(10-20-2013 09:11 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote: (10-20-2013 02:03 PM)GoodOwl Wrote: Lets' just see what happens, I guess. To me, this Rice staff has shown they are very suspect at best as far as capability. The one area they seem to have improved on is depth in recruiting, which is a start, but it has taken 7 years to get this far. We'll see how the rest of the season's games go and I will note that this coaching staff has had a bit more success with in-conference USA end of season games than out of conference games at the start of the season against more traditional football name teams.
Until this Rice football coaching staff shows it can win a conference like C-usa or even a division, my pick is still Tulane for the West. I do hope I am wrong. As for your list of games above, the only ones that would garner much national interest are the Liberty Bowl game against an SEC also-ran (if Rice won C-usa and is not passed over by the Liberty selection committee) or Notre Dame next year. Until Rice, or any team from C-usa with aspirations of moving up makes consistent wins against name and ranked teams, the rest won't matter so much, at least not to the nation, unfortunately.
In your opinion, is there any game left this year that would be a "meaningful" win? If so, which one(s)?
Depends on what measuring stick one is using.
If one is a "homer" then every game is meaningful. If one takes a broader look as a fan of college football overall from a typical average random fan's standpoint, then none of the teams remaining on Rice's schedule this year is really worthy of note win or lose. Should Rice actually win CUSA and get selected by the Liberty bowl, it will still be against an SEC also-ran, so not a whole lot of national respect there.
The next big game on our schedule is 2014 against Notre Dame, from a college football fan standpoint. The next big game from a homer standpoint is next week vs UTEP.
To illustrate, Northern Illinois actually played in a BCS bowl last year, and they are still up against it trying to get respect from a lot of places this year, but at least they are ranked.
The conversation I imagine is one I've had with fans discussing college football in general many, many times over the last few decades (this conversation is probably typical for many other non-P5 schools as well):
Upbeat fan of Rice: "Hey fellas, Rice beat _______(insert appropriate directional school name) this week, and is now 5-2 in CUSA/WAC/whatever non-P5 conference comes next."
Typical College fan in the South: " Who cares? Talk to me when Rice beats someone in the top half of a real conference, or at least a team that is currently ranked this year."
UFoR: "But __________(insert excuses and qualifying statements here.)"
TCfiS: "Again, who cares? When's the last time Rice beat anyone like I've mentioned? I mean, Rice sure blew that A&M game this year, and A&M can't even defend AUBURN, let alone beat them, even without 6 defesive players who were suspended. Manziel is way overrated."
UFoR: "Sigh. You're right. How bout them Dawgs."
TCfiS: "The Dawgs? Heck, they STINK this year-they lost to Vanderbilt fer cryin' out loud! The Bulldogs need to FIRE their Head Coach Mark Richt because he's under-performing again. I mean, you can't lose more than 2 games in the SEC and expect to keep your job. Not unless you're a Mississippi team or Vanderbilt, anyways."
UFoR: "Sigh. Maybe Rice will compete someday."
TCfiS: "How come yer football team can't get a coach like yer baseball team does? At least that guy knows what he's doing. Baseball is the only sport Rice will ever be good in."
UFoR: "Unfortunately, I can't argue that for the moment."
