Yes, 6-6 is not where we wanted to be, especially after a 2-1 start to the season with wins over Arizona and Wisconsin.
However, the way I see it, the biggest problem with BYU this year was inconsistency.
They followed a surprisingly good game at Arizona with a lackluster effort against Cal at home. Then they shocked the world beating Wisconsin on the road, followed by a sound beating of an outmanned McNeese St team in Provo. The next 2 games were embarrassing losses to Washington on the road and Utah State in Provo. Neither game was close and BYU looked entirely outclassed. People began wondering where the team was that beat Wisconsin on the road. The Utah St game was what precipitated the change in QB from Mangum to Wilson.
With Wilson at QB BYU was impressive in a lopsided win against a bad Hawaiii team, but then scored only 6 points against Northern Illinois in Provo, losing by a 7-6 score. BYU led in all the stats. Looking at the boxscore, it's hard to figure out how BYU lost this game.
BYU actually played pretty well against Boise St, leading in most stats, but gave up 3 fumbles and lost a close game. They won the next two games against UMass and New Mexico St as expected, getting bowl eligible, and then lost the heartbreaker to Utah after leading for the entire game.
The Utah game was actually a microcosm of the entire season. The first half was BYU vs Wisconsin. The second half was BYU vs Washington.
Am I happy with the season? No. Do I have hope for the future? Definitely.
BYU played a lot of very young players who will continue to improve. They also dealt with a lot of key injuries. Their depth is not as great, yet, as some of the teams they play, especially P5 teams. And for a growing/developing team, inconsistency is usually one of the steps of improvement. Becoming more consistent is the next step. If BYU can consistently play like the team that played Wisconsin, and rarely play like the team that played Washington, the result will be more victories. Although the results this year, overall, have been disappointing and frustrating, I really believe that the overall trajectory of the football program is positive.
Although the schedules for the next several years are brutal, I'm excited to see what this team can do moving forward. Frankly, I think blowing up the coaching staff at this point is the worst thing you could do.
Flame away.