I've always thought those two schools were congruent with our own situation. Both are large schools in the middle of nowhere, with large and fanatical followings. Although our program is just as deep in its history - 130 years - it is just now approaching anything like the resources of PSU or TAMU. We should take a close look at the factors that made PSU successful.

One factor that stands out to me is Penn State's legendary coaches, Joe Paterno and Rip Engel before him. More than anything else, money, facilities or tradition, those two were the main reasons behind many a recruiting commitment. I know that Joe Pa's reputation has taken a solid hit recently, but for nearly all of his career, he was the gold standard for coaching integrity. Together, he and Rip Engel had coached Penn State since the postwar era. Young men from one generation to the next wanted desperately to play for them. Success followed, then the fans.

Virginia Tech has made a significant start down this road by first building its own coaching legend in Frank Beamer and now possibly following up with another. Having come this far, we can only stay the course. While the university has quadrupled since my time there in the sixties, our football reputation has burgeoned far beyond that, with still a lot of room for growth. In the meantime, paraphrasing Coach Beamer, "We'll take ours and play theirs."