Well, we need to look at who does the scheduling, and when. Scheduling is done at the major college level more than 3 or 4 years in advance. For example, A&M has already scheduled a game for 2011, and I think all schedules through at least 2006 or 2007 are set. I can't speak to Baylor's situation, and you may be right, but before you get on Steele about that, double check.
I'm puzzled why you think Baylor should settle for being at or near the bottom in football. Miami is the same size, should they settle for the bottom of the Big East? Notre Dame, Stanford, Boston College, Syracuse, Purdue and USC are all private schools that do well in football.
The situation at Baylor is totally different. Miami built successful teams on, shall we say, less than ethical means. That won't happen at Baylor. Baylor was SWC champion twice, and competed for it about 8 more times, but that isn't much for the time they were in the SWC. However, once Miami got rolling, recruiting picked up, they got a reputation, attracted powerful coaches, and money. Further, while last year Miami was the best college football team of all time (IMO), they don't play in the Big 12 with 4 or 5 consistent top 25 teams, and another 4 with potential to be there. In addition, they aren't, unlike Baylor, the only private school in their conference. Florida and out of state kids want to go to Miami over UF, FSU, and other schools, with Baylor it just isn't the same.
As far as the other schools you mentioned, sorry, but for the most part, Baylor can't compare with them. Notre Dame has revenue sources out of their ears. USC is bigger, almost state school like (which many folks think they are), and have a winning tradition. Stanford, BC, and Purdue all play in weaker conferences than Baylor, and are terribly inconsistent. They also have very competitive hoops programs that take the pressure off of football. They also probably have bigger revenue generation.
Compare how much Baylor pays Steele to how much Miami pays their coach. If Baylor can afford to pay a coach over a million a year, they might get the candidates that can make that program very competitive. They also probably need better facilities and someone that can sell kids on going there vs. A&M, t.u., 0u, and further out of state. Until that happens, I'm sorry to say that Baylor's best hope is to be competitive in the lowest quarter of the Big 12. If you think otherwise, then explain why Oklahoma State can't seem to get out of that same situation.
There's no reason that Baylor can't pay top dollar for a coach. A couple of bowl games will pay it all back.
USC is 15,000 students, Baylor is 12,000 - not decidedly different. And none of the other teams mentioned play in the Big XII but they do play tougher non conference schedules.
OSU is out of the bottom in football. They beat OU last year and kept them from repeating as national champs.
Right now Baylor is competitive with no one in the league. That needs to change, it would be better for everyone in the Big XII.
I hope we've cleaned up our game when the Ag's come to FCS on Oct 12. I doubt that we can beat Kansas this year. Steele has never beaten a first year coach and Mangino is not the average first year coach.
If he beats A&M and UT this year, he can stay!