gangrene

I have to agree with your post. I shudder to think of what would happen should we get a replacement that does even worse. DD has had some success (tremendous success if you just look at SBC games only) and I'm willing to give him at least one more year. I'm not happy about these humiliating and embarrassing OOC losses but I'm sure, as bad as it is now...it could be worse. I will certainly not tolerate any such losses to SBC opponents because, despite what some had predicted in the pre-season, the other SBC teams have not shown drastic improvements in their OOC contests either. Right now that SMU game scares the hell out of me. I've been talking smack to SMU alumns for the last 3 years...

Given the conference we're in....YES. However, getting rid of DD does not assure us that we can find another coach to do any better. At least DD has a proven track record. I just wish we could see continuous improvement from one year to the next without having to take these giant steps backwards.

Well, I sort of think it's a dumb question too. But if we win again, then we won't likely see any changes (and no guaranteed change if we don't) and we'll just continue with the "business as usual" routine of getting pounded by OOC opponents and squeaking by the SBC because that's what keeps DD his job. We certainly can still win the SBC...I just don't know if that will get us the recognition many of us are seeking.

Frankly, there are several schools ranked ahead of us that I didn't even know they had football programs, like: North Dakota State South Dakota State Hampton Coastal Carolina And...surely we could beat William & Mary, Brown and Princeton???

ed #80 sort of bothers me. Ratings, by conference: SBC: and everyone in between:

Are the facilities as nice as this??? Indoor practice facilityTraining Room picture #1 Training Room picture #2Captain's Lounge Hall of ChampionsOutdoor Practice facility Academic Center for Athletes (the Squad Room looks very similar to this but I couldn't find a pic of it) Of course, I'm just kidding. I came across these pictures of the LSU facilities and....WOW!!! If we could have just 1/3 of what they have, the possibilities would seem endless.

I thought the biggest joke was from the Marshall fan discussing how UNT should still be considered a I-AA program. He also said that Troy still seems like a I-AA school....and then suggests that CUSA's best option would be Georgia Southern, which IS a I-AA school. I guess he's already forgotten about Marshall's days at the I-AA level...it wasn't THAT long ago.

I think all of you who never take off your green-tinted glasses need to read through that thread. Almost every post shuns UNT and some even suggest adding a 1-AA school over the Mean Green. You think our OOC losses don't hurt us?? Well, LaTech seems to be head and shoulders over us right now. I'm a little tired of the humiliation and being the best of the worst. This program has got to improve and we have to start winning some OOC games. Nobody outside of the SBC takes UNT football seriously...and why should they???

I agree...but stranger things have happened. MUTS kicked our butts up and down the field, yet we still managed to win the game. The person I really feel bad for is Patrick Cobbs. He was a top 5 - 10 RB two years ago and may have been drafted in the NFL as high as the third round....now I think he'll be lucky if he gets drafted at all. I also agree that one losing season isn't going to facilitate a change in the head coaching position, but it would put us one step closer. I like DD and I think he's a great guy. However, his coaching style leaves much to be desired. He only knows one style to play football and he doesn't seem to be recruiting the right players to fit his style. Heaven forbid he change or adapt his style to suit the talents of the players on the team.

This may sound like a silly topic, but I am serious. Would it benefit this program to win the SBC again and go to the NO Bowl with a 6-5 record?? I've already heard DD and numerous people on this forum comment about how we went 1-5 our first season in the SBC, and then won the conference. Well, I agree that was a great accomplishment...but do I want to repeat that every year?? HELL NO!!! Some teams actually turn down bowl offers when they have a poor record. I don't want us to do that, but it's a bit embarrassing to be the worst team to receive a bowl invite every year. Aside from that...it seems we are never going to get our expectations up as long as we keep squeaking our way by SBC opponents. I wonder if it would be better if we lost the remainder of our games this year...that may be the only way we'll ever see any changes. (Don't get me wrong...I'm not hoping for that.) Would everyone finally realize how seriously bad this team is if we went 2-10??? Or would we all just excuse it as having a young, inexperienced team?

I watched parts of it....that HAS to be a new NCAA record for the lowest scoring overtime game in history!!! I found myself pulling for the 1-7 FAU (sorry arktstfan) team and they were emotionally exhausted when that game finally ended.

Ok Statman...or is your real name Norm Hitzges....I give...you're just too good. I simply can't argue with those "straight facts" and I don't know why every college in the country was knocking down Bomar's door when they could have signed Meager. Maybe you should contact ESPN with your research and see if they'd be willing to do a story on the amazing similarities between Meager and Bomar...it would be great publicity for the Mean Green. Well, my question wasn't whether or not Meager could play as well as Bomar but that little statement says a lot. I think my grandmother is more knowledgeable about football than you are and she could play just as well as Bomar too if the situation was right.

Ok, I guess I have to post a rebuttal since you obviously missed by points. By the way, how do you figure you hit my four points anyway?? You gave no explanation on anything besides Meager's ability to run. #1 - I said Bomar is allowed to run - meaning his coaches give him permission to make the first down with his legs whenever his pass protection breaks down. If you had been reading posts here you may have noticed one that referenced how Meager was chewed out for running the ball in the 1st half of the Troy game. And yes, in fact, I had left before his TD run against Troy because I brought four guests to the game, one of which had never seen a football game before. They were sooo bored that I couldn't hold them hostage any longer than Troy's last field goal...I think there was about 3 minutes left on the game clock. #2 - As far as I know, you're not a college coach so you don't have to worry about the decision of whether or not to allow a RS Freshman to call audibles. I don't have to worry about that decision either but it is my opinion that a QB (regardless of experience) should be allowed to audible out of a play...oh let's say...when it's 1st and 10 and the defense has 8-9 in the box and the play call call from the sidelines is our typical hand-off up the middle. As far as audibling relates to this thread - I think the fact that Bomar is given that responsibility tells many stories. We already know he runs a more complex offense than UNT (anyone care to debate me on that one?) and he obviously has more things to think about each play than does Meager. Knowing that the QB has the ability to change the play also allows for better communication within the huddle. For example, a receiver notices his cover man limped off the field and sees a replacement that he can beat come in, he tells the QB to keep an eye on him because he can take the back-up DB. QB changes the play, WR receiver burns the DB and they score 6. This happens all the time (not with OU) but it happens so quickly that it can't be done from the sideline. #3 - I agree with Big Dawg on a few of his comments (however, I think some people are trying to say that Meager is equal to Bomar in athletic ability). My comment about Bomar playing in the Big XII is that, while he does have Big XII offensive talent supporting him, he also has to play against very talented Big XII defenses. I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I'd have to guess that the DBs and LBs Bomar faces on weekly basis are superior in athletic ability than the SBC defenses Meager faces. #4 - I guess this is four...Ben vs. Carr. Well, this is a similar point to #3, except that both QBs are supposed to have equal talent around them and face equal talent week in and week out. Would David Carr excel in Cowher's offense??? Would Bomar excel at UNT??? Would anyone trade Meager for Bomar if that was an option??? You don't have to answer that because it might cause the whole thread to be deleted...but it's certainly food for thought.

I honestly don't think it would matter if we were playing a defense that surrendered a per-game average of 20 yards rushing and 700 yards passing. Even if we had Matt Leinart as QB, we're still going to run the ball 90% of the plays. We're committed to the run because that's Dickey ball!!!

I agree wholeheartedly. And for every two of these kids we know about, I'm sure there are countless others out there that we're missing as well. While it's true our offensive gameplan won't excite many QBs, blocking for two national rushing champions ought to be an enticing situation for O lineman.

Just for the record...I'm not in favor of firing DD...especially with no clue as to who we'd possibly get as a replacement. Now if Lou Holtz or Barry Switzer, for example, were expressing interest in coaching the Mean Green, I'd have ten buyers for DD's house lined up in his front yard tomorrow. We all know that's not going to happen and DD's our man for now. However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't expect improvement from DD and his staff year over year. I certainly don't want to be content with starting every season 1-5 or even 2-4 and I expect 4 trips to a bowl game to result in better recruiting. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing all the excuses...we're young, they're more experienced, it's easier to recruit in Florida, etc, etc. It seems like DD accepts this mediocrity as much as some of our fans do. I want him to demand more from these players and stop babying them so much. Week after week, I hear DD accept responsibility for the team not being properly prepared....well, why is that the case??? Why can't he get our team prepared??? And the recruiting issue is a MAJOR problem. We're missing out on numerous kids every year because we're afraid a BCS school is going to steal them away. We have to understand that we have to work at least twice as hard as BCS schools to win recruits. We're not going to compete for 4 and 5 star recruits but we should be able to make a better case to some of these 3 star guys...especially when it comes down to starting at UNT vs. riding the pine for 4 years at Texas or OU.

Have you been talking with DD?? Because he basically said the same thing. So...are we supposed to be satisfied and content with starting every season 1-5 as long as we "turn the season around" by winning the SBC and getting beat in the NO Bowl???

I'd be most interested to see where we rank in the "good decision making" category...both by the coaching staff and players, broken out by team and individual statistics.

These Meager/Bomar comparisons really crack me up. It's sort of like comparing Ben Roethlisberger to David Carr. One has a great coach and supporting cast...the other doesn't. As I recall, Bomar was the number 1 ranked HS QB in the nation. He may never live up to his expectations, but when's the last time UNT had a #1 ranked player at any position?? Here are some more similarities: Both have former college QBs for offensive coordinators. Both have great RBs in their backfield. Both are RS Freshmen. Both have head coaches that won a national title, uh, I mean conference title. And here are some drastic differences: Bomar is allowed to run. Bomar is allowed to call audibles. Bomar doesn't play against SBC teams. Bomar has 741 passing yards.

If we get two T/Os inside their 20 and one inside their 40, then we just have move the ball deep into their territory two and a half times.

Well, I missed the coach's show last night and the posting of the feed on the 100.7 website looks to be lagging a few weeks. However, I did watch the feed for the media day following the Troy game and a few things DD said struck a nerve with me. He repeatedly mentioned that Meager is young and has only played 4 college games and is slowly learning the offense!!! My question is - what the Hell did he do last year?? I know he didn't play in any games, but why isn't he further along in our system?? Then DD compared this season to the 2002 season when Hall went down in the first game against UT. He talked about how Andrew Smith played as poorly as Meager is playing now, and pointed out that Smith improved dramatically in the last few games...suggesting that Meager would do the same. He defended Meager for throwing the interception on the attempt to JQ...basically saying JQ screwed up...so I'll have to forgive Meager for that pick...but I'll blame the coaching staff for a stupid play. He seemed very defensive and brash saying things like fans and media don't notice many of the improvements because they don't translate into statistical categories or show up on the scoreboard. Correct me if I'm wrong...but isn't the object of the game to score points...more points than the opponent and win the game?? Sure, I saw a few dropped passes where the receiver was wide open. I saw a perfectly-executed screen pass to the wide receiver in which the ball hit the turf five yards short. I saw a few good blocking schemes in which our bigger O-line got dominated and failed to net the desired results. I saw all these "improvements" but those don't translate into a good performance and I have to disagree with DD that the Troy game was best offensive gameplan of the year. Well, on second thought....maybe it was, but it still was far too inadequate. He also bragged about how we went 1-5 in our first SBC season, but then came back to win the conference and go to the NO Bowl...Darrell...that was acceptable THEN....it's NOT acceptable NOW!!! Why can't he understand that we expect better recruiting and better coaching so that we don't go through these same scenario every 4 years?? We will never be able to link UNT to that old cliche "reload, not rebuild" but we shouldn't have to start from scratch either. I don't want to bash the talent of our current roster but it certainly doesn't seem to be a drastic improvement from what were able to recruit at the D-II level. If it is, then stating that our coaching staff is inept is the understatement of the year. Our offensive schemes aren't rocket science. Why, after five games, are they still missing blocking assignments, running incorrect routes and committing so many penalties??? A first and goal from the 3-yard line...against FIU...and not scoring a TD??? That is UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!

I agree completely. Besides...I can just hear the excuses for losing WAC games...besides the typical "we've got a lot of young players" excuse we could add the following: we've got jetlag, Hawai'i has been a D-1 school for a LONG time and it's easier to recruit players to play in Hawai'i, we don't have the passing mentality to beat a WAC team, the travel expenses are killing our recruiting budget, etc, etc. The funny thing is...I would have to agree with most those...we are not geographically suited to play in the WAC and we would have much to lose and very little to gain. We need to get back to dominating the SBC and really separate ourselves from the rest of the league before we even think about being invited to another conference. So far this year, I'd have to say we're headed in the opposite direction.

Would those 15 points come by 5 Nick Bazaldua field goals??

I'll just give the abbreviated version. SBC is once again ranked below an AA conference (Big Sky) at 13. UNT chimes in at an astounding #146. The rest, in order by schedule: #99 MUTS #46 Tulsa #61 K-State #126 Troy #177 FIU #103 LaTech #5 LSU #154 LaLafayette #158 FAU #120 LaMonroe #124 ArkState

Las Vegas oddsmakers are in disagreement with CFN. LaTech is favored by 17.5 to 19.5 points. I'll set the over/under for our total number of points at 8.