Most people were expecting Pope to come in to a sort of bare cupboard with guys who weren't turning out, a lack of top talent, and a scholarship mess pushed years out from the previous staff that prevented him from being able to add guys right away. Most expected a really rough adjustment season.
Instead they've already shown that they can develop players and extract more out of them and light a fire under them and win games even without their star.

Anything more than that shouldn't matter because of the scenario that was very close to playing out. It could have and should have been much worse.