I understand the OP point but PSU had a very good 10 year run from 1990-1999. In that ten year span PSU was ranked in the top 10 four times (2, 3, 7, 8) and in the top 11 six times. So six top 11 finishes in ten years... if more than 2 or 3 other programs accomplished this I will be surprised. The overall winning percentage for the decade was just a tick under 80%, 96 wins and 26 losses. Of the other four seasons, they finished 13, 16, 17 and unranked. That is a pretty darn good program for a sustained period of time. In those ten seasons PSU defeated AL, ND, BYU, ND again, TN, USC, TN again, USC again, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan again, Auburn, USC again, Michigan again, TX, OSU again, Kentucky, Arizona, Miami, OSU again and A&M.
I understand that for three of those seasons PSU was not in the Big 10, but IMHO it will be a long time, if ever, before we experience a decade in which PSU football will defeat non-con teams the caliber of Alabama, Notre Dame, BYU, Tennessee, USC, Oregon, Arizona, Auburn, Texas, Kentucky, Miami and Texas A&M. For a program and staff that had all of the flaws listed in this thread, that's not too shabby.