(11-18-2014 02:06 PM)mrbig Wrote:  Jeeze, it feels like half our threads devolve or evolve into the same discussion (the Marshall post-game thread and this thread bear a lot of similarities).

This season is still an incomplete. Marshall is very good. A closer loss would have felt less bad, but still wouldn't have felt good. The ODU loss is a big problem, discussed ad nauseum. But the season still boils down the the next 3 (presumably) games.

If Rice beats UTEP and LaTech, I will feel good about what the coaching staff accomplished this season. Not great (because of ODU), but good. Still steady progress.

If Rice wins one of the remaining games to end the regular season at 7-5 I will feel OK about the season. I will feel confident that Rice can maintain its current level, but not really expect that Rice can do what Marshall is currently doing.

If Rice loses both remaining games, that's a problem. But as discussed by others, its a problem that I'm not sure leads to any concrete changes (unless Rice is left out of the bowl picture).

Hard to speculate on how the presumed bowl matchup could affect my feelings. Obviously if the team goes 8-4 and beats a credible bowl opponent, "good" becomes "quite good." If the team goes 6-6 and loses to an unimpressive opponent, "problem" because "barf".