(09-01-2021 10:35 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  The idea that Rice can compete with P5 schools is laughable. That ship sailed a long time ago for all G5 schools. Sure, there is an occasional blip like UCF, Houston or Boise State, but those require a perfect confluence of things, and even those don't last for long. And Rice, with so many institutional barriers, has no chance.

The talent gap is too large. The NFL does not care where you play college football - that league just wants talent. In the 2021 NFL draft, 87 of the first 100 players were from P5 schools.

Rice should concentrate on being successful at its own level, and regard these non-conference games as opportunities to improve. Of course, to win a game like the one against Arkansas, one must take a few chances. Bloomgren, however, seems 100% risk-averse.

I agree that it would be unreasonable to expect Rice to play an 8 game SEC schedule with its current roster.

It’s absolutely possible for Rice to win a single game against a P5 team, however. Arkansas has lost to two C-USA teams in the last five years. Yes, I do think their program is on the upswing, but they’re not a heavyweight yet.

The fact that we don’t even appear to be trying to win is unacceptable.