COLLEGE FOOTBALL

End Zone: UT Rockets: 10-03

The Rockets, short of a deal with the devil, won't win the MAC title.

10/2/2013

UT doesn't look like a MAC title contender, doesn't have a record becoming of a MAC title contender, and is encountering a road to the MAC title game that last week escalated from difficult to doubtful.

The Rockets, short of a deal with the devil, won't win the MAC title. 

Another failed season, huh? No. Not yet anyway. UT's response to the first real adversity under coach Matt Campbell will write this season's narrative and will define the legacy left by the senior class and, to some degree, Campbell's coaching staff. 

UT has reached a state in which full success is measured only in league titles, so in that respect the Rockets came up short for the fourth year in a row. Or, more accurately, they will come up short unless they surpass Ball State and Northern Illinois in the West division. Odds of that happening: About 10 percent. 

Campbell's staff, who I think is doing a fine job, and the seniors, who I think have solid leadership, are on trial now. With stiff tests ahead in Navy, Bowling Green, and Northern Illinois, the possibility of a 6-6 season exists. 

There is a fine line between failing to attain a goal and being a failure. Campbell's team has a choice to make.

Contact Ryan Autullo at: rautullo@theblade.com, 419-724-6160 or on Twitter @AutulloBlade.