You're missing the point completely -- wow, tremendous miss.
Alvarez had a breakthrough in year two.
That 5-6 record was the best record in six years -- and Wisconsin won more than 5 games in only 5 of the previous 27 seasons before Barry arrived. And that 5-6 record was still better than any of Frost's Nebraska W-L records.
Alvarez only needed two years to turn it around to levels Wisconsin had rarely seen in decades.
For that matter, Alvarez inherited a school with zero winning tradition, subpar facilities, and very low fan interest -- not even close to what Frost inherited. In the season prior to Barry, Wisconsin was averaging about 35,000 fans in attendance -- with a capacity of 76,000. And 29,776 fans for their last home game prior to Alvarez.