BYU fans should have high expectations


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PROVO — Another college football season is upon us, with expectations running high for most teams around the country.

BYU certainly is no different. With a healthy Taysom Hill at quarterback and a schedule with enough big names, the Cougars will begin the season at Nebraska full of hope.

"BYU always has high expectations," coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "I think probably every coach in the country and every team is optimistic at the beginning of the season, and I would put us in that category."

But do BYU fans share the same optimism?

For some, every August, they buy into the preseason hype. Others take a more realistic approach, adopting the wait-and-see attitude.

Discussing this topic on my radio show on 97.5 FM and 1280-AM, co-host David James didn't think the majority of BYU fans are entering this season with high expectations. He reasoned a host of disappointments has led to the faithful being "beaten down."

His opinion has some merit, taking into account all that has gone happened on and off the field.

The last three seasons have been at best mildly disappointing, with each campaign ending at 8-5. During this time the Cougars have lost five games to teams from the Mountain West, the conference they bolted from four years ago to become an independent.

Last season was particularly irritating for BYU fans, who were forced to endure three losses to Mountain West teams, including at home against Utah State. A 4-0 start became a disaster once Hill suffered his second season-ending injury in three years.

The bowl game loss to Memphis ended in an embarrassing brawl during which a BYU player's sucker punch was played repeatedly on television reports. The fallout is expected to include suspensions to key players in this season's first game.

Away from the field, BYU has been relegated to a non-Power 5 conference status, awaiting an invitation from the Big 12 or other power league. The problem is the invitation doesn't seem to be coming any time soon.

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Then there's the issue of Utah, which was lucky enough to get an invitation from the Pac-12 and has dominated the recent series against BYU. All in all, these last four years haven't been the best of times for a program with a proud and storied tradition.

But "beaten down" does seem a little harsh, especially when perspective is considered.

While the last three seasons have failed to generate any national buzz, outside of destroying Texas two years ago, the period is far from a low point in recent history. The timeframe doesn't come close to comparing to the nightmare that was the 2002-04 seasons.

Except for his first season, which required a massive rebuilding effort, Mendenhall has had a winning record the last nine years. BYU also has played in a bowl game in all of his 10 years.

As long as Hill stays healthy, an 11th consecutive bowl appearance seems like a certainty. Success against a difficult schedule, which includes away games at Nebraska, UCLA and Michigan in the first month, would generate the national buzz that BYU fans desperately crave.

From a fan's perspective, there's no reason not to enter the season with optimism. BYU has enough talent to compete with every opponent this season, even if anything close to going undefeated seems like an extreme longshot.

Reality has to be mixed with those high expectations. Even if the players and coaches dream of the perfect season, BYU fans should be satisfied with nine wins.

"I'm confident we go can pretty far as far as winning games," said running back Algie Brown. "I think we look pretty good."

And why not?

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