DENTON, Texas - I guess this is where I'm supposed to tell you all is well in Marshall football, that there are still seven games left and the conference championship remains out there for the taking.
The latter part is 100 percent correct. The Thundering Herd is only 0-1 in Conference USA play and remains in control of its destiny.
I can already hear you barking: "Yeah, go ahead and tell yourself that!"
Well, I'm not going to tell myself or anybody else that all is well in Marshall football. This is the grim truth: On Oct. 15 - this Saturday - the Herd still will be looking for its first win against an FBS opponent when Florida Atlantic arrives.
That's the FIFTEENTH of October. The 2014 Herd was already 6-0 by that date.
Even worse, the Herd hasn't gotten closer than 16 points to such an FBS foe. After its 38-21 loss Saturday to North Texas, the combined deficit is 91 points.
No longer can this Herd team get a pass for playing two "Power 5" opponents. More cruel reality: This Marshall team gave up 65 to a Mid-American Conference school (Akron), and lost by 17 to a program with one winning season in the last 11 (NT). Shoot, the Herd lost by 17 despite sacking quarterback Mason Fine six times, forcing two turnovers and getting a kickoff-return touchdown.
The Herd hasn't led a game in the last 219 minutes, 7 seconds. The late-game "pick-six" has turned into a weekly ritual.
The Herd is on its first four-game losing streak since 2008, when a promising season disintegrated into a 4-8 stinker down the stretch. This is becoming just as tough to watch.
So what the heck is going on?
Where would you like to start?
Let's go to the defense, because that appeared to be the most vulnerable side entering the season. As you may recall, the Herd lost two cornerbacks and a safety in the offseason, leaving an obvious area for offenses to exploit.
I can almost defend the defense. Of the 205 points scored against the Herd, 34 have come via non-offensive TDs - three interception returns, a fumble return and a blocked punt return. OK, so the Herd defense has truly given up 171 points in the last four weeks.
That's almost 43 points per game. Doesn't look that much better, does it? Oh, well.
At North Texas, I can argue the Herd defense played well enough to win until the Mean Green picked up a first down on a fake punt in the third quarter. The game was tied at 14 when punter Eric Keena began his rugby punt run-up, noticed acres and acres of open space and ran for 18 yards.
After getting sent back out, the MU defense went south. Five of the next nine NT plays went for double-digit yards, including Fine's 11-yard TD pass to Tyler Wilson and Jeffrey Wilson's 72-yard run for the go-ahead score.
The sad part was the Herd made a season-high 12 tackles for loss, including those six sacks. Gary Thompson (10 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery) would have made a good case for league player-of-the-week honors.
But at times, especially in that last quarter-plus, the Herd's front four was pushed around, and that showed in Mean Green's 252 rushing yards.
On special teams, the fake punt showed MU's lack of attention to detail. Rest assured there were containment responsibilities that were abandoned, leading to success on a fake that was not called.
(You've got to give it up to Keena. He not only fakes a punt on his own, he then draws a penalty for getting into a scuffle on the MU sidelines.)
Then there was Amareto Curraj missing two field goals in a 31-second span at the end of the first half. As expected, those are still an adventure - kicking controversy, anyone?
But for my money, the offense has been the most disappointing side.
In the first half at North Texas, the passing game looked as if it were stuck in the second week of spring drills. In the second half, it looked as if QB Chase Litton faced more pressure with each dropback.
That happens when you (a) play from behind and (b) can't run the football.
If you need some second-guessing of play calls, I'll oblige. For instance, I might have exploited the mismatch created by 6-foot-7 Michael Clark even more - he did have eight catches for 122 yards.
Then again, Clark might have been even more dangerous if Marshall had a credible run threat, which it didn't. The Herd's two tailbacks combined for just 40 yards on 20 carries, and Litton's five sacks left the team with a net of 13.
That's even lower than the 31 MU managed in its 49-28 loss last year at Western Kentucky. In that game, Litton did well to be sacked just three times, but lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions.
In both instances, the failure to run the ball was a product of the Herd offensive line losing in the trenches. In the case of Saturday's game, it's the most surprising and disappointing factor of all - run-blocking was supposed to be a Marshall strength, especially against what was a suspect Mean Green run defense.
At 7 p.m. Saturday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, the Herd (1-4, 0-1) gets a shot at a Florida Atlantic team that just lost to Charlotte. The Owls (1-5, 0-2) have the same number of wins vs. FBS opponents, zero.
I'll just leave it at that. Let's just say a homecoming loss wouldn't play well among the green-clads.