I disagree. I want as many stars as possible, at every position. Margin for error. That's what naturally equates to high preseason ranking and therefore greatest opportunity to compete for postseason glory. Only the nitwits point to examples like TCU this season. Yeah, rely on exceptions. You'll fare well. Everywhere.
Some of these big picture themes are not exactly complicated. I don't expect perfect attendance. But basic stuff like relying on the rule as opposed to the exception shouldn't be a difficult grasp. One hilarity on the internet is when someone tries to diffuse an argument by pointing to an isolated exception. Somehow they expect that to end the argument in their favor. Unbelievable. The reason criteria like pass defense toward the national champion is so relevant is that it attaches in the vast majority of examples, not an isolated and relatively meaningless exception.
The goal should be to steal a few percent everywhere available. We don't do that via our stadium. Just the opposite. That's a forfeit of several percent, absolute minimum. To counteract that deficit it's vital to win the recruiting wars, the coaching competence, game strategy, and so forth. Obviously right now we flunk in one area after another.
As I posted yesterday, preseason rankings are gold. Much more often than not, the premium teams come from that subset. Rely on majority, not fanciful adjustment from lower estates. To get there, you can't have a handful of top guys mixed with garbage. That was our description in recent years. This season the Canes finally showed more top rated guys than any recent season, and also fewer pathetic starters, with some glaring exceptions like defensive tackle. It was a positive trend, and obviously we should have fared significantly better than 6-7. We sacrificed with a true freshman quarterback. The quarterback situation we had entering summer 2014 doesn't logically point to high ranking or result, no matter who emerged. Obviously we know about questionable schemes and coaching. It's not going to translate to lofty preseason rating and relevance until the blend matches the cream of the country: Prime talent blended with special quarterbacking and a roster that is not too young and not dragged down by too many journeyman forced to play if not start.