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Coming into the 2012 season, Cougar fans knew that there were four key games on their team’s schedule. Those four games were at Utah, at Boise State, Oregon State and at Notre Dame. Coming off a 2011 season when BYU won all the games that it was supposed to win and lost all its key games, Cougar fans knew that their team had to make some progress in those key games.
In those four games, BYU likely had to go at least 2-2 to have its season considered any better than last year. Instead, the Cougars have gone a disappointing 0-4 in those big games. This has been made even more frustrating by the fact that BYU was so close in three of the four games.
So with the Cougars having been so close to an 11-1 or even a 12-0 season, which loss was most frustrating for Cougar fans and why? I polled Cougar fans on social media and the following were some general results, but what’s your opinion?
Utah? This loss is always tough because it is the Cougars’ arch-rival, but this year was even harder because of how it happened. There was the two field goal attempts at the end, the fans rushing the field three times, the comeback from a 24-7 deficit in the fourth quarter.Not only was the way the loss happened frustrating, but the results of the loss were also frustrating to BYU fans. Because it was no longer undefeated, BYU was destined for the Poinsettia Bowl. Any hopes of a BCS bowl were out the window as soon as that end-over-end kick hit the left upright at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Boise State? The frustration around this loss was mostly to do with the way it happened. Most BYU fans felt going in that beating Boise State in Boise was going to be a very tall order, so they were pleased with the way their team competed.However, the Cougars’ offense was a gigantic source of frustration, especially Riley Nelson’s play. Not many people knew at the time that Nelson was hurt, so looking back on it, maybe that is less frustrating for Cougar fans. Those fans who I talked to on social media said that made things even more frustrating because they feel Bronco Mendenhall should have never played Nelson if he was hurt.
Cougar fans’ frustrations continue with their head coach because of the two-point conversion call late in the game. With the Cougars needing only an extra point to tie the game and probably send it into overtime, most Cougar fans believe that the decision to go for two was the wrong decision and that if the game went to overtime BYU would have won. Instead, the Cougars lost, 7-6.
Oregon State? This game was back and forth throughout the first half and through a good portion of the third quarter. The biggest source of frustration in this loss came from the fact that the game ended with a score of 42-24.The game was obviously much closer than the score indicated, and the Cougars were in it with a top 10 team.
Another bigger source of frustration in the Oregon State game was that the Cougar defense, which had been so strong up to that point, looked exposed. That was even more maddening when the offense finally started to perform better.
Notre Dame? Somehow Notre Dame was a 13-point favorite going into this game. If you ask me, easy money. In fact, before the game, I went so far as to say that BYU would win the game and for sure beat the spread because I didn’t believe Notre Dame would score 13 points in the game, never mind win by more than 13 points.
Clearly I was wrong on both accounts, but I was not far off. People were calling this a trap game, but it wasn’t. BYU is better than those people think, and Notre Dame simply isn’t as good as Vegas thinks. That is precisely what was so frustrating for Cougar fans.
This was BYU’s last great chance to win an important game, and the Cougars had it within their reach. They lead for a good portion of this game. BYU played a better game than Notre Dame, but the depth of talent on the opposing sideline was simply too much for the Cougars.
#poll
So it’s your turn. I want to hear from Cougar fans. Respond with your comment, which loss was the most frustrating to you and why? Was it Utah because it is BYU’s arch-rival and it ended any hope for a BCS bowl game yet again? Or was it Boise State because the offense played so poorly and the bad two-point conversion decision? Or was it Oregon State because the game was so much closer than the score and the defense underperformed? Or, finally, was it the Notre Dame game because BYU led for most of the game and outplayed a top-five team?
In the second part of our three-part series, I will look at Utah's frustrations with its 2-5 start.
For more opinion, bowl projections and rankings, go to BYUtahInsiders.com.
Trevor Amicone is the founder of byutahinsiders.com, which covers BYU, Utah and national college football with weekly polls, bowl projections, opinions and analysis. Follow its brand new Twitter page at @BYUtahInsiders and Trevor's at @TrevorAmicone.
