With a fourth straight bowl berth on the line, the Mustangs faced what they considered a must-win game against Rice. But they hardly seemed up to the challenge and certainly did not look bowl worthy in a 36-14 loss in Houston.

After their mistake-laden defeat, the Mustangs (5-6, 4-3 C-USA) must beat the best team in Conference USA to become bowl eligible and avoid a losing season, as they host Tulsa on Saturday.

"We came here expecting this to be our sixth win, our bowl berth," SMU senior linebacker Taylor Reed said. "We've got to get over it real quick because we've got the No. 1 team."

The Mustangs have talked a lot about rebounding. Their longest winning streak has been two games.

Two things working in their favor heading to the regular-season finale...

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