Rating the optimism in 2013

It’s a little bit hard to rate how optimistic or pessimistic fans are, because such ratings are not objective.  But I’m going to give it a shot.  Feel free to comment.

Utah State—Highly Optimistic

Utah State fans are the most optimistic in Utah this year.  Why not, Chuckie is coming back and so is most of the defense.  Gary Anderson left the program in good shape.  Matt Wells seems to have a good head on his shoulders.  For the first time in 60 years, the Aggies are in a good conference.  There is no reason for much pessimism in Logan.

In fact, there are more reasons to be optimistic than this.  The schedule favors the Aggies.  They have BYU and Boise State in Logan.  The Mountain West Mountain has their share of cream puffs, and they are at the end of the season.  If the Aggies can beat BYU, Boise State and San Jose State, there is little to stop them from smelling roses, and all they have to do is put up a good showing against USC.  Yes, there is plenty of optimism in Logan.

BYU—Cautiously Optimistic

BYU fans are approaching the season with a little more cautious optimism.  They finally have a good November schedule that is a little challenging, even if they do still have an FCS opponent at home in the 11^th month.  But there is plenty to be concerned about as well.

Last year, there is no way to put this mildly, the offense stunk.  The defense played well enough to give BYU another 10-win season, but the offense failed to put the points on the board.  The offense was so bad last year, that Bronco Mendenhall hired someone he basically fired two years prior.  Is there any reason for hope?  There is still a pretty good defense coming back.  The offense doesn’t need Jim McMahon numbers to win; they just need to score a few more points.  It remains to be seen if Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams can click or if someone other than Cody Hoffman can catch the ball.

Southern Utah—Semi Optimistic

In Southern Utah, there should be good reason for optimism.  Ed Lamb returns the same defense from last season.  That is both good news and bad news.  Brad Sorensen is getting a chance to play for the Chargers, and it remains to be seen if he can be replaced.  The defense in 2012 was not as consistent as they needed to be and the Thunderbirds lost a couple of games they should have won.  Perhaps the 2013 defense will be better and this will be the year it all comes together and SUU fans will finally get to play in the post season.

The so-called experts, however are a little more optimistic.  Most expect the T-Birds to be on the cusp of the post-season.  There are 4-more playoff spots and only one more automatic qualifier.  SUU could finish the conference at #5, and with a couple of “weaker” FBS opponents on the schedule in South Alabama and Washington State, the door is open.  There is a reason to be optimistic in Cedar City

Utah-Semi Pessimistic

There isn’t a lot of optimism on the Hill this year.  There is not really talk of a conference championship.  Some are even saying that this could be coach Whit’s last season.  I don’t think it will be that bad.  But those who say that Utah won’t win more than 4-5 games this year could be right.  But as long as the fans keep coming to the games, Whit will get at least one more season.  With the expectations not-so-high, there is no reason for Whit’s seat to be hot.  Many are already looking forward to 2014. 

There are some reasons for optimism on the Hill.  First, they have owned BYU the past few seasons, and that rivalry still matters to the fans.  A big win over the Cougars could turn into big momentum for the conference season.  They have Dennis Ericson tutoring Brian Johnson.  That should help develop the offense.  By the end of the season, when the weaker PAC-12 opponents are on the schedule, if there is a shot at a bowl, the Utes should grab it.

Weber State--Pessimistic

Jody Sears promised to double the number of wins from 2012.  Most in Ogden that I have spoken to are not optimistic that is even possible.  The schedule is not kind to the Wildcats.  There is only one non-conference game that is really winnable, and that is iffy.  And the Cats get four out of the top five Big Sky Conference teams this year in Montana, Montana State, Cal Poly and Southern Utah.  There is inexperience at quarterback and on the offensive line.  And the biggest offensive threat for the ‘Cats is just returning from and LDS Mission.  If people in Ogden are pessimistic about the season, there is good reason for it.

However, there is a little reason for optimism.  Weber State did manage to get Robin Pflugrad on the coaching staff.  He had a lot of success in Missoula before he was made a scapegoat for certain off-the-field problems and run out of town.  It could be that the 2012 season was the anomaly and the 2013 season will be more like the Ron McBride years where the Cats will at least put together a winning season.  After all, a lot of stuff happened between the 2011 season and 2012 season.  All one can do when expectations are low, however, is beat them.