I have to disagree with you on this one and agree with ampaholic.
Having Nike's money is a huge advantage for Oregon. They've also built up a reputation of being a perennial Top 5 program (even though they keep failing to win it all in the end - who knows maybe this year) for the past 10 years and they can attract top national recruits and not just northwest recruits.
I've actually been to games in Eugene and Corvallis in the last 10 years and there's really no comparison.
I don't see the Beavers ever reaching the status of a perennial Top 10 team. They're the type of team that can be in the Top 25 like maybe every 2 out of 4 years and maybe once every 10-20 years actually sneak into the Top 10. They can also go 3-8 once every 5-10 years as well.
I didn't say having more money and better facilities wasn't an advantage. I said it was possible to be
competitive without the best facilities, which was to counter amp's inference that OSU couldn't be competitive because Oregon had so much better facilities.
Living in Idaho, I follow Boise State pretty closely. BSU has decent, but not extravagant facilities. They attract mostly 3 and 2 star recruits. They have been ranked in the top 25 for 13 years running. They routinely put players in the NFL, some early, and often many more than the P5 programs.
So to try to tell me that a team can't compete with less than top notch facilities is pretty outlandish. That's like telling me what I've seen isn't real, LOL. If you follow recruiting, kids don't tweet out that they really loved Oregon's Brazilian hardwood walls or marble tables and that's why they chose the Ducks. Kids tweet that they love the coach that recruited them, or they loved the staff on their official visit. Yes, money helps, but it's nowhere near the biggest thing when it comes to being successful on the field.
Like every other program, Oregon is one bad coaching hire from being a mediocre program. Money doesn't guarantee success. Look at Texas -- biggest football budget in the nation. They're
maybe the 4th best team
in the state. Does anyone think Baylor and TCU can't compete with Texas?
FTR, I've been to Autzen and Reser also. Both fields looked to be about 100 yards between the goal lines. That's where the game is played.