Rob's Rankings: Tough recruiting destinations; lousy TV cops

Recruiting is never easy. Not even at Alabama. Often, it’s a time suck and a number of other not-so-pleasant adjectives. That said, it’s more difficult at some places than it is at others.

Below is a ranking of the five most difficult schools at which to recruit among Power Five programs. The list below is based on the current college football landscape. If Syracuse rattles off four straight national titles in the next decade, attracting talent will become easier. Same for Washington State should the Pacific Northwest suddenly become a hot spot for high school talent. That’s all to say that, while not scientific by any stretch, a number of factors were considered.

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Current recruiting ranking: 38

Best recruiting finish: 31 (2017)

Worst recruiting finish: 78 (2007)

Top 30 recruiting finishes: 0

Why it’s tough: Lots of programs face academic restrictions, but they are not frequently this strict and even more rarely combined with the “basketball school” label. As if the talent pool wasn't squeezed enough by the high admission standard, the Blue Devils find themselves competing against more traditional football powers such as Stanford and Notre Dame for recruits. Duke’s geographical location also pits it against a number of high-profile ACC schools in the region, while it also has to fight off intruders from the SEC in its home state. The Duke job has a perfect storm of factors working against it, which makes the progress the program has made in recent years all the more impressive.

Current recruiting ranking: 64

Best recruiting finish: 31 (2009)

Worst recruiting finish: 95 (2016)

Top 30 recruiting finishes: 0

Why it’s tough: If all things were equal, Kansas might not be the most difficult recruiting sell in its own state. Problem is, things aren’t equal. Before even diving into the facilities – which will soon receive a facelift – or the school’s reputation as a basketball-first institution, you have to address recent history. Pitching a program that is 12-64 over its last 76 games and hasn’t won a road game since before Avatar debuted in theaters is no easy task. Players with options want to win. And if they can’t win, they’d prefer to lose in a decent-looking stadium.

Current recruiting ranking: 59

Best recruiting finish: 43 (2002)

Worst recruiting finish: 78 (2010)

Top 30 recruiting finishes: 0

Why it’s tough: Syracuse is remote and not exactly in a hot bed of football talent. Players from the surrounding states have more appealing options. Penn State recruits the area well. As do Ohio State and Michigan. The Orange have been doing relatively well in Florida as of late, but with no recruiting base to speak of close to campus, the fight is always going to be uphill. The Orange also face some of the same challenges that take place at Kansas as far as fighting a basketball-first perception. Syracuse has seen the postseason just three times in the last 12 years, which also doesn’t help matters.

Current recruiting ranking: 42

Best recruiting finish: 24 (2003, 2004)

Worst recruiting finish 87 (2013)

Top 30 recruiting finishes: 2 (2003, 2004)

Why it’s tough: Being a football program located in New England is one thing. Being located there and lagging behind when it comes to facilities is something else. Nobody will mistake Massachusetts for a recruiting hotbed, but Boston College has only landed the state’s top prospect four times since 2005. Penn State, Ohio State and others are too attractive for the Eagles to ever rule the area. For decades, Boston College has been more competitive than its recruiting situation would suggest, which is a testament to the coaches that have come through the program. Few schools overcome recruiting disadvantages like this.

Current recruiting ranking: 57

Best recruiting finish: 25 (2004)

Worst recruiting finish: 96 (2003)

Top 30 recruiting finishes: 2 (2003, 2004)

Why it’s tough: The No. 1 factor working against the Cougars is its remote location. Add in the fact that its in-state rival is coming off an appearance in the College Football Playoff, and that issue is compounded. In addition to fending off Washington, the Cougs have to deal with Oregon’s Nike appeal and a slew of teams in California that attempt to poach talent from the area. Mike Leach has done an impressive job overcoming such issues, but even he’ll tell you he’s had to get creative.

Since college athletics and the FBI are now married for the next few hundred news cycles, this week’s overtime centers on law enforcement. Below, I take stab at ranking the five worst television cops (or detectives) in television history.

1. Carl Winslow - Family Matters

That fact that he couldn’t even stop the nerd next door from constantly harassing his daughter makes it impossible to imagine him stopping a crime that didn’t involve his immediate family.

2. McGruff - National Crime Prevention Council ads … or something

Is he a detective? Is he just a really tall, two-legged canine in a trench coat? Is he a dog standing on the shoulders of a human? What’s going on here? And why is his entire approach to stopping crimes going on TV and telling people not to commit crimes? Talk about a waste of taxpayer dollars.

3. Inspector Gadget – Inspector Gadget

That he had to luck his way into solving things despite having an unlimited amount of ahead-of-its-time technology at his beckon call is pathetic, especially because he’s chasing a lame computer hacker with an evil cat.

4. Hank Schrader – Breaking Bad

So much for detective’s intuition. You are literally related (through marriage) to the drug lord you spent five seasons hunting and it took you that long to get any sort of inkling that maybe – just maybe – your brother-in-law is the region’s biggest meth kingpin.

5. Marty Hart – True Detective Season 1

Hart’s inclusion here is based purely on the level of stupidity it takes to introduce your wife to a character played by Matthew McConaughey. Anything that happens after that, you’ve brought upon yourself.