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SALT LAKE CITY — Now that college football is over in Utah, it's time to reflect on the accomplishments of the state's three major programs.
This much is true: Only one of the three teams exceeded expectations. The other two had middling results at best.
At 10-3, Utah was better than expected by a significant margin. Instead of finishing ahead of only Colorado in the Pac-12 South Division, as most predictions indicated, the Utes went 6-3, reaching a "high-water mark" as coach Kyle Whittingham called it in referring to their best record over five years in the conference. Overall, the Utes finished behind only 11-2 Stanford for the best record.
Whittingham also likes to point out Utah was the South Division co-champion, which is technically true considering USC also finished at 6-3. But the co-champ thing rings somewhat hollow accounting for the fact the Trojans drilled Utah 42-24.
For anyone connected with the program, the excellent season comes with the caveat of what could have — or is it should have? — been. Deep into November, the Utes entertained dreams of reaching the College Football Final Four Playoff or at the least playing in the Rose Bowl as either the Pac-12 champion or runner-up. Instead, through a variety of reasons and circumstances, they were reduced to a second consecutive trip to the second-tier Las Vegas Bowl.
The season will be haunted by late-season losses to Arizona and UCLA, two winnable games that were done in by an offense that got progressively worse as the season pushed toward conclusion.
Both losses were bitterly disappointing in different ways. Against Arizona, which was a team that gave up at least 45 points in five of the nine conference games, the Utes needed overtime to score 30 points. The Wildcats closed the regular season losing four of their last five games, beating only Utah.
The UCLA game was just as maddening. Utah could not score a touchdown against a defense that was battered by injuries. Even with a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, the Utes had to settle for a field goal.
The good news is the program has made significant strides over the last five years. If junior college transfer quarterback Troy Williams comes close to matching his high school hype and the program actually produces Pac-12 caliber receivers, Utah is poised to contend again.
BYU endured the strangest of seasons in which the most notable news came off the field. Even the two phenomenal Hail Mary passes to beat Nebraska and Boise State were overshadowed by Bronco Mendenhall's decision to bolt for the huge money he will make as coach at Virginia.
At 9-4, BYU did what had become the Mendenhall standard, namely beating average to mediocre teams and losing the perceived bigger games. BYU beat two teams that finished with a winning record (9-4 Boise State and 7-6 Cincinnati) and went 1-4 against Power 5 teams. And as usual, the Cougars lost to Utah, which has a five-game winning streak against its rival.
The right coach at the right time when he was hired 11 years ago, Mendenhall took the program as far as he could. His philosophy that recruits needed to recruit BYU as much as vice versa grew outdated once college football tilted toward BYU's disadvantage with expansion and the Power 5 formation.
In two weeks, newly hired Kalani Sitake has breathed life into a program that needed a fresh approach. Finally, it seems everyone associated with the program — particularly former players critical of Mendenhall — are pulling in the same direction.
Without a doubt, Mendenhall left the program in much better shape than when he took over in 2005. First-year offensive coordinator Ty Detmer will inherit an experienced offensive line, depth at running back (assuming Jamaal Williams returns) and a budding star in quarterback Tanner Mangum.
For Utah State, the story is good news and bad news. Finishing 6-7, the program's first losing season in five years, is unacceptable. The positive is calling a six-win season a disappointment indicates the progress the program has made.
With a 3-0 conference record that included beating Boise State, the Aggies were thinking a Mountain West championship. But those plans were shattered with three losses over a four-game stretch.
The losing season quieted any talk of coach Matt Wells leaving for a more prestigious job. His charge now is to settle on a quarterback and improve a kicking game that was often an embarrassment.
