2016 - BYU had an average independent record at 9-4 with Bronco's recruits and culture
2017 - BYU loses a lot of NFL-level talent and everything falls apart
2018 - BYU rebounds with some surprising wins (Wisconsin) and bad losses (USU at home) and gets to 7-6
2019 - BYU continues with some good wins (USC, Tennessee, Boise) and bad losses (USF, Toledo) and stumbles to 7-6. More .500 football but good enough for an extinction and celebration from Tom Holmoe and Kalani's media buddies.
2020 - Covid wrecks the schedule and BYU beats a bunch of bad teams
2021 - BYU goes 5-0 vs the PAC and nearly has a special season again (3rd time they were oh so close?)
2022 - BYU starts strong vs Baylor and then seemingly sleepwalks the rest of the season with the possible exception of Boise & SMU.
2023 - BYU starts strong at 3-0 and 5-2 but doesn't seem to show up at all for several games

It seems that BYU is a .500 football team right now (maybe worse due to the tougher schedules) and has been each of the last five normal seasons except for 2021. Should we just accept that .500 football is the standard now with an occasional oh-so-close every five years or so?

Can 2021 even be repeated?