32 days to Cougar football: How did the New Mexico Bowl change your perception heading into 2014?

We all know what happened in the New Mexico Bowl. If you're like me, you've tried to forget it and move on to the next season. That isn't always easy though. My friend flew into Seattle from North Carolina for business last week. I met him at his hotel to hang out for a bit and go to a Mariners game. Within five minutes he mentioned he was watching the ESPN countdown of the best games of 2013 and re-watched the New Mexico Bowl. That game will just not go away.

It will, however, soon become a distant afterthought with the attention fully turning to the 2014 season. This isn't to rehash the bowl game and what happened, we've been there and done that. Instead, I'm curious to know how that game changed your state of Cougar football fandom heading into fall camp, if at all. Are you less optimistic because of that game? Is your season prediction a win or two less because of it? Do you think the bowl somehow fueled a new fire and the Cougars will be better for it?

I fall into the category of the non-impact. The bowl game is what it is. It took about two dozen things to happen for that result to occur. They did, obviously, but I'm not so sure it would break that way again in 10 tries. Before the bowl game I thought WSU would win between four and eight games in 2014 depending on the offensive line. Today, I still think the Cougars will win between four and eight games depending on the offensive line.

Was the New Mexico bowl a step back that will linger into 2014? Is it a non-factor? Has it changed your perception of the upcoming season at all?