Objectively:
Eight wins in 11 games is better than eight losses in 11 games. However:
We've beaten two bowl eligible teams in Miami and FIU, and two with winning records, FIU and and FCS Eastern Kentucky.
In the games we have won we struggled against Miami, EKU, WKU, and FIU. The UTSA game was pretty poor from an offensive point of view, too. FIU was a decent team and was the best win of the year. That it was our last game means that hopefully we may be finally putting some things together. ODU and Charlotte were lopsided wins but against mediocre at best opponents.
USM is a hard place to play and we turn-overed it away. MTSU we lost at home with Thomson at QB. But that was the worst loss of the year and really put a stink on the season.
Beat VT and you still haven't beaten another team with a winning record, although it is a P5.
Finishing second in CUSA East with 18 starters back and a senior-laden team and a series of struggling wins over lackluster programs is naturally going to have some folks unhappy. Are they too unhappy? That is up to individual perception, but I can understand it.
It is what it is. 8 wins right now is quantity, not quality. Beat VT and a winning team in a bowl and they you'll have some quality.
Bottom line: This team and this coach have a chance to redeem themselves from the naysayers in the next month. Win the next two and they will have done that. Win ten, with our next two opponents, and I don't think anyone can say its a bad season even though it didn't end in a conference championship.