At least by one analytical formula, BYU and Utah had their cake — providing entertaining football — and ate it, too — winning a lot — during the 2021 season.
Both programs enjoyed a healthy amount of success during the season, as Utah finished the year 10-4, ranked No. 12 in the final Associated Press poll and as Pac-12 champions.
The Cougars, meanwhile, went 10-3, were 6-1 against Power Five opponents and finished the year ranked No. 19.
But did they make the process fun?
Twitter user CFBNumbers shared some unique formulas to calculate what they termed the “fun index,” “which just combines stats I think make for interesting viewing.” Both BYU and Utah fared particularly well on the offensive side of the ball.
CFBNumbers explains how the offensive “fun index” was calculated:
The Sun Belt’s Coastal Carolina — Cougar fans remember them well from their 2020 matchup — was the winner here. Both BYU and Utah, though, fared among the nation’s best on the offensive chart, along with other programs like Ohio State, Ole Miss and Oklahoma.
Perhaps that helps explains the entertainment value of this year’s Rose Bowl between Utah and Ohio State, which tied for the second-most watched college bowl game of the season.
Note: Utah State, which went 11-3, won the Mountain West championship and finished the year ranked No. 24, rated high on the winning percentage while being more middle of the pack on the fun scale, offensive-wise.
Then, CFBNumbers went further, creating a formula to determine a combined offensive and defensive fun index, as explained in the body of the tweet.
Here, Utah takes a leap over BYU, particularly from a defensive fun index standpoint. Utah State also benefited from having a stronger defensive fun index rating, the highest among Utah schools.
One final step was then added to determine the most fun teams from 2021: CFBNumbers created a net fun index.
The takeaway? Utah was the clear winner — the Utes finished with the No. 7 overall net fun index rating — though BYU, and Utah State to a lesser extent, had their strengths on the fun metric.
And the No. 1 team on the net fun index rating? None other than this year’s national champion, Georgia.