Yes, one was only 25th in the Coaches Poll, but that has been a respected metric for about the entire history of college football. That team finished ranked.

The question isn't so much whose first 10 years were better. It's apples and oranges. It's not the same world.

I don't think Bronco could have done what Lavell did in that bygone era. Lavell changed the game of football. His legacy is carved in stone.

But other teams figured out how to pass...And they figured out how to defend the pass.

The real question is could Lavell have done what he did in the same world Bronco is operating in. Could he have done that without the WAC schedules...in the world of social media where guys like Jimmy Mac would have been tabloid fodder...And in a world where his innovative offense is yesterday's news?

To answer that, the closest comparison is how he did his last 10 years...But even that isn't quite the same.

I don't know the answer. No one possibly could. But Bronco faces many challenges Lavell never had to face. According to Phil Steele, BYU is second to only Vandy as the toughest place in the country to coach. I'm not sure that would have been true in 1972 playing Wac schedules and before social media.

Lavell's legacy is carved in granite. But the granite is isn't quite the same in today's world. It would have been a tougher carve.