The SMU ranking percentile graph above was created from data at the Congrove Computer Rankings http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/curr ... kings.html
It shows for the last twenty years where SMU football ranked in comparison to the rest of Division I football programs. Note that this is not a graph of win percentage, but an actual ranking. For instance, in 1996, SMU was in the 38th percentile. So 62 percent of the teams in Division I had a higher ranking that year.
A few things that stand out to me. The first is in 1997, the first year Mike Cavan took over from Tom Rossley and for the first time post DP, we approached the 50th percentile in ranking vis a vis the rest of Div I. But things went quickly downhill for Cavan, due in great part to the self imposed sanctions stemming from the Manlin situation.
The second thing is Bennett's fourth and fifth seasons in 2005 and 2006 when we seemed to have turned a bit of a corner. But 2007 would get him fired.
It wouldn't be until June Jones' second and fourth years that we crossed over the 50th percentile line and we could say we were better than most of college football.
Last season, 2012, we were at exactly the 50th percentile. Where will we go from here?
