Poll closed. Rate the 2017 Utah Football Season

[Tony (admin)]

The pundits have spoken.

Rate the 2017 Utah Football Season

• Did Not Meet Expectations (53%, 98 Votes)
   
• Met Expectations (46%, 86 Votes)
   
• Exceeded Expectations (1%, 2 Votes)
   

Total Voters: 186

[Utahute72]

So what we are saying is that 53% of the fans have unrealistic expectations for the program.

[Utah]

Yup. We were exactly what everyone thought we were. A 6 to 8 win team. Six wins if things don’t go great, 8 if everyone is healthy and we get a couple breaks. 

[Tony (admin)]

I didn’t say it. The pundits said it.

[FtheY]

I have a few thoughts on this. I was one that thought we didn’t meet expectations – I had a little too much koolaid and thought we could get to 8-4. Maybe some of the following are reasons why other thought we underachieved? 

Struggle to go bowling – this was a big one for me. I felt we were a bowl eligible team all year, and didn’t think it would have to come down to the last game to get that. I’ve heard some coworkers of mine express the same feelings, so if I had to guess this would probably be a big one. 

A athletic quarterback with high upside – we had a good quarterback this year and a good backup, we had confidence here for once and I think that got a lot of people excited. 

Losing large amounts of games in a row – what did we lose, 5 in a row? I think it was tough for most to not feel a bit defeated during that stretch. 

Overachieving culture – feels like we usually beat Vegas expectations, although I don’t know for sure if this is true. We play our best when no one else thinks we have a chance. Oh Vegas, only 5.5? See you at the end of the season with +1 or 2 more! If that makes sense. 

Matt Gay – huge surprise. He was a big contributor. Makes it even sweeter that tds-p wanted nothing to do with him. 

Troy Taylors previous success in year one – while not at the same level, he balled out at EWU his first year and I think some folks may have thought it would translate better. I really think we improved and learned a lot this year. 

Big defensive contributors – Chase and Kylie ended up hurt a lot this year. Chase had previously been a bit more healthy and I wonder if people thought he’d stay that way. 

Carrington – finally, a lock down #1 option. I would imagine people thought he’d stay healthy as well. 

Running back – previous success and luck with our RBs translated to a lot of wins in the past and we learned that wasn’t always the case this year. 

In summary, we got a bowl and that’s what matters. I think we saw a lot of upside and potential this year, and a lot of close games that could have gone our way but didn’t. That’s big-time college football and sometimes we all need a little reminder of what humble pie tastes like. 

What do you think expectations will be next year? 

 

[Tony (admin)]

I had us a 7-5 which I thought would have been a very good record based on how brutal our schedule was. Next year the expectations will balloon during the spring and summer like they do every year. 

[Utah]

You bring up a great point. The schedule was insane this year and I don’t think a lot of Utah even realize that now. If we had the 2016 schedule, we win 10+ with this team. We by far had the toughest conference schedule. 

I think the “only” real big mistake was playing Huntley vs ASU. Troy wasn’t good and I get why they rushed Tyler back, but I think we might beat ASU with Troy and then we’d have a better shot vs Oregon with Tyler a week healthier. 

I mentioned it on here, but the Tyler that played the second half vs Oregon was a completely different player than the Tyler that played vs ASU and the first half. 

You wonder if he would have been better, earlier with another week of rest. 

[Tony (admin)]

Oregon turned out to be a lot better than their record indicated at that time. Agree on starting Huntley in the ASU game. Definitely not ready to come back.