The previous season was really rocky, and there aren't a lot of flashy additions to cause fans to expect significant improvement. But everyone is a year older and more experienced. And sometimes that's all it takes to make huge improvements.
The game tomorrow is the big test of the season to me. SMU was a reason for hope and showed us exactly how good the D is. But the offense really hasn't broken out against a decent defense. We'll know a ton about what the team is after tomorrow. If we can pull out a win tomorrow the hype should rightly blow up.