The point you're making is well taken, honestly.
But what about this angle? The team we fielded in 2016 wasn't good enough to beat Wisconsin and got blown out by Iowa. So even that level of play isn't good enough. Actually, it's nowhere close to being good enough.
We need our players in the kind of shape where we're beating the top teams in the conference in all four quarters. That's the goal. So forget whatever 2017 or 2016 looked like; we're aiming much, MUCH higher than that now with Frost's work ethic at the helm.