Dear Expats readers, we love you too much to lie: in our six seasons of working with Rasputin, the volatile Russian soothsayer who has been predicting Razorback games for well over a century, we have never seen him as down as he was last Saturday night after the Game That Shall Not Be Mentioned. In fact, we were both extremely relieved and a little surprised that he made it through the immediate aftermath without causing any physical harm to himself or those around him.

Although we must cling to bright spots like this in such dark times, the reality is that his mood has not been good this week. No one on the staff here was brave enough to actually ask him for a forecast, but sure enough the following missive arrived at our office via a carrier pigeon this morning:

Is Rasputin's pessimism justified, or is there cause for more hope? Please vote in the poll below, and of course share any thoughts you have for us (as well as suggestions on how to coax him to leave our office) in the comments section.