I have a few thoughts on this. I was one that thought we didn’t meet expectations – I had a little too much koolaid and thought we could get to 8-4. Maybe some of the following are reasons why other thought we underachieved?
Struggle to go bowling – this was a big one for me. I felt we were a bowl eligible team all year, and didn’t think it would have to come down to the last game to get that. I’ve heard some coworkers of mine express the same feelings, so if I had to guess this would probably be a big one.
A athletic quarterback with high upside – we had a good quarterback this year and a good backup, we had confidence here for once and I think that got a lot of people excited.
Losing large amounts of games in a row – what did we lose, 5 in a row? I think it was tough for most to not feel a bit defeated during that stretch.
Overachieving culture – feels like we usually beat Vegas expectations, although I don’t know for sure if this is true. We play our best when no one else thinks we have a chance. Oh Vegas, only 5.5? See you at the end of the season with +1 or 2 more! If that makes sense.
Matt Gay – huge surprise. He was a big contributor. Makes it even sweeter that tds-p wanted nothing to do with him.
Troy Taylors previous success in year one – while not at the same level, he balled out at EWU his first year and I think some folks may have thought it would translate better. I really think we improved and learned a lot this year.
Big defensive contributors – Chase and Kylie ended up hurt a lot this year. Chase had previously been a bit more healthy and I wonder if people thought he’d stay that way.
Carrington – finally, a lock down #1 option. I would imagine people thought he’d stay healthy as well.
Running back – previous success and luck with our RBs translated to a lot of wins in the past and we learned that wasn’t always the case this year.
In summary, we got a bowl and that’s what matters. I think we saw a lot of upside and potential this year, and a lot of close games that could have gone our way but didn’t. That’s big-time college football and sometimes we all need a little reminder of what humble pie tastes like.
What do you think expectations will be next year?
Mississippi Valley State @ 
Utah 
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