Talent overcame corching.
I think it was that and also, I do think that Butch and his staff improved. Coker called better games after Washington. The system that Butch put together was hitting on all cylinders after Washington. Also, Huskies stadium is an historically tough place to play when they are hitting on all of their cylinders and they were that year. Washington was one of the best teams in the country that year and very tough at home.
I do think Butch blew games earlier in his career at UM that he shouldn't have, but the best thing he did (except for 97' which he gets a mulligan for because the scholly situation) is always improving by the end of the season. He always had the team playing pretty well at the end of the season.
For any objective observer of CFB in 2000', there was no doubt we had the best team by year's end and one could easily make the argument that the Cane team at the end of the 2000' season was the greatest team of all time and superior to the 2001' team. There aren't many areas you could look at on the 2000' team and say that 2001 was better, but you can definitely look at some units and say 2000 was superior by the end:
- 2000 has a better LB corps
- Secondary was a wash
- 2000 had a way better WR corp!
- ST's slight edge to 2000' because of Santana's return ability
- 2001 with a tiny edge at TE because Shockey was being used more, but you could also say this is a wash.
- 2001 with an edge at DE because of McDougall.
- 2000 with an edge at RB because of Jackson
- Romberg has stated in an interview that he believes the 2000 OL was hungrier and better than the 2001 OL.
Anyway, Butch built a crazy machine and without Saban's benefit of cheating money and a cheating apparatus. Butch has gone on the record saying he regrets leaving Miami and for a while, I was one of those who wanted him to return (the last best time to do it was when we hired Richt - it should've been Butch). If Butch and UM had worked it out, he could've collected as many NC's as Saban, In some alternate universe, Butch has 8 natty's and Saban has 2.