While many (mostly not on this site) in our fanbase/media have used academics as an excuse for mediocre recruiting and on-field results for years (it’s really not as much of a hinderance as many make it out to be), I’ve always thought of our academics as a great recruiting opportunity, and our campus culture a unique selling point among the college football bluebloods. OSU, Michigan, Alabama, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Georgia, Penn State, Florida, FSU, Clemson... they’re all large state schools. They’re all pretty similar.
Obviously, those schools are not exactly the same as each other, and I’m not trying to say you can’t get a great education at most of those schools (and I hate when a lot of our fanbase arrogantly acts like you can’t). But what top program provides an undergrad experience like ours? USC? Miami? They’re private schools, but really not all that similar to us.
We should embrace our academics AND uniqueness. Many, probably most, top recruits are looking for something different. But there should be enough out there that we can get where we, essentially, wouldn't have to compete with any other school. If we try to be too much like everyone else, we will lose our identity. There’s a fine line between making necessary advancements (such as sports science, nutrition, conditioning, on-field strategy, etc.) and becoming a football factory that tries too hard to keep up with the Joneses.