Wulff's problem in '08 was that he apparently didn't believe in poaching. Any coach worth their salt would have gone directly to SDSU, Nevada, SJSU & Fresno's commit list and take what they could get. Heck, that's what Leach did and it netted us Gabe Marks, Kache Palacio & Robert Lewis. Where is this program without that SMU raid?
Instead, Wulff went to the uncommitted player pool and gave scholarship to about 20 guys who never contributed a thing.
Then, and I will still never understand this, in '09, he actually had some momentum, and won a few recruiting battles (Long, Simone, Nolan Washington, Atofau), yet only enrolled 18 guys. How are you not taking 25 in that class? Heck, he should have cut out 5 from the '08 class and tried to sign 30 in '09.
Those 2 classes were his doom, because the '10 class was actually pretty darn good (Fullington, Rodgers, Halliday, Horton, Bucannon, Wilson, Galvin, Jacobson, Kristoff, Pole, Cooper & Butler-Booker, although he never qualified). Had he strung together 3 of those classes in a row, he'd probably still be coaching.
In '11, the damage was done and the recruiting trail was insurmountable. He wasn't winning any battles with his abysmal record, had to take some academic fliers, and had to take too many JC linemen to make up for the neglect of that position from his previous classes.