All I know for damn sure is by joining the SEC Oklahoma has been presented with a great opportunity to enhance what it has already accomplished over the years in previous conferences including the Big 8 and the Big 12. Our athletic facilities are very good and getting better. More sports than ever before are pulling their weight. But, OU has to win in the SEC to make this pay off in the long run. If we can work our way to the top tier of the SEC with hard work, brains and some sheer luck the OU legend will more than take care of itself. The money is nice but if we were to fall into a position similar to Nebraska where we are no longer a football power but we still got paid a lot to get beat by the rest of the conference, it will be a failure. We have to win. OU fans are not delusional. It may not be easy or fast but we do believe we can do it. All the $$$ in the world doesn't mean much if we aren't winning championships wherever we are.
I think Nebraska's struggles are still an aberration.
Many great programs grow through struggles as well. Oklahoma had a lot of difficulty until Bob Stoops came in as a coach. Nebraska just needs their Bob Stoops.
When I first started watching Football (around late 1990s timeframe, I think 1999 was the first true season that I watched and started to understand everything), teams like LSU and Clemson were after thoughts. I remember the SEC was Florida, Tennessee, and sometimes Alabama (Alabama was that team with talent that could potential be good but had bad coaches, kind of like Tennessee now although Alabama at least had some good seasons, 1999 for example).
I will take LSU as a great example. LSU was generally a mediocre SEC West program. Teams took players out of Louisiana left and right. LSU hadn't won a National Title since the 1950s. They were NOT a program that competed for National Titles. In between the 1999-2000 season, they hired a decent coach from Michigan State called Nick Saban. He started closing the border and recruiting the to players to Louisiana. In 2001, LSU upset #2 Tennessee (which, in my opinion was the start of Tennessee's downfall) in the SEC Championship game and beat Maryland to finish in the top ten. They were still down around # 8 though. 2003, LSU came out of no where to win the National Title and ever since then, they have been seen as a power.
LSU was a strong program but throughout the 1980s and 1990s, they were nothing.
Everything is cycle. I pointed out earlier in this thread the ACC and how they were being discussed in the early 2000s as the Best League with their expansion. However, in 2022 (twenty years later), they are universally considered the weakest of the Power 5 leagues and have had several teams poached from their league. Heck, in 2000, the Big12 was on top as the best league with Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, and Colorado all production top 10 teams and Texas A&M being a top 25 program.
I don't see Nebraska (with its history and fanbase) as being down forever. Could OU have a Nebraska-like slump? Possibly. However, Oklahoma will have great days in the SEC as well and will have National Title contending teams like they have had in the past. Get the right coach, players, and process; you will find yourself back on top.
Oklahoma is a top 5 all-time program, that is not going away.