Everything I don't like about this team seems to be temporary, personnel-based. Everything I love seems likely to be permanent.

I don't like that we have a porous run defense (though not always). But it's better when we have our best nose tackle in the game, and Kalani is an excellent line and linebacker recruiter. I expect the porous run d to improve, as it has everywhere Sitake has gone.

I don't like that our quarterback makes questionable decisions with the football, has trouble with accuracy, and has lost a great deal of mobility. But he's a senior and has five games left to play. His backup--although unlikely to be the miracle-worker he's currently lauded as--is very good and likely to get better, and he's a sophomore, and should be better-suited to the new offense.

I love that our defense turns the ball over. The first couple of games, you can put that down to luck, early-season jitters, what have you. But BYU creates turnovers now in ways it never has before, with most of those turnovers being created on the edges as a matter of philosophy--aggressive stripping, jumping routes, etc. I expect this to be part of a permanent defensive attitude.

I love that the team doesn't seem to care about the odds or the score. They just keep playing and keep the game close enough to have a chance to win. That's attitude and coaching, and seems likely to be permanent.

I love that we make defensive adjustments, on the fly, in the game. We've seen this a lot, where the opposition moves the football really well early and then...just...can't. It isn't as if all of a sudden a late busload of defenders showed up. Those are adjustments to tactics, and it seems obvious to me that Sitake is very good at this, or that his staff is, or both. That, again, is a permanent thing.

I don't like that our coaching staff is so green, and makes what look like boneheaded mistakes, and has a team created for a different system. All that will go away. Or seems like it will.

I do like that the staff and the team try things that probably won't work. To me, that's part of the fun of the game. Learning when to do so, and getting the people that can execute the crazy stuff to great effect, is a work in progress. But being WILLING to is, I hope, permanent.

I'm not a temporary fan. I'm permanent. And I think the signs are pointing to better things to come.