Other than money, recruits do care about good records and rankings, and the media buzz that goes with it. Few people remember who you beat or lost to for more than a season.
I would think recruits are smart enough to recognize the source of the problem is 1 win vs opponents that finished the year above .500. Furthermore, if we are using that as a basis for wanting an easier schedule, then lets just pack it up and swap conferences with FSU.
Again, I give recruits credit in expecting them to be more informed than most about who was played and the result when picking a school to attend. Comparing their knowledge to the average joe seems silly.
So, you give these 17 year-old kids more credit than rabid fans that live and breath this stuff year-in and year-out as far as being aware of situational wins? I don't. And, I really don't feel "silly" either.
Again, you are talking about eras where we played 2 cupcakes OOC and had at least 3 guaranteed wins in SEC play before we ever stepped on the field. We now have almost no guaranteed SEC wins each season and the new teams coming in will make it even worse.
What is this Bobby Bowden mentality of the SEC is too hard? Nut up, you want to be the best, beat the best.
I said "Comparing their knowledge to the average joe seems silly." Somehow you turned that into "17 year-old kids more credit than rabid fans." Need to work on that reading comprehension.
I think with UF not likely competing for SEC championships anytime soon a tougher OOC schedule overall might allow them to slip in as a lower seed in the playoffs. But Texas and OU now in the mix certainly makes a few cupcakes allows for hopefully a few more in the W column.
Ole Miss went 10-2 this season and is racking up players on the portal. Their OOC schedule? Mercer, Louisiana-Monroe, #22 Tulane and Ga. Tech. As you can see, there are ways to schedule very winnable OOC games and not have ALL of them be complete jokes.
Do they give a shit about wins? I'd bet you could get the #1 class to switch to competitive tea parties or dog dancing if you have +$1 more than the next guy who wants to sponsor a HS student. Why do we still call them recruits rather than free agents or prospective employees?
Whether it be facilities, NIL, schedule, SEC members or Gator head coaches, things change. You have to be flexible on what helps the most.
Some people are just built to complain about everything. No matter what happens, people will complain about it.