Let this be the last game...

[SWC75]

...in which we are pleasantly surprised that our team competed with someone. We get it. We have a good team. Steve Infante suggested to me that the term is not "moral victory" but "morale victory" because of the impact a competitive performance against a good team would have on the team's morale. There has never been anything wrong with this team's morale- they wouldn't have had these great comebacks on the road or the win over Clemson if they didn't didn't believe in themselves. As fans we've had all the confirmation we need that this is a good team.

We need two more wins to get to a bowl. We play two games at home that have been considered in the "winnable" column all year, even though both Wake Forest and Boston College had winning seasons and won bowl games last year and appear to be as good or better this year. We've got two road games against teams that were supposed to be powerhouses but have been disappointing in Florida State and Louisville. But they are still road games against Florida State and Louisville. None of these games will be easy and it will not be enough just to "compete". we've got to find a way to play more efficiently and not dig holes for ourselves. We can't assume that one opponent will be easier to beat than another. And patting ourselves on the back for a good effort will get accomplish nothing at this point.

Let's Go Orange!!!

 

[OrangeinBoston]

...in which we are pleasantly surprised that our team competed with someone. We get it. We have a good team. Steve Infante suggested to me that the term is not "moral victory" but "morale victory" because of the impact a competitive performance against a good team would have on the team's morale. There has never been anything wrong with this team's morale- they wouldn't have had these great comebacks on the road or the win over Clemson if they didn't didn't believe in themselves. As fans we've had all the confirmation we need that this is a good team.

We need two more wins to get to a bowl. We play two games at home that have been considered in the "winnable" column all year, even though both Wake Forest and Boston College had winning seasons and won bowl games last year and appear to be as good or better this year. We've got two road games against teams that were supposed to be powerhouses but have been disappointing in Florida State and Louisville. But they are still road games against Florida State and Louisville. None of these games will be easy and it will not be enough just to "compete". we've got to find a way to play more efficiently and not dig holes for ourselves. We can't assume that one opponent will be easier to beat than another. And patting ourselves on the back for a good effort will get accomplish nothing at this point.

Let's Go Orange!!!

Thank you. Could not have said it better.

 

[OrangeTarheel]

That makes me think maybe there should be a new bowl - the Moral Victory Bowl - which pits the two teams with the highest number of moral victories during the season.

The nice thing is this - there are no losers. It's a moral victory just to make it to the bowl game!

 

[TheCusian]

...in which we are pleasantly surprised that our team competed with someone. We get it. We have a good team. Steve Infante suggested to me that the term is not "moral victory" but "morale victory" because of the impact a competitive performance against a good team would have on the team's morale. There has never been anything wrong with this team's morale- they wouldn't have had these great comebacks on the road or the win over Clemson if they didn't didn't believe in themselves. As fans we've had all the confirmation we need that this is a good team.

We need two more wins to get to a bowl. We play two games at home that have been considered in the "winnable" column all year, even though both Wake Forest and Boston College had winning seasons and won bowl games last year and appear to be as good or better this year. We've got two road games against teams that were supposed to be powerhouses but have been disappointing in Florida State and Louisville. But they are still road games against Florida State and Louisville. None of these games will be easy and it will not be enough just to "compete". we've got to find a way to play more efficiently and not dig holes for ourselves. We can't assume that one opponent will be easier to beat than another. And patting ourselves on the back for a good effort will get accomplish nothing at this point.

Let's Go Orange!!!

I don't see it as "patting ourselves on the back for good effort" ... I see it as "did we get better? Are there signs that we are improving, even though we lost?" Obviously wins are the best barometer of that - but there is such a thing as a win where you play so horridly that the answer is "no we didn't get better. We're not improving - x got worse."

That's partly why I run the stats every week - I'm curious. Looking back at Pitt > Clemson > @Miami actually says more about the team than the two wins.

And based on the results on the scoreboard and in the stats - put me down as someone who says the trajectory gives me confidence that we can win any of the remaining games. We don't need to be happy with "just competing" - just happy that we will have a legitimately good chance of going bowling this season.

In the end, the metric we need to hit is 6 wins because the NCAA says so. But to discount any of the other signs of progress because we're afraid to be "ok" with a "moral victory" is missing out. It's ok to be encouraged by a performance even if the result is a loss.

 

[SWC75]

I don't see it as "patting ourselves on the back for good effort" ... I see it as "did we get better? Are there signs that we are improving, even though we lost?" Obviously wins are the best barometer of that - but there is such a thing as a win where you play so horridly that the answer is "no we didn't get better. We're not improving - x got worse."

That's partly why I run the stats every week - I'm curious. Looking back at Pitt > Clemson > @Miami actually says more about the team than the two wins.

And based on the results on the scoreboard and in the stats - put me down as someone who says the trajectory gives me confidence that we can win any of the remaining games. We don't need to be happy with "just competing" - just happy that we will have a legitimately good chance of going bowling this season.

In the end, the metric we need to hit is 6 wins because the NCAA says so. But to discount any of the other signs of progress because we're afraid to be "ok" with a "moral victory" is missing out. It's ok to be encouraged by a performance even if the result is a loss.

But with 4 wins and 4 games left, it's past time to be encouraged by a performance. We need the wins now.

 

[SmilinBob]

That makes me think maybe there should be a new bowl - the Moral Victory Bowl - which pits the two teams with the highest number of moral victories during the season.

The nice thing is this - there are no losers. It's a moral victory just to make it to the bowl game!

That would be a nice idea or how about an APR Bowl for the 2 teams with the best APR? Oops...forgot, academics has nothing to do with football regarding rewards only punishment.

 

[Halfmooncuse]

...in which we are pleasantly surprised that our team competed with someone. We get it. We have a good team. Steve Infante suggested to me that the term is not "moral victory" but "morale victory" because of the impact a competitive performance against a good team would have on the team's morale. There has never been anything wrong with this team's morale- they wouldn't have had these great comebacks on the road or the win over Clemson if they didn't didn't believe in themselves. As fans we've had all the confirmation we need that this is a good team.

We need two more wins to get to a bowl. We play two games at home that have been considered in the "winnable" column all year, even though both Wake Forest and Boston College had winning seasons and won bowl games last year and appear to be as good or better this year. We've got two road games against teams that were supposed to be powerhouses but have been disappointing in Florida State and Louisville. But they are still road games against Florida State and Louisville. None of these games will be easy and it will not be enough just to "compete". we've got to find a way to play more efficiently and not dig holes for ourselves. We can't assume that one opponent will be easier to beat than another. And patting ourselves on the back for a good effort will get accomplish nothing at this point.

Let's Go Orange!!!

I agree, les make the phrase " we have turned the corner" not acceptable on this board. Auto delete!

 

[TheCusian]

But with 4 wins and 4 games left, it's past time to be encouraged by a performance. We need the wins now.

I don’t understand why we can’t have both?

 

[SWC75]

I don’t understand why we can’t have both?

As long as it's both!