I don't see Patterson having a better season than Snyder did this year. Also, I'm not 100% sure Patterson would have been the savior if he'd come here (see Dan Hawkins at Colorado).
We will at least catch up to Missouri (even) in 1 or 2 seasons. Nebraska may be tougher to catch up to because I think Pelini will build that program to be stronger in the long run than Missouri. Once we get better athletes, Missouri's system won't foil us quite so much. The spread as it's run at Mizzou and ku is all about out-athleting teams, which is why both teams such a disparity between how they play in regard to their opponents' athletic ability. Anyways, I'm confident that by the time Bill steps down, we will still be challenging for North and Big 12 championships.