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SALT LAKE CITY - 2011 was a season of firsts for the University of Utah football team.
It was the first year in the Pac-12 conference, the BCS conference that Utah has been wanting to join for decades.
It was the first time that they played BYU near the beginning of the season since the 1890s. It's also the first time they have been separated from their bitter rival in conference alignment.
Each game seemed to be a first for the program. However, in retrospect this season has some similarities to a season in the not so distant past.
2011 was a season that started out with so much hope. Starter Jordan Wynn was coming back off of shoulder surgery, he was also guiding what seemed to be an exciting offense under Norm Chow. Early into the season he was injured and the team suffered on the field starting 0-4 in Pac-12 play and 3-4 overall. A limited backup quarterback in Jon Hays took the role and was what the team had to ride with for the remainder of the season.
With Wynn's injury, however, steps up John White, who carries this team on his shoulders through the remainder of the season. White breaks the records for rushing yards in a season, touchdowns, as well as carries.
The team hit rock bottom on their trip to Cal where the uninspired effort lead to a 34-10 loss at the hands of the Bears, and the season seemed to be lost.
Then the revival of the team comes in the form of a winning streak through the heart of the schedule, righting the ship and having hopes high once again.
Even with all the momentum the streak created, the Utes lose the last game of the season to the rival conference newbie in Colorado in heart breaking fashion.
In the bowl game, against a Paul Johnson coached triple option team in Georgia Tech, Utah wins a thriller by three, setting up what could be an exciting 2012 season with a majority of the team returning.
Wait, I've seen this before. This script seems like it has already happened. Well maybe not exactly, but there are some parallels to another. Let's flashback to the summer and fall of 2007.
Going into the season, hopes were at an incredible high. Quarterback Brian Johnson was slated to come back from an injury that made him miss the last of the 2005 season and the whole 2006 season. The offense was supposed to be a well oiled machine with Johnson back at the helm. In game one versus Oregon State, a future conference mate, Johnson suffered a severe shoulder injury and had to miss two and a half games. Utah's season doesn't start like everyone had hoped starting 1-3, while suffering a rock bottom loss at UNLV 27-0. The season seemed to be on the verge of collapse with a limited quarterback that barely had a shoulder he could throw with, and an unreliable backup in Tommy Grady.
With Johnson being limited in the pass game the Utes had to lean on an unproven running back in Darrell Mack. Mack rushed for 1200 yards and was the saving grace for the team that season. With Mack established the team runs off a winning streak that goes all the way up to the rivalry game at the end of the season. Every Ute fan knows the heart breaker that they suffered to wrap up that year. In the bowl game the Utes matched up with a Paul Johnson triple option coached team in the Naval Academy (although Johnson had moved on to Georgia Tech before the game). And the Utes won in a tight one by three, moving into the 2008 season with a majority of the team returning.
Let us recap: both quarterbacks got hurt and had limited backups, in Johnson's case he himself was limited after the injury, stifling a promising offense. Both teams got off to rocky starts with rock bottom losses on the road. Both teams found a hero in a running back that saved the season. Both teams had season saving winning streaks. Both teams lost in heart breaking fashion in the last game of the season. Both teams won a bowl game in dramatic fashion against a Paul Johnson coached team. Finally, both teams will return a majority of the contributors going into the next season, including a quarterback coming off of another injury plagued season. In retrospect it's fun to see how some things run in cycles like that. The similarities between these two teams and seasons are rather crazy.
There is one more similarity Ute fans should be hoping for. The magical 2008 season was setup by that 2007 season of ups and downs. The 2008 season was also the four year anniversary of the BCS busting 2004 team. In 2012 the program will be four years removed from the second BCS busting Utah team of 2008. Maybe this up and down season of 2011 is the calm before the storm like in 2007.
I guess we will have to wait for next year to find out.
Shane Roberts is a producer/writer for the U Fan Cast on TheUFanCast.com, a Utah-centric podcast that gives a voice to the fan. Twitter: @Shane_U_FanCast
