and their O-Line will always be good. So I feel Wisconsin will rebound next year to a 9-3/10-2 type team which will make my 1 year investment worthwhile.

 

[redbenn]

I should have cut Wisconsin when I realized Miami would be the better 1 year option.

But I will defend my Wisconsin pick a little. While I agree they normally overperform versus their talent. Meanwhile they are not a 4-4 team like they are right now. Which means I can 'buy' them low. Basically I am saying they will be better next year. Now in 3-4 years I think they will become a middle of the road Big 10 team. But this is only for 1 year.

Wisconsin's biggest problem this year was their QB play. And the remainder of this year they will be playing next year's starter. They are still strong at RB and their O-Line will always be good. So I feel Wisconsin will rebound next year to a 9-3/10-2 type team which will make my 1 year investment worthwhile.

i'll give you that... wisc does need to pick a qb early and build around him, instead of continually starting a new sr qb each year

 

[Brutus1]

Great points all around, but disagree on this. Rutgers will be adding 12,000 seats to their stadium next season. They have the best recruiting class in the school's history piling up this year. They had a set back earlier this season, but there's a decent chance they'll still be bowl eligible this year, and if they are it'll be their 4th straight bowl game. Before that, they had made exactly two bowls in their schools history (1978 and 1989).

It's gonna be a slow, progressive change for RU, but people around here actually noticed they have a football team a few years back. Application numbers are through the roof, retention rates are way up.

If the athletic department doesn't go bankrupt before they get this ball rolling, I wouldn't be against Rutgers becoming a regional force.

Agreed. NJ has some great hs talent and they're starting to notice that Rutgers actually has a team. Schiano loves it there and the players love him. Alot of coaches try to make their teams good, just so they can cash in on a big payday (Richrod), we've already seen that Schiano is not one of those. He appears to be willing to stick it out for the long haul. That's how a team can develop into a consistent winner. Coaches at Cincinnati, NC, Wake, TCU, Utah, Boise, etc, will almost always leave to go to one of the big boys . I think that having Schiano is a BIG plus for Rutgers.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

who took a job with espn. this is straight off pti/sportscenter. (this is why i know only watch sportscentre).

 

[Brutus1]

Did you take a puck to the head?

 

[smithlabs]

I actually considered them. But the same could be said for your rival Arizona. Arizona will grow as a state and have better in home talent. But it is 50/50 on which of the two programs rise.

PHX is much much bigger than Tucson. Most of the in-state talent plays up north. Most of the high schools in Tucson aren't even in the upper tier of football. Tucson has a higher percentage of Mexicans (half of us) and yes the soccer here is first class. The only people who seem to get U of A and ASU confused are the producers of Median. Season tickets for U of A are 79$ and advertised on billboards / radio. Single game tickets are still available. Worst of all, the broadcast early games (12:00 Eastern) are replaced with infomertials on the local stations. What else... games are played at 7:00 local time so they are broadcast nationally well after bedtime(party time?) for national recruits. Tucson was the home of Earth First and Phoenix is the home of The Library. I love Tucson. I like to hike, bike, cave and everything else an outdoorsy nerd can do. I also realize that my personal tastes don't line up with the average football recruit.

It is not a 50/50 on ASU vs U of A, buy ASU on that one.

 

[FWBuckeye]

Five Year Investment: Oklahoma State or Michigan State

I see them in similar positions, obviously OK State is having a better year, but Mike Gundy has also been at OK State two years longer than Mark Dantonio has been at MSU. I think Dantonio is an excellent coach (obviously I'm a bit biased here because he did help win us a national championship) and I expect MSU to be competing for a Big Ten title very soon. I think Michigan's temporary demise is going to help MSU on the recruiting front in the next few years. Gundy has done a great job on the recruiting front at OK State and it is obviously paying off now. I only chose a 5 year investment in these two schools because I could see them both coaches leaving within the next five years for a job at a more prestigious/higher profile program. I think Gundy has a better chance of staying at OK State because he is an alum of that school and because T. Boone Pickens will make sure that programs gets whatever it needs financially.


Ten Year Investment: UCLA

UCLA is in the same position USC was in during the 90s. I think they hired the right man for the job in Rick Neuheisel. Norm Chow was also an excellent selection as an offensive coordinator. It won't take more than a year or two for that to be one of the most feared offenses in the country. I can see this program being in the national championships hunt sooner than later. Being in a hot bed recruiting area certainly helps them as well.


Twenty Year Investment: Texas

This program gets whoever they want from the state of Texas and this is one of the best, if not the best, areas for football talent in the country. A&M and Tech can't even compete with them on the recruiting front. The last coach to leave the program without a winning record was in 1936. Austin is a great city to go to college in. I don't see them slowing down.