gangrene

Couldn't have recapped it better myself.

Well, that's great news!! Is this state-wide recruit also from the area...thus being the same person?? Or are we talking about two different individuals?? And why would he not list UNT as a possibility?? Did the UNT coaches make him swear to secrecy out of fear some other school would come along and sway him to their university??

Well, I don't know if all TEN (I mis-counted on my previous post) of those guys were considering Tulsa prior to getting our ass kicked by them or not...so yes, I was really wondering if any of those kids were swayed toward TU because they handed us our collective asses on a platter. For just once, it would be nice to open up the Sports page and see one or two of the area top 100 (it could even be 99 and 100) considering UNT. I mean, seriously...what are teams like Arkansas State, SFA, NMSU and LaTech doing that we're not?? I know Duke and Indiana play in better conferences than the SBC but shouldn't we be able to recruit players considering those schools?? Duke has 4 prospects interested in them and Indiana has 2. Two years ago you hardly saw anyone considering UTEP. Now, after one winning season, they've managed to change conferences and have 12 recruits considering them. We're not even in the same recruiting category as SMU either...there are 14 (Area Top 100) players that list SMU as a possibility...and I'm sure that number will increase after their come-from-behind victory over UAB. What exactly is our recruiting strategy?? Wait until after signing day and try to get best of what's left??

...it's about the only ratings source that includes UNT. Sorry if the formatting is confusing, but I only pasted what I felt was the most important info from spreadsheet. The Sagarin ratings have been around since 1985 and I think he must still be using that same 1985 computer!! ELO-CHESS and PREDICTOR ratings are also included. 12 SUN BELT (A) = 58.77 58.66 ( 12) TEAMS= 8 College Football 2005 thru Saturday, October 8, 2005 SAGARIN RATING |W - L | ELO-CHESS | PREDICTOR # 110 Arkansas State | 2 - 3 | 60.54 #114 | 62.91 #109 #114 Troy |2 - 3 | 67.43 #79 | 54.74 #145 #117 Middle Tennessee |1 - 3 | 63.00 #98 | 58.16 #128 #124 Louisiana-Monroe |2 - 4 | 63.06 #97 | 54.27 #147 #125 Florida Atlantic |1 - 5 | 59.88 #119| 57.42 #132 #142 Louisiana-Lafayette |1 - 4 | 56.83 #129| 53.41 #150 #147 North Texas |1 - 3 | 62.69 #103| 45.87 #188 #151 Fla. International |1 - 3 | 58.21 #123| 49.73 #173 ____________________________________________________________________

Colorado is ranked #24 in this week's AP and USA Today polls.

Wouldn't it be ironic if SMU makes it to the New Orleans Bowl this year, but we don't??

While we're on the subject of recruiting, I noticed in today's DMN that 8 of the area's top 100 have either committed or indicated interest in attending Tulsa. Makes me wonder if our Tulsa game helped them out more than us. I also noticed two recruits listed Arkansas State as possibilities. As usual, no one listed UNT.

I understand what you are saying here but that move was all about life after college football. Mack had to play Simms to get him exposure for NFL scouts, even though he wasn't the most talented QB on the team. I don't understand all this crap about our coaching philosophy either. Although I can't remember one making positive yards, Bomar is even allowed to call audilbles. If Meager was truly told not to run and the reason is because coaches are fearful he'll get hurt, then what the hell is doing back there anyway?? This is college football. College QBs run the ball. From everything I've read the last few days, it sounds like Meager's head is so full of the crap he is not allowed to do that he can't relax and utilize his natural talent and intuition. Instead of insisting he NOT run the ball, maybe they should work on ways to help him avoid a big hit??

Uuuuhhhh........no.

Well, that statement really explains a lot to me. I thought he could have gained several yards on a similar play in the second half but he hesitated when the hole opened, turned around and ran the other direction. Based on your comment it makes perfect sense now.

That depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Missouri and USC have rotated QBs most recently but the most successful rotation in relation to winning games that I can recall would be Nebraska, when they rotated Brooks Berringer and Tommy Frazier. They were successful because each possessed a different set of skills. Brooks was the better passing threat and Frazier was the runner. While Phillips needs some real game experience, rotating QBs would be more detrimental to this team than sticking with Meager. I would like to see Phillips receive more playing team for the purpose of competing for the full-time starting QB position.

Good post. I completely agree with what you said about our RB situation. There's no doubt that each of our great RBs have tremendous ability, but I think they cannot get into a rhythm when they keep getting rotated. It takes time from the O-line and RB to learn each other and to gel together. JT and PC have two different running styles and read downfield blocks differently. While it would really suck for one back to be relegated to back-up duty, I think it would be beneficial to the team in the long run.

While that's true, not everyone is capable of performing in live-game situations the same way they perform in practice. Plumm - First of all, questioning whether or not I myself "ever played the game" has very little to do with my ability to determine performance and I take that as a personal attack. One of the best college coaches for QBs right now is Mike Leach and he never played college ball. That being said, it is the knowledge I received from playing the game that allows me to recognize all the many problems Meager is having. 1. He telegraphs every pass, never taking his eye off of the intended receiver. That makes it very easy for a DB to bait him and then step in front of the receiver for a pick. 2. He can't throw on the run. Anytime he rolls out of the pocket, you can expect the ball to be bounced or thrown behind the receiver. 3. His decision-making ability is horrendous and he has trouble reading defenses. I completely disagree with your theory that "if 2 or more of his passes were caught the other night..." because he had sooo many passes that were off the mark and uncatchable. Besides, that DD has said that Phillips would continue to see "playing time" but did not define how much. By any definition, playing time means at least one play. My point in starting this poll was curiosity about how others feel. Meager threw two interceptions and the blame for both lies predominantly on his shoulders. As far as what you read in Dave Campbell's...maybe Meager is faster than Phillips but I don't think this team really needs a running QB. We need someone who can complete a few passes down the field and take some pressure off the O-line and running game. I know I've been very boisterous on my criticism of Meager, but I've seen some positive things from him as well. That pass to Stickler was on the money and, despite the fact that Stickler had difficulty judging the ball, that's a pass a D-1 receiver has to make. However, a few good passes a game does not make a great QB. It's all the other things I see that lead me to believe someone else needs to be given a chance. Perhaps Meager WILL be better next year and it should be at that time he gets back on the field. Meager should count his blessings that he has the full support of this coaching staff and fans like you, because at most other D-1 schools his butt would have already been benched. It's this constant babying, nursing and complacency at UNT that leaves me hopeless we will ever be able to rise above the level of mediocrity that currently exists. Yes, we have come a long way in the last five years but does that mean we need to rest on our laurels and let other schools move ahead of us??

DD has insisted all along that two QBs would see plenty of action this year. When it was thought that Byerly would be the starter, he said Meager would play as well. Now that Byerly is out of the picture, he's suggested that Phillips would start playing more, yet we've seen very little of him. Meager now has four games under his belt and only one of those games was against what I would consider to be superior competition. Some of you claim to see weekly improvement from Meager but I just can't agree. Phillips has had VERY limited playing time thus far but I've seen a lot of promise in this kid. My question is this: how much PT should Phillips get against FIU (i.e. 1Q, 4 series, etc) and when should he be put in the game (i.e. mop up time)???

Not only that, but Meager looked like he had no clue running the option on Tuesday night. I remember one play (I believe the RB went the wrong way) in which he could have easily turned up field and gained 5-7 yards but, instead, he freaked out because the RB went the wrong way. Meager turned around completely, ran about 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage and ended losing 3 or 4 yards on the play. He was obviously VERY uncomfortable trying to make the decision to run the ball. I can only imagine what might happen if he has to start deciding to make a pitch at the last minute. We're averaging enough turnovers as it is.

I'm very concerned about our running game too!!

Well, here's some hotel news: Hilton Hotel Chain Asks Evacuees to Leave

I think a lot do this too - Maybe because you read what you wrote a few more times?!?!?

Not unless you're offering me a place to stay in Vicksburg!! Thanks for the post though. I am curious to know what other MG fans are planning to do. 160 miles seems like a long way to drive after a game though...especially after a night game. I do have in my possession an LSU Gameday program from LSU vs. Arizona State game this year. It mentions an article on the Hurricane Katrina aftermath on the cover. I'll post if I find any useful information.

Ok, I just decided I'm going to the LSU game. I already have tickets but I'm wondering what the hotel availability is going to be like. I'm sure they still have lots of New Orleans evacuees in town and some of them may possibly be in hotels still. Anyone know the situation or plan to stay in another city near Baton Rouge?

I've seen enough high schools games this week, but maybe this one will have better coaching and offensive play than that one I saw on Tuesday night!!

That's great!! Is your son a QB by chance???

I liked one thing he said last night while he was in the broadcast booth. This is not an exact quote of what he said, but it was something like, "I'm glad to see that...a team needs to do that about 7 or 8 times a game." Those comments were made after the attempt to complete a long pass play to Brock Stickler.

Here are the positives I saw tonight: The concession prices were cheap and there was plenty of room in the endzone to serve as a table for my food and drink. Hayden Fry made a few comments that lead me to believe he could still be a winning coach at UNT. The tailgating smelled excellent...too bad I arrived too late to enjoy any. The uniforms looked good until the players sweat caused the colors to no longer match. The weather was nice. The PA speakers sounded awesome. The ESPN shot of our green-lighted fountain in front of the Administration building looked cool. Nobody decided to commit suicide with a homemade bomb. Our coaches never yelled, raised their voices at our players or otherwise exhibited emotional distress for making silly penalties...wait...IS that a good thing???

Have you gotten to the part yet where Craig James suggests that we suit up a flag football QB (that was playing intramurals) and let him replace Meager in the starting line-up?? It was at the start of the 4th quarter. Classic Craig James...maybe it will help us recruit a QB for next year. What high school QB wouldn't look at tonight's game and think he could step into the starting role immediately?? In fact, what flag football QB wouldn't think that??