Houston Football: 5 reasons why Cougars will struggle in 2017

1. There is no New Year’s Six game in store for Houston in 2017

That means that, for the second straight year, Houston is going to be just another Group of Five team traveling to a random December bowl game. For a team that fancies itself worthy of inclusion in the Power Five, that is possibly the greatest indignity after what will likely be a 10-win regular season.

That means that the Cougars will probably lay another egg in their bowl game. Unmotivated by another obscure exhibition game, Houston will treat their postseason as a vacation opportunity. The risk during the BCS era and into the College Football Playoff present has always been the diminution of bowls’ significance.

Even Group of Five teams are handed a target at which to aim by the system. Whether it was the BCS Buster benchmark of the previous system or the automatic bid awarded to the top mid-major champ by the CFP selection committee, the top Group of Five schools have a definitive goal.

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And Houston is going to stink enough to shoot wide of that target. Sure, they’ll hit 10 wins. They might even get an 11th if they can find enough motivation to get past their bowl opponent. But the Cougars will be left with a similar feeling as South Florida endured last year, where they might have the best record in the league but no championship to show for their troubles.