So we were never that good. Just had inflated records and rankings. What we are now is what we always were a top 50 team but rarely a top 25 team. That the argument you are trying to make?
Of course not, OU had some great teams in the early to mid- '00s. OU's overall record was a bit inflated in the late '90s and early '00s (the 2002 team was still excellent) because most years the middle and bottom of the league were bad.