Based on the info below, the outside world's perception of the current team is not good, even though it is 4-1 and the program has won 5-straight bowl games. (I know. It is hard to believe!)
Tech’s average ranking is 78.75, placing it just at the top edge of the bottom 40% of FBS football at 39.4%. If Tech keeps winning, those numbers will go up. But as it stands now, Tech is viewed as a below average team in the opinion (or rating formula) of these organizations. The good news for sharky and the sunshine pumpers is that we can say Tech is the best of the worst based on these outside ratings.
No matter how your spin it, though, the opponents that Tech has defeated are not good teams. They are near or at the bottom of these lists, as is most of the future opponents. And from an objective standpoint, it does not matter how good Rice looked in its games, 0-5 is 0-5.
And as you can see, C-USA as a whole is not highly regarded. The leading C-USA team is barely in the top half of the rankings in only four of the polls, with an average ranking of 68. That is alarming.
This list is not in any particular order. It is based on the sites I already knew, followed by sites I found via Google.
College Football News
No. 109
The highest rated C-USA team is USM at 82.
https://collegefootballnews.com/2019...after-week-5/2
CBS Sports
No. 60
Tech is the highest rated C-USA team.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-fo...ports-ranking/
Athlon Sports
No. 87
The highest rated C-USA team is Marshall at 71.
https://athlonsports.com/college-foo...-rankings-2019
Mike DeSimone
No. 78
The highest rated C-USA team is Marshall at 70.
http://www.mikedesimone.com/top25.htm
Compughter Ratings
No. 67
The highest rated C-USA team is Southern Miss at 58.
http://www.compughterratings.com/FBS/rankings
USA Today
No. 63
Tech is the highest rated C-USA team
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...on/3812381002/
ESPN Power Index
No. 92
The highest rated C-USA team is FAU at 79.
http://www.espn.com/college-football...cs/teamratings
Realtime RPI
No. 74
The highest rated C-USA team is Southern Miss at 61.
http://realtimerpi.com/college_footb..._cusa_Men.html