To BYU Fans

I have talked with a lot of BYU fans over the course of this football season. Many of you have seemed upset at the year the Cougars had. To be honest I was not all that surprised. What surprised me the most about BYU's season was this:
Austin Collie being the nation's top receiver in yards.
Dennis Pitta being the nation's second tight end in yards.
Harvey Unga having the quietest 1,000 yard season I can remember. I had to double-check to make sure that he did get over 1,000.
Max Hall throwing 7 touchdowns against a BCS team.
The defense recording consecutive shutouts.
Austin Collie's 2 drops per game.
Dennis Pitta disappearing for a couple of games in a row.
Harvey Unga averaging less than 5 yards per carry with the people he had blocking for him.
Max Hall having the worst quarter I have ever seen by a collegiate quarterback.
The defense only getting 9 interceptions while giving up 207 passing yards per game in a run-oriented conference.

There were ups and downs this year, as in most seasons. They won some games they needed to win, and also lost some as well. While they didn't win the conference or go to a BCS game, they are still ranked in the top 20 (and will be in the top 15 if they win their bowl game). They won 10 or more games for the 3rd straight season. Only 5 other teams in the country can say that: Oklahoma, Texas, USC, Boise State, and Ohio State. That is not a bad crew to be included with (although all of those teams have been to BCS games in their current streaks and all but Boise State is going to one this year). This year BYU started in the top 20. If they win their bowl game they will start there again next year. I told my brother several years back that 2009 would be the year for BYU. The steady recruiting wasn't there and so one season the offense would be dominant (2006), the next the defense would carry the team (2007), the next the offense would have to shoulder the load (2008), and, in 2009, they would finally both be where they need to be to be a serious BCS contender. They have a few obstacles to overcome, but these obstacles are ones that previous teams had no chance of overcoming, where I believe next year's team might just could do it.

This wasn't a disappointing season, it was right on schedule. I'll take 3 consecutive 10-win seasons and 3 consecutive top-25 finishes over the 3-year stretch BYU had from 2003-2005! Consistency will finally pay off in 2009, where 11-1 might even be good enough to go to a BCS game.