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My o-man wants Dallas so we (hopefully/should) have a great group of fans in stands. Downtown Dallas on NY Eve could be pretty fun!

So all the high school kids who now get to play in Jerry World on a regular basis have no desire to play there in their college careers? Having never played in a bowl game before, one cannot be picky. DT 90 would prefer to play in the Cotton Bowl on New Years Day. You cannot be more traditional than that.

#90 Scoop and Scores during the bowl game.

Ponder this. I could only find four, count 'em, four CUSA wins over out of conference bowl eligible teams. UNT over Ball State 10 - 2 ....Clearly the best CUSA win. The other three: Tulsa over Colorado State 7 - 5 East Carolina over North Carolina 6 - 6 Tulane over La Monroe 6 - 6

Division 2 teams play us closer than we played BYU. We are A LOT closer to the bottom than the top, which is simply unacceptable.

Yeah I'm upset. Not from losing but from a lack of basic fundamentals such as running an actual offense, transition defense, and honestly a lack of effort at times. As I said earlier, whether it's coaching or players not responding it falls on the coach.

If that were the case, then the outcome of conf championship wouldn't impact the us or HOD. If it meant that, there would be no scenario where we wouldn't go to HOD. Rice wins goes to Liberty, Rice loses goes to Hawaii. BTW - not trying to be argumentative, just if I read it as is, it either doesn't make sense or isn't good for us if actually true.

Why do schools such as SMU, UTSA and Texas State not seem to have issues scheduling big teams yet we can't get them to visit Apogee? For example, why is the Iowa series two games in Iowa and not a 1 for 1 deal that you mentioned we would only be accepting?

Bluebonnet

If given a preference of bowl, I'd prefer a nice, mellow sativa over a couchlock indica. Oh, wrong era. Sorry.

HAHAHA...you just lost a crisp, lilly white $25 JD. Suck it and bring back Nolan!

I love that this is you arguing we should keep Benny.

WTF? So since a team sucks and the coach lives up to those sucky expectations its ok? Is that what your girlfriend tells people? Well I knew he sucked before we got together and he is right were I thought he was so its all good?

Elder Benford is working for the other team in this one...

I would love to have ULL in the league. I much prefer them to UAB......or Tulane for that matter.

So...ummm...Benford's still here. 'sup with that?

It's there to offset the hundreds of thousands of otherwise senseless bird deaths from the windmills.

Win the bowl game so that we can move on to things that really matter like uniforms and band entrances.

I was pretty hands off with Benford last year, because I just think there could have been numerous factors working against him, new head coach, new system, players loyal to JJ, players hoping Forest would've been hired, etc.., but this year is bringing my worst fears to the surface. I think Benford is one of those career assistants that every program needs because they are great recruiters. He obviously connects with his players, appears to be a pretty nice guy, but just isn't cut out to be the head coach. Good recruiters/assistants are the one's that really connect with the players and develop a relationship with them. Many times, their personalities tend to be along the lines of a "people pleaser" and they work hard to make everything right and avoid conflict. Playing for your best friend seems like a great deal because you know what you can get away with and don't always have to give your best effort, and your best friend may be hesitant to get in your face because they don't want to ruin a relationship. They want you to like them. This is great as a lead recruiter or an assistant, because, as a player, this is the person you can turn to when you need someone to listen, etc... Many highly successful head coaches have to have the ability to motivate their players and sometimes that means pushing a player to the point that the player doesn't like the coach. These coaches don't care if the player likes them, they want them to but it doesn't effect their job performance, because they will do what it takes to get the most out of a player. People pleasers have a difficult time kicking a player in the butt if it is needed. I was honestly scared of the best coach I ever played for. I was scared to disappoint him, scared to not do my best, scared to the point that I practiced with a 102 degree fever because I didn't want to tell him I didn't feel good. I grew to love this coach and respected him than any other coach I ever played for, but it took time. He appeared to honestly not care if we liked him or not at the time, because he utilized every means to make us successful, which his teams always were. I think Coach Mac is a great example of this personality. I think every player in that locker room respects Coach Mac and Coach Mac likes them, but you have to earn his respect by doing things the right way, not cutting corners, being good on the field and off, etc... If you can't become the player/person he envisions because you aren't willing to make that sacrifice, then you will be replaced. It doesn't mean he doesn't like you, but you didn't earn his respect. These are the coaches you will run through a brick wall for, because your respect for them instills a fear or attitude in you that you will do everything to never disappoint them. I don't know if Benford has that in him or not. He will recruit and sign great talent because he knows how to connect with his players and build a relationship immediately. He is good at becoming their best friend, the person that is always telling them how good they are and how great they can become, but can he flip that switch and kick their ass when needed? I think Vic Trilli was this way and Benford could be also. Neither seemed to be cut of the cloth of a Coach K, Roy Williams, Rick Majerus, Jim Boeheim, etc... that will never hestitate to get in a player's face when it is necessary. Hope I am wrong, and this is all speculation on my part, but this could be an issue. Just an opinion from a middle aged white guy with limited basketball skills.

Little late to the party but you guys knocking Fielder's health and eating habits should probably pay more attention to the fact that he literally never sits out a game. He's always been healthy and in the lineup since getting to the major leagues. Doesn't matter though, I can't support the Rangers now that they've traded all their white guys.

Guys, this game means little. Not many teams are going to play well there. Yes, the team looks like hell in the second half; but the game was over.

I would be ok with a poor shooting night where we missed a lot of open jumpers, but we look like a rec team with absolutely no offensive system.

I've held my hope and opinion on Benford waiting to give him time. Enough already - Failed. Not saying you win this game, but it should be competitive late. There are so many fundamental problems on both sides of the ball that either means he can't coach or the team won't respond. Either way, this falls on the coach.

I like to watch the game, not a running chat of the game. With the forum thread, I can go back and read what I missed and post.

I saw Mac use this same strategy last weekend to wear out the other team's offense. Look for a blocked punt for touchdown soon.

Dude, Mormons are weird.

Loved this, but didn't feel like starting a new thread. We have a great coach. #MeanGreen fan Chris Winans got to meet his favorite coach & take stadium tour today. #DreamComeTrue pic.twitter.com/E51MZD1x24 — Eric Capper (@Eric_Capper) December 3, 2013

Joe Nathan - Had two great years here but they don't need him anymore. They can save his salary requirements and give the closing job to Feliz, Soria or possibly Ogando though I think that's unlikely. Nathan is also up there in age. That's not to say he won't or can't have another good season or two or three but he didn't have much of a place here anymore. He was also used up quite a bit and some of that was in September. Gentry - Nice player that will serve a great purpose on any team but he was what he was...a nice 4th OF'er with a lot of intangibles. People forget he's already 30 yrs old. His upside has already been seen for the most part Long term he won't be a big loss. And the offseason is really far from over. This deal today may very well increases their chances of signing Shin Soo Choo and Nelly is still out there that can be signed as a DH/OF combo which I would so love Not sure why you would not be excited...were you not pleased with the Fielder acquisition? The team is better now than it was when the season ended and we haven't even reached winter meetings yet. All that said it was great seeing Kitten face for the last 3 years or so. Some say that Choice is ML ready now and could eventually be able to be an everyday corner OF'er. Change was needed and inevitable this off season. Being fresh and not stale is very important and I think the Rangers FO knows and realizes this.

8-4 in his 3rd year. Going to a bowl game. I'll trust in Mac and not worry about it.

Their (SMU) bowl? The Heart of Dallas bowl has nothing to do with SMU or the American Conference. Other than SMU alumni trying to influence the decision makers of the bowl committee, SMU has very little, if any, control over the HoD bowl.

If that is selfish, are we as a fanbase selfish when we clamor for a local bowl game that we can attend, when most of these players will probably never have another chance in their lives to visit Hawaii? Just asking the question, as I would also prefer Dallas.

Sometimes I think that UNT fans are so accustomed to failure, getting spurned, scorned, screwed, and Dodged, that they go crawling the web actively searching for the next letdown. We're going bowling. Period. It may not be Dallas, which would be a disappointment. It most definitely is not Memphis, which has already been a disappointment. But unless RV and Mac go all batshit insane LA Tech and turn down a bid, we're going bowling. Good lord, some of our fanbase would search for the catch on their wives giving them the standard birthday gift of steaks and a __. In both cases, we need to learn to just enjoy the ride.

"JD is probably too young to remember this,but I remember what Yu Darvish's granddaddy did to Pearl Harbor." Fake Nolan Ryan

You mean like our very own AD again blaming players on the podcast a couple of weeks ago? You will continue to see this mentality and our basketball program will continue to be dismantled.

Haha at least you're not tip toeing around what Rick basically just said.. Good stuff man

Glad I didn't cancel my plans to watch the game live. I watched most of it...we played well in the first half. Once the lead ballooned to about 24 I just fast forwarded to the end to see the final margin. Oh well...on to the next game.

No bid for North Texas. I sent them a email.

I doubt the ACC wants Uconn. Why would they go after UTEP? IF UTEP goes anywhere, it would be to the MWC, but they aren't exactly attractive. UTSA? Tap the brakes. Marshall could go, but they have more local teams than the American Airlines Conference. If their image does not improve, the few decent schools could get poached, but then couldn't CUSA, which has more name presteige poach a couple of schools back?

Hey, you guys lighten up on the logo. It is my all time favorite. I still have a couple of caps that have that one on it. They are nice wool caps and keep my little bald head warm during the winter. Isn't it nice that we don't all like the same thing ? The world would be a dull old place if we did.

Repeat after me children. "The players don't give effort" "We expected to lose...we are right where we wanted to be" "Johnny left the cupboard bare"

Too many A/S/L inquires when you were a kid?

That isn't how CUSA bowl agreements work. The conference works in tandem with all the bowls to try and seed the teams in their best slots. CUSA is losing the Liberty next year, and HoD is going to become their premier bowl. Not only that, but next year CUSA becomes the permanent host, while the opposing slot will rotate between B12/B10. CUSA has a huge incentive to make them very, very happy. Really the HOD comes down to Rice and NT this year. We have nine times the undergraduate enrollment they do, I am not sure how many alumni Rice has in DFW, but I would guess it is closer to 20x than to 10x more than they do. If Rice had beaten us, and was sitting at 10 wins, I would be worried. We just make too much sense for the HoD, they will want us, and CUSA will want to make their partnership with them as successful as possible.

I feel like too many people are letting the fan favorites thing get in the way of seeing why all these moves have been positive. I think they are setting up to get a big free agent outfielder. They already had speed but lack of big bats is what kept us out of the playoffs last year.

I see a lot of these posts about how DW may be THE ONE . Do I need to dig up the posts about BB when he transferred? People have short memories.

Guys, our two backups threw about 2% each - 4% total - of the total passes in all of our games. Baylor was a LOT further ahead in more games and their two back ups threw all of 11% of their total passes. Back ups don't get many reps in practices and they get even fewer reps in games unless the starter is injured. That is just the way it works. And once again it should be pointed out we are 8-4.

For Ranger logic, sure...but what if your aim is self-righteous indignation?

I still wonder at some of our math skills. You play a guaranteed away game and you are either going to have 5 home game seasons or pay for a game ala Idaho and Nicholls. I am in the minority but I had rather have a 5 game home season every other year and play a good team home and away series than buy games against fc teams.

I think the Alumni Pavilion is pretty cool, but what do I know? I was cut from a different cloth.

I'm an alumni of both schools, though I got my undergrad at UNT... being involved with both schools I would not say that SMU alums have more money, rather the school is better at getting money out of their alumni. SMU has a very strong connection with their alumni association, they wine us and dine us, and then out come our check books. I have always been a UNT football fan and make most home games, but that alumni center next to the stadium is a joke, its a tool shed with a bathroom, hardly anyone is ever in there. if you ask me, the school needs to turn the alumni center around on game day, make it a place that every alum wants to visit on game day, free drinks and food, shake hands with former players, and the check books will come out.