I too would like to see the ceiling raised but to do that I believe WVU would have to really develop those players over time. Therefore, there are going to be those years when you are only going to win 7 games especially when you are having to play several underclassmen at a time. Then, as they age and mature, the wins keep increasing per year so that by year 3 or 4 your looking at a conference championship caliber team. It becomes cyclical, similar to what you saw with WVU during the Nehlen years - a great team, improvement over the next 3, then a great team again (think 88, 92, 96)
I like what Brown has done to this point - especially on the defensive side of the ball. Is he the coach that can do it all - I agree its still too early to tell. But to think the fanbase, the boosters, and/or the university would wait until year 12 or so might be pushing it. An annual top 25 team is never out of the question - that's an expectation. Going to a bowl annually is not out of the question either - that's an expectation. Doing something special once or twice a decade - that should be an expectation also.
Agree, even under a hypothetically "Optimal Ceiling" scenario, you will have peak years followed by 1-2 down years. Because even if Brown(or any staff) recruit in the 20-24 range for 8 consecutive years, some classes are just going to be more talented then others. So those players will likely play a bit early, similar to how Wyatt, Zach, & Mesidor are playing now.
While these players offer higher upside, they wont reach peak output until their 3rd+ years.
The worst year for WVU from 2005 - 2011 was 9 wins. While that was two different staffs, one provided a quality foundation for the other, so I do think in the best scenario for WVU we can maintain at least a top 25 team even on a down yr and a top 10 team on an Up year, which is every 2-3 years. Though it may not happen in perfect sequence.
Either way, we are splitting hairs, as I believe we both share a similar realistic "goal" for WVU to achieve. When you look across the NCAAF landscape, there are 18-20 programs far better positioned, so it takes a magical formula to consistently outperform recruiting based expectations, something that will always be required at WVU in order to compete on a national stage.
I am extremely curious, how the 1988 team would hve stacked up from a recruiting perspective. To know the level in which Don Nehlen outperformed in order to make it to the National Championship game.