Quote:
Originally Posted by SipiTau
respond to the expectations/hype for the upcoming 2008 season. Thoughts?
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This is new ground for the Mendenhall regime. In 2006 it had been so long since BYU was good that nobody expected them to *that* good even though the potential was there.
I recall a comment from Pap in the summer preceding the season where he said: "with all the returning talent and experience if BYU can't be good in 2006 then it can never be good again. If we struggle with this corps then we are doing something wrong and probably will not be able to change."
For many of us 2006 was a surprise. For others it wasn't. Regardless, it was such a treat after so long that folks lived in the moment and whatever minor flaws or not being a real national player was unconcerning as it had been so long since the Y dominated the MWC and looked that good. Last year was something we all suspected might happen but history indicated it would be a rebuilding year. The talent was as high as it had been for a new qb since probably Detmer, but many of us had pretty tempered expectations so having another year of conference domination compensated for the lack of being a national player wasn't as big a deal.
This year the beast wants to be fed and 8-0 in the MWC ain't gonna feed the beast. This is new ground for Mendenhall who frequently feeds the flames of that beast. BYU will have a huge target on its back in OOC games and MWC games and the fever is going to grow and grow over the summer. Mendenhall's one game at a time and do your personal best pitch might be enough to keep the Cougars focussed. But even a focussed BYU team could lose to UCLA, UW, TCU or Utah if they don't play well.
Mendenhall seems to relish challenge and his personality is one that rises to the occasion. Teams normally assume the coach's personality so I expect him to fan the flames of expectations in the media and with the fans in his effort to issue that challenge of perfection to himself and his team. It will be interesting how things play out. I might say my bigger concern is how the team reacts to a loss instead of the loss itself. I expect BYU to lose a game as I never expect an undefeated season from anyone. But how the Y reacts to a loss with the bar set this high will be interesting.