I think there were areas of regression, but I don't think it was overall regression as a team. More than anything, it was a season of missed opportunities. Slow starts and comebacks that came up short. Fast starts and blown leads. Special teams head scratchers. And after all of that, a bowl slipped through their fingers at literally the last second of the season.
It sucks that it came down to that. You mentioned some of the frustrating losses. CU by 3 in OT. Indiana by 7. Purdue by 4. Iowa by 3.
If we had managed to pull off wins in two of those games to finish 7-5, are we a dramatically better football team? The record would say yes, but the actual performance (not the victory but the action?) would have been about the same.
I've been reflecting a bit about last season, and I have been thinking that maybe we're not far off from being a reasonably good team. I keep thinking about giving up kickoff returns for TDs. Or how a generally nondescript guy like Kade Warner could have made a difference. Or how Mo Washington pissed away his career, leading to Robinson needing to carry more of the load than planned. Or Martinez missing a couple games and playing hurt much of the season.
Lots of things didn't go our way, but you also have to make your own luck sometimes. Hopefully some of the stupid stuff gets cleaned up, because we're not good enough to overcome it. One play can make a difference in a game.