Sometimes to be a top tier program it takes only a few pieces of the puzzle to reach the top...Alabama does it by recruiting more 4-5 stars than the Orion Nebula but many times schools have a bunch of good players and several Elites to make a star team! In this day of Elite offensives you need a top tier quarterback (nuff said on that), actually need a upper mid defense capable of making stops and 3 and outs (Clemson has had that for years still does) with a few outstanding players...a great kicker never hurts as we know! Sometimes the defensive line needs only 2 pure anchors, a great middle linebacker with instinct is a winner and a safety that can read and stay at home! The ability to move the ball and score in the red zone is paramount...we have that ability with Shipley & Mafah...just needs a little tweeking and development...our O line has had some issues but sometimes they look like a bunch of all pros...running holes and wearing down the opponents...NC was gassed by the end of the 3rd quarter and we never ran enough to gas the hound dogs! We have plenty of star pieces in place now Dabo and company just need to tune up the orchestra! Go Tigers!
You are correct on every point. The issue is every team tries to do the same thing and with the Portal in effect, it is harder and harder to win. Perfect examples are the NFL this year with teams no better than .500 making the Playoffs and all the .500 teams in Bowls. Football has become a game of survival of the fittest and there are plenty of fit teams across the land.