Two weeks or so ago, all the talk on here was how great our team was. There was a ton of talk about how we had a shot at making the playoffs and that that the program was rising fast.

Now, we have the worst program in the world. Fuente's a bum and we hope that Florida or Texas A&M can just take him off our hands.

Of course neither of these are really true. The fact is that reality hit us in the face over the last two weeks. Those who watched closely could see the reasons for concern. We didn't really have anyone that could make plays on their own. We lacked difference makers. The lack of depth on the defensive line is really starting to show itself as the season grinds on.

And today finally, our coaches didn't necessarily have their best game either. We had opportunities to win this game, but we didn't get it done. It doesn't mean we suck and that we're set to finish 7-6 now after a loss in the Crap.com Bowl. It's just that things are starting to even out after some solid wins over BC and WVU. But our 7-1 record was built mostly on wins over bad teams. Clemson outclassed us. Miami outclassed us. Neither are a shame to lose to (their battle in Charlotte will determine which one makes the playoffs... and IMO it's going to be Miami). As for GT, we finally ended up on the short end of a swing game.

All coaches make mistakes. And even had Fuente and co made the "right" calls, there's no guarantee that we actually win. Yes, today was disappointing. But those who truly looked at the situation objectively two years ago knew that THIS was going to be the toughest year of the Fuente era. We had a lot of talent last year, but we knew that a lot of that talent was going to be gone this year (and it is). JJ has the tools to be a good QB. But for one, he's a freshman. Second, he has VERY few weapons to work with. Third, the OL hasn't been stellar (the loss of Nijman has been more than noticeable).

And frankly, the defense just isn't as good as it was touted to be.... but that likely is in large part due to lack of depth. It's still a pretty good D, but elite it is not.

We still have a good chance to finish 9-3 (neither remaining team is as good as GT, the better team doesn't always win H2H). We have a good chance to go to a solid bowl. Win that and we're still looking at 10 wins. Even if we don't accomplish that, IMO we have mostly maximized a fairly bare cupboard. If you step back and look at the offense objectively, there are probably two guys we have starting that would start for half (or more) of the other teams in P5 (and IMO, while Cam is one of those two guys... he wouldn't be the #1 for many P5 teams).

The future is bright. This was always set to be a bit of a down year. But last year's fortunes and this year's very strong start seemed to get expectations out of whack. Now with two straight losses, there's some overcompensation going on. But we'll be OK. I'm still optimistic. And short of a 7-6 finish, I'll remain so no matter how the year finishes.