At one point in the not-too-distant past, Florida State, Tennessee and Nebraska ruled college football with an iron fist, combining for six national championships in the 1990s.

How times have changed.

Now, all three programs are 4-5 and struggling just to become bowl eligible a year removed from not making the postseason.

MORE: Ranking coaches 1-130 for 2019 season

How would your rank the respective reclamation projects under second-year coaches Willie Taggart, Jeremy Pruitt and Scott Frost? Those programs have toggled between hype and hurt in 2019, and their coaches have alternated between the hope of turning a corner and the flames of the hot seat in the College Football Playoff era.

That trend continued in Week 10. Nebraska lost 31-27 to Purdue, Florida State fell 27-10 to rival Miami in a game that barely registered on the national radar. Tennessee improved its bowl standing with a 30-7 victory against Conference-USA opponent UAB.

How should you evaluate those rebuilds now and moving forward? All three share similar problems and challenges in trying to recapture that elusive glory:

Florida State

Coach confidence: Florida State, it seems, has zero confidence in Taggart, whom the Seminoles fired on Sunday after he dropped to 9-12 with a loss to the rival Hurricanes.

Measuring sticks: Taggart is 0-3 against Miami and Florida, but the real measuring stick is Clemson in the ACC Atlantic. The Tigers have outscored the Seminoles 104-24 in the last two meetings. The gap is considerable.

Biggest issue now: Florida State cannot expect to compete for conference championships with a rushing attack that had 41 rushing attempts for 31 yards Saturday. Wisconsin transfer Alex Hornibrook had 17 completions for 135 yards. The Seminoles should not be that deficient on offense.

Biggest longterm hurdle: Florida could win 10 games for the second straight season with Dan Mullen, and Miami has a close-to-home-coach in Manny Diaz. How can the Seminoles sell their program to in-state recruits if there isn’t confidence in the coach?

MORE: Candidates to replace Taggart

Nebraska

Coach confidence: Frost brought hope back to Nebraska, but he is 8-13 since taking over — which is one game worse than Taggart and Pruitt. That said, he has the longest leash of the three coaches and promised to rebuild the program brick by brick.

Measuring sticks: Ohio State is the standard in the Big Ten, and the Buckeyes offered a 48-7 reality check in September. The Huskers need to beat two of Wisconsin, Maryland and Iowa to get to a bowl game. The matchup with the rival Hawkeyes could decide that fate.

Biggest issue now: Nebraska’s defense is nowhere near championship level. In four games against ranked Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin teams, the Huskers have allowed 45.3 points per game. The offensive line and running game need to be better, too.

Biggest hurdle later: Recruiting against the Big Ten East powerhouses. Can Nebraska assemble a roster that can meet the physical challenges in the Big Ten West while competing with Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State in the East?

MORE: Nebraska, Frost face longer haul in Big Ten than expected

Tennessee

Coach confidence: Pruitt also is 9-12, and given how the season started in a shocking loss to Georgia State the Volunteers have bounced back with three wins in four games. Tennessee can make the postseason with two wins in three games against Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt. It’s doable.

Measuring sticks: The Vols were swept by Florida, Georgia and Alabama for the second straight season, but the truth is Tennessee isn't ready for those games yet. Need evidence? They have lost those games by an average of 28.5 points per game.

Biggest issue now: Tennessee needs to bring enough four- and five-star talent back to compete with those power-houses. The depth through recruiting is lacking, and will take multiple cycles to catch up.

Biggest hurdle later: How long is this fan base willing to wait, given the nature of the last coaching search? To call Pruitt a fallback candidate would be an understatement, but at least he’s willing to take on the job.

MORE: Recapping Tennessee's humiliating coaching search

Verdict

The three programs share a lot of common issues. The lack of depth combined with the weight of unfair expectations creates this referendum on the program with each week. Think about how you would order these teams.

Before the season, it would have been Nebraska, Florida State then Tennessee. After September, in which the schools combined for a 6-5 record, it might have been Florida State, Nebraska then Tennessee.

Now? Is it Tennessee, Nebraska then Florida State? Would a bowl game change that outlook? The truth is all three have suffered from identity issues, and none of the above is close to where they were in the 1990s — or the 2000s, for that matter. Rebuilds take time, and all three programs and their coaches need time in an increasingly more difficult game of catch-up. One week — or in this case, one year — is not enough time. All three can work with varying levels of success with each year.

The only question is whether those administrations and fan bases will let them do that. It will take less yearning for the '90s and more looking toward the future. That’s the best way to change the times again.