This year's win over the yucks alone makes it a better year than 2014. Rivalry games are huge. The win over ASU in 2014? Excellent in the moment, but relatively meaningless over the season as it turned out to be a fluke (as were many of the upsets under the previous coach) instead of an indicator that the team was going places.
2014 was also Mannion's last year and I (and many others) were wondering what we were going to do now. We were hoping that the coach at the time would turn the front-runner for the position into a Pac 12 caliber QB. That coach had an outstanding track record of doing so, but new QBs in his system usually took a year or two to adjust and it was unlikely that the frontrunner QB, who later transferred, would be ready to go at a high level as only a sophomore under the old coach's system. The tools around that coach were also somewhat bleak: Bolden was a receiver we were hoping would improve. Mullaney had not yet proven himself and at that point could be fairly labeled injury prone. None of the RBs looked like 1000 yard-rusher types and TE Hamlett was graduating (although at that point, there was high hopes for C. Smith). All in all, it looked like we were going to take a step back on offense. James Pensyl as our lone recruit at QB at the time the previous coach left did not inspire a lot of confidence in the offensive future, either (although I did look up Pensly and discovered that he went 2-for-2 this year in limited action).
We were also losing chunks of our playmakers on defense, including DBs Nelson and Murphy, LBs Doctor, Alexander and Johsnson, and DLs Wynn, Hautau and Delva. Wynn was a big loss and Hautau and Delva were solid contributors. At the time, our D was, as per usual, relying on smoke and mirrors to a great extent at the DT position, especially when depth was considered.
And let's be frank: it is questionable whether the DC at the time was keeping up with the current trends on the offensive side of the ball.
All in all, that 5-7 record, which ended with blowout losses to the hated yucks and huskies, left little room for hope in the upcoming year, especially considering the talent that was leaving. It looked like a rebuilding year for 2015. Rebuilding off a 5-7 year? Not a lot of roses and sunshine ahead...
Contrast that with this year when we have one less win but finished the season strong and a solid win over the green slime that spews forth from Eugene. We have a QB who got better and better as the season wore on and he was given first string reps. We have a beast at RB and at least capable, if not more, as backups. WR has some talent and the recruiting is looking good at that position. OL is a question mark, but injuries have increased experience there at least for some depth.
Our D had a lot of first year players this year and also improved as the year progressed. It looks like Aydon and Vakameilalo can actually work as the nose on the odd front and some guys emerged at the end spots as well. Out of necessity, a lot of guys on D got a lot of playing time this year and that will help at depth in the end.
All in all, the team got better as the year progressed and the players look hungry for more. I think things are looking up, which also makes this year a whole lot better than 2014.