CaribbeanGreen

Not exactly. What made you jump to this conclusion? A little defensive, are we? Scroll up. It took a few posts for someone else to find out what I was referring to. Don't get the tone here. I stand by what I said. Don't know what I've said to cause such animosity and scrutiny from you. Never said I don't have confidence in the staff or that I'm excited as ever It's okay to be critical and have opinions, especially when you have concrete things to point to. You don't think Dodge is more critical than any one of us??? GMG - Beat SMU. Please.

Tech passed for 250 in the first half alone. Harrell was something like 23/26. No excuses. We should compete with this team.

Bear in mind this is supposed to be a very "down" year for Tech, starting multiple freshman on the OL (which DOMINATED), a reworked version of an already troubled defense, and losing Robert Johnson, Joel Filani, and Jarrett Hicks (all three top WRs).... and that was utter domination on every level... no excuses next week. everything i've read says TT should finish "only ahead of Baylor" in the south, and Leach "will struggle to keep the long streak of 7 wins and a bowl game in tact".... I may or may not agree, but that's the national perception. SMU put thousands of dollars and all the effort they could into making this their "statement game" at home on national TV, with an honest chance to win -- and got blown off the field in dramatic fashion.

Tech is full of underclassmen, and they're moving the ball essentially at will through the air. Harrell is on pace to for 500 at the half. SMU is getting next to nothing by way of pressure, and their coverage seems beyond soft. On offense, the Ponies only halfway decent weapon so far had been DeMyron Martin. Bear in mind the Tech defense was bad last year, and supposedly even more questionable this year... Willis looks to have happy feet like DM usually shows... Oh, and even some of the SMU COACHES are wearing the "Pony up" hats... which is a little unstable.

Agreed 100%. No one is calling for "firings" (well, except maybe Playmaker), no one is any less excited or positive about the new era.... with that disclaimer out of the way, sitting back in base Cover 1 the whole game against far superior athletes, to me, illustrated a "we're not going to win this, so let's just play our base stuff and get some experience" attitude from the defense. There didn't appear to be any defensive gameplanning or adjustments to be had. I understand there's a big learning curve with the staff, and yes, this was OU -- who out-athleted us at every position. But don't you adjust for that? Don't you play soft on the WRs and give a lot of safety help? Yeah, we probably still get killed, but maybe we don't get the worst trouncing of anyone in the nation, and maybe we see some in-game adjustments. I know there was a prevailing thought going into this game that OU would come out and run, run, run... we all said they might not even HAVE to pass. New, freshman QB, loaded at RB, etc... so, when they came out and opened it up, threw for 350 yards in THE FIRST HALF, yeah, it caught everybody by surprise. At some point, though, it seems like you can adjust some coverages, change SOMETHING. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about - I fully recognize that possibility. But what concerns me the most is the quotes from the OU players before the game -- upon scouting SLC's film, saying that Mendoza just ran a bunch of straight up, base man to man, just a "you get that guy, i'll get this guy" defense, and that it wouldn't work on this level. Then, game time rolls around, this huge "opportunity game" with 1AAs and low-mid majors around the country and in the Belt making noise, and we do... EXACTLY THAT. That's what concerns the heck out of me. We either werent really trying to gameplan OU at all because we were resigned to our fate, or that's all we've got. I hope it's the former. That being said, yes, I have confidence, no, I'm not blindly knee-jerking. Just putting out an opinion. It may actually be a positive that next week SMU will throw out all these 5-wide sets that force the defense to do some different things. I agree with everyone else... next week, the athletes are comparable. No excuses on the hilltop.

Utterly and completely ineffective. Much like the last two years.

no one has said they don't believe in Dodge, they don't believe in this team, they're not excited about the future.... just that they're mad about being humiliated on national TV to an extent even NT wasn't familiar with. I don't think that's inappropriate. I believe in Dodge, I'm excited about the future, I'll be there this year and many more.... tonight SUCKED. Tonight infuriated and embarassed me. I expect more. Fair?

Hey, and if we do that, I'll be as happy as anyone. Right now, i'm F'n pissed. I'm embarassed and furious. And I have every right to be.

Hey, that's a great point!!! We shouldn't be pissed off in the moment at ALL about being down by half a hundred at halftime.... Unacceptable. To ANYONE. Sorry you disagree. I expected more. Remember all that "I didn't come here to lose!" crap??? We better see it in the 2nd half.

Okay. Whine away. You're right. Big nasty OU is so mean!! Waaah! Waaah! They need to kneel down!!!!

Waaaah! Waaaaah! You don't like it? TACKLE SOMEBODY. It's the freaking SECOND QUARTER. Good LORD! Remember, what was it said before this game??? "The defense is the strength of our team!" Okay. Show it.

Penalities. Confusion. Missed assignments. I'm okay with getting out-athleted. This, however, is unacceptable. This is an utter debacle.

Oh PLEASE. Shut the F up and quit whining. Did Lloyd Carr run it up on 1-AA App St? Is Texas running it up on freaking ASU?? Is Arkansas running it up on Troy??? No. They can actually walk on to a field and not humiliate themselves. HUMILIATE. Not a strong enough word, frankly. Worse than ANY Dickey debacle. Freaking admit it. Not close. SHAMEFUL. That's right.. what is it, a 3 year plan? A 4 year plan??? I guess we're the only ones who need that.

Spin it all you want. As big of a joke as any showing for the last 10 years. Humiliation.

undisciplined. penalties ahoy. worst defense i've ever seen. Meager looks like a 4-year old. So far, as bad a beating as we've ever taken.

it's on regular FSN... shouldn't be a problem..

Wow. I generally consider myself I pretty practical, realistic fan; especially when it comes to NT. For whatever reason, I'm really, REALLY charged up about tomorrow. I know what the result will probably be... but man, I've got these near-apolcalyptic visions of pure bliss dancing through my head, and I almost feel guilty about the fact I'm entertaining the possibility that there's even the tiniest chance to raise some hell up there. Or, maybe it's the two lines I just did off the cleaning lady's ass.

That thread has more posts from NT people than USU people. Giggle.

I think Kent St. was the favorite in the game... most everyone I saw picked them, anyway.. Probably why it's not a big story. ISU is supposed to be AWFUL.

Perfect.

Yeah, earlier in the hour, Norm said "we'll have Phil Bennett and HOPEFULLY Todd Dodge coming up" so I wonder if they're having trouble running him down...

He said it. He did a heck of a job with the whole interview. Can't say the same for a question or two, though.... "could SLC beat NT?" Jesus..

hopefully you guys can win one this year... you know, so you can have a new bell cow of excellence instead of under .500 Mizzou and all. I kid, I kid.

Could the target on SLC's back this season possibly get any bigger?

I agree with you entirely (was on staff at NTTV for 2+ years several years ago), but DO they really feature the music school?? I seldom hear any stuff by NT students/alums/faculty on KNTU, just general "out there" jazz. To me, if you're gonna do that, how about being more diverse, relevant college radio?