is that with BYU's move to being an Independent in football, the schedule is now MUCH harder, both with opponents and with travel. BYU is playing more top quality P5 teams every year and is also playing many of them on the road. It's also harder for the players to stay focused when they know what bowl they're going to in advance and don't have a conference championship to play for.

I think Bronco and his staff have done an amazing job for the most part (note I didn't say they were perfect) managing these changes especially with the rash of injuries we had last year. Some teams would have packed it in following the 4 game losing streak we had after losing Taysom.

The defense will improve under Bronco I'm sure and the offense will improve with the improvement that 2J and Anae are making with the OL. The past few seasons we've had one side of the ball stronger than the other (generally the defense) which has led to uneven results. I'm hopeful that we'll get both sides strong at the same time soon and that will lead to a special season.