Another season in the books

[The_Douger]

I just don't get how you can't be happy about some of the games we won this year given the entire body of work, and the difficulty of this schedule.

[Topper]

Exactly. You are nucking futs.

I am sure I am. I do not enjoy being comfortable or satisfied. I worry it will make me second rate.

I have never a single personal competition about which I felt good. Not ever. That is what drives me.

[Topper]

I just don't get how you can't be happy about some of the games we won this year given the entire body of work, and the difficulty of this schedule.

I liked the Texas game, and kinda liked Houston. All others drove me nuts.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I am sure I am. I do not enjoy being comfortable or satisfied. I worry it will make me second rate.

I have never a single personal competition about which I felt good. Not ever. That is what drives me.

Seriously, I feel bad for you if this is true. It kind of sucks the joy out of life. Given the impressive things you've done to date, coupled with the brutal truth that you're on the downhill side of physical development, isn't it fair to assume you will never feel good about competition for the rest of your life? I find lowering the personal bar on a variety of physical endeavors makes life so much more enjoyable. And I don't think I'm selling out, just being realistic.

[Topper]

Seriously, I feel bad for you if this is true. It kind of sucks the joy out of life. Given the impressive things you've done to date, coupled with the brutal truth that you're on the downhill side of physical development, isn't it fair to assume you will never feel good about competition for the rest of your life? I find lowering the personal bar on a variety of physical endeavors makes life so much more enjoyable. And I don't think I'm selling out, just being realistic.

In reality, for those more talented than I, most people, that may be a proper recipe. Intellectually it makes sense, but emotionally, my competitive self won't let me enjoy anything. There is always somebody faster, smarter, richer and better. In large part it was how I was reared. If I earned all As, I was asked, "did you get all 100s"? If I won something, then it was, did you set a record? You always reach a point where the answer is no.

I remember my first engagement, the first question was, "did she graduate summa cum laude." She did not, and neither did I, not by a long shot.

That is why existentialism has a lot of appeal. Like Sisyphus we are doomed to fail, but we must always strive for the impossible. It leaves one with a constant yearning that can never be fulfilled.

[TripletDaddy]

In reality, for those more talented than I, most people, that may be a proper recipe. Intellectually it makes sense, but emotionally, my competitive self won't let me enjoy anything. There is always somebody faster, smarter, richer and better. In large part it was how I was reared. If I earned all As, I was asked, "did you get all 100s"? If I won something, then it was, did you set a record? You always reach a point where the answer is no.

I remember my first engagement, the first question was, "did she graduate summa cum laude." She did not, and neither did I, not by a long shot.

That is why existentialism has a lot of appeal. Like Sisyphus we are doomed to fail, but we must always strive for the impossible. It leaves one with a constant yearning that can never be fulfilled.

Hermano, you would do well to learn to spend less time constantly searching for new, meaty bones and more time sucking every last drop of marrow from the ones already before you. Not just for your sake, but also for those around you.

[wapiti]

This thread just turned weird.

[USUC]

Really? How do rumors like this get started?

"@APMarkLong: These may be old, but here are 3 more names as potential Gators OC: Noel Mazzone (UCLA), Mike Norvell (ASU) & Robert Anae (BYU)"

[UVACoug]

Goatnapper will wax philosophical about how it is unreasonable to expect more from BYU 's limited recruiting base. A counterargument.

BYU has the base to produce competent lines. Yet this season turned on the poor performance of the lines.

It lost to two bad teams, Virginia and Utah. Four years in a row.

The two marquee games were flops.

The only successful games were Texas And Houston.

Overall, the season should be viewed as a failure. Can Bronco get BYU to over the hump?

The season could have been successful if it had defeated one of the marquee games and defeated Utah. That is within BYU s ability. This is a second season where BYU fails to deliver.

How was Texas not a Marquee game? They are 8-3 and tied for first place in the Big XII? Not a great season, to be sure ... but it wasn't anything close to a failure.

[UVACoug]

Do you feel the team progressed throughout the year, or more as it compared to last year? If it is the latter then I agree. If it is the former, not so sure. It progressed up to Wisconsin and has been playing somewhat poorly since then, IMHO.
I understand your arguments but find your argument about losing to Utah poor. Utah should not have been better that day. After three years of losing to them, Bronco yet again did not have the team prepared.

Do you think that the quality of opponent and injuries might have something to do with that? I don't understand how you can look out what our offense did last year and what it did this year and not see this season as a big leap forward. Taysom is a great QB, who will only get better with more experience and a better OLine. You are blind if you can't recognize the progress he has made since the beginning of the year. Jamaal is a great RB, and most importantly ... is very reliable. The WR have been a disappointment, but some of the blame for that has to be on the pass protection (we all know the problems we have had with the OLine). I just don't get people who look at this season as a failure. I see it as a season of big strides forward. Half the fanbase was ready to jump off a cliff after the first game, and we ended up with an 8-4 record and a decisive win over a Texas team with one loss in the Big XII. If you don't see the Texas win as a marquee win, you are simply looking for reasons to be upset.

[UVACoug]

Injuries are a part of the game. Yes, we were hurt more than anyone should expect at corner, but we were a little lucky to keep a running quarterback playing all year. And yeah, we were expecting a worse record, but Topper's right that a few games were easier than expected.

A big bowl win could change things, but at this point, there's no objective measure that would call this a better season, and most would call it a little worse. Massey has us at 34th this year--last year we ended at 26th. Sagarin has us at 28th now, ended last season at 26th. I think there is a little reason for hope, based purely on our O-line prospects, but it's still just a hope at this point. I do think we have a ceiling on what we can expect and I think Bronco's doing about all that we could ask of him, but really--this season was not any better than last.

You can't be serious. Do you remember that pathetic offense we had last year? Anae's offense is in a complete different universe from that one. Injuries are part of the game, but that doesn't mean you ignore them. What separates BYU from the NDs, Wisconsins and Texases of the world is depth. It is completely understandable that BYU would struggle more with injuries than those teams at the end of the season, especially against a schedule as tough as any we have had. Same thing happened to Utah.

[woot]

If Topper is indeed a BYU fan at all, he's an extremely negative person, and perhaps deeply depressed. I wonder if it'd be best to ignore him so that every thread doesn't converge on the same argument.

[Topper]

Do you think that the quality of opponent and injuries might have something to do with that? I don't understand how you can look out what our offense did last year and what it did this year and not see this season as a big leap forward. Taysom is a great QB, who will only get better with more experience and a better OLine. You are blind if you can't recognize the progress he has made since the beginning of the year. Jamaal is a great RB, and most importantly ... is very reliable. The WR have been a disappointment, but some of the blame for that has to be on the pass protection (we all know the problems we have had with the OLine). I just don't get people who look at this season as a failure. I see it as a season of big strides forward. Half the fanbase was ready to jump off a cliff after the first game, and we ended up with an 8-4 record and a decisive win over a Texas team with one loss in the Big XII. If you don't see the Texas win as a marquee win, you are simply looking for reasons to be upset.

I see one step forward on offense and one step back.

The offense seems to have a chance to be better. Tugajay (sp?) appears to be better and maybe the Oline will improve.

The defense doesn't seem to get any pressure, so it would seem the defense has declined.

Other than the Texas and Boise wins, it was a disappointing season. It wasn't a total loss, as BYU has had worse seasons, but it was really a lackluster year without much fun. I realize being dissatisfied with a season in plus win column appears negative, but in terms of enjoying a season, I expect more. One hears Bronco talking about national championships but BYU seems to make very little progress in making hat a reality.

1984 was an enjoyable season. I was still at college, BYU won unexpectably at Pitt, and had a steady fun rise through the season. There was also a new sports publication available on campus, so students could discuss how fun it was to be relevant. Even though BYU will likely never rise to that height again, at least we have memories. It was almost thirty years ago.

[The_Douger]

Most teams never get a 1984.

Most teams fans would take what we've gotten since Mendenhall took over.

Do you really think BYU is a national championship level team? That we have those types of athletes and the depth required to win at that level?

You can bemoan this year all you like. This was a good year outside of the Virginia loss.

[UVACoug]

I see one step forward on offense and one step back.

The offense seems to have a chance to be better. Tugajay (sp?) appears to be better and maybe the Oline will improve.

The defense doesn't seem to get any pressure, so it would seem the defense has declined.

Other than the Texas and Boise wins, it was a disappointing season. It wasn't a total loss, as BYU has had worse seasons, but it was really a lackluster year without much fun. I realize being dissatisfied with a season in plus win column appears negative, but in terms of enjoying a season, I expect more. One hears Bronco talking about national championships but BYU seems to make very little progress in making hat a reality.

1984 was an enjoyable season. I was still at college, BYU won unexpectably at Pitt, and had a steady fun rise through the season. There was also a new sports publication available on campus, so students could discuss how fun it was to be relevant. Even though BYU will likely never rise to that height again, at least we have memories. It was almost thirty years ago.

Bronco never said we would win a national championship this year, or even suggested we would come close. There was a lot of progress this year, which is what we needed. If 1984 is the only season that has been enjoyable to you ... the problem is you, not Bronco or the team.


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