MeanGreen61

Football: Vizza has moments, mistakes 08:58 AM CDT on Sunday, September 30, 2007 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Freshman quarterback Giovanni Vizza knew coming into North Texas’ game against Arkansas on Saturday that he was going to get a chance to show what he could do in the Mean Green’s offense. For the second time this season, the freshman from San Antonio Alamo Heights had his moments and his mistakes. Vizza led UNT to its only touchdown of the night in a 66-7 loss to the Razorbacks, but also had an interception returned for a touchdown for the second time this season. “Giovanni is our backup and we would like to get him in because we burned his redshirt,” UNT head coach Todd Dodge said. “We went into this week and told Giovanni and Daniel that our plan was to play Giovanni the second quarter. We wanted to evaluate him. … We are not going to get in a merry-go-round. We are trying to evaluate our young one when we get a chance to.” The freshman from San Antonio Alamo Heights came on in relief of junior starter Daniel Meager and led the Mean Green on a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Vizza completed 4-of-5 passes on the drive for 42 yards and scored on a 1-yard plunge into the end zone. The drive proved to be one of the few offensive highlights of the night for the Mean Green on a night when both Meager and Vizza struggled to get UNT’s offense on track. The Mean Green finished with just 329 yards of total offense, a performance that marked a drop-off from its last two outings. UNT scored 31 points in a loss to SMU and 20 while dropping its last game to Florida Atlantic. Meager set a school record with 601 passing yards against SMU and followed up that performance with 301 yards against FAU. UNT was unable to convert those performances into wins partly because Meager threw three interceptions in each game. Dodge said he wanted to get Vizza time in the game against Arkansas to help his development, not because he lacked confidence in Meager. Vizz finished with 118 passing yards after completing 8-of-26 attempts, while Meager had 71 yards while completing 7-of-15 attempts. Arkansas defensive back Jerrell Norton returned a Vizza interception 100 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Vizza also had a pick returned for a touchdown against Oklahoma in the Mean Green’s season opener. UNT came into the night ranked fifth nationally with an average of 378.0 passing yards a game, but finished with just 189 yards against Arkansas. The performance was one wide receiver Brandon Jackson said was due to more than just the performance of UNT’s quarterbacks. “The receiving corps was not executing well at all tonight,” Jackson said. “A lot of it had to do with the environment and the intensity of Arkansas defense. Give the Razorbacks credit for coming prepared, as we were most definitely not.” BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

Brett Vito: Dodge: UNT has no QB controversy 08:48 AM CDT on Monday, October 1, 2007 Brett Vito To review, here is what we know about North Texas: The Mean Green is 0-4, has two quarterbacks who play and no quarterback controversy in sight. At least that was the party line after UNT played Daniel Meager and Giovanni Vizza in its 66-7 landslide loss to Arkansas on Saturday. Meager started for the fourth straight game, gave way to Vizza in the second quarter as part of a planned switch, came back in the third quarter and was replaced again in the fourth quarter. “We told both Giovanni and Daniel that we would play Giovanni the second quarter. We just wanted to evaluate him,” Dodge said in the post-game postmortem. “We thought he did some good things. Daniel played again in the third quarter. We are not going to get into a merry-go-round. We are just trying to evaluate our young one when we get a chance to.” There is a feeling in football that if a team has two quarterbacks, it really doesn’t have one at all. One has to wonder if that isn’t the case at this point for UNT. Meager has done some wonderful things this season after making the adjustment to the spread passing game following three years learning to drive the bus in former head coach Darrell Dickey’s run-first scheme. He threw for a school record 601 yards in a loss to SMU and 301 in a loss to Florida Atlantic. He has also thrown eight interceptions and made a host of critical mistakes. Meager is the starter, but it isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement when the head coach gives the entire second quarter to a freshman to get a better idea of what he can do in the fourth game of the season. The door is obviously open for Vizza, who had done just enough to keep it open without walking through. The former San Antonio Alamo Heights standout led UNT to a touchdown in its season opener against Oklahoma and led the Mean Green to its only points against Arkansas, capping an 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The only problem is Vizza is making just enough mistakes to keep him from claiming the starting job. Vizza had his second interception returned for a touchdown this season when Jerrell Norton added insult to injury by returning an ill-advised pass 100 yards for a touchdown in the final minute of Saturday’s game. Oklahoma defensive back Nic Harris returned another pass from Vizza for a touchdown. Vizza completed just 8-of-26 passes for 118 yards and wasn’t made available for comment after the game. Meager made an appearance at the post-game presser and said rotating didn’t affect him. This is something Meager is used to, having gone through the same process for the last two seasons. There have been great moments for Meager during that time, but Saturday’s game was not one of them. Meager completed just 7-of-15 passes for 71 yards and was sacked twice. It was a performance that will only keep the calls for Vizza coming among UNT’s fans. “We just didn’t execute. They are a good team,” Meager said of Arkansas. “When you play teams like them, you have to be sharp.” Meager wasn’t as sharp as he was in games earlier this season. Vizza was better, but not by much on a night when the Mean Green rolled both players in and out without much success. A lot of the credit for that performance goes to Arkansas, which came in desperate for a win after losing its first two Southeastern Conference games. UNT needed something positive from its game against Arkansas just as badly, but didn’t get it, despite trying both of its options at quarterback on a night when the evaluation continued. Just don’t call it a quarterback controversy. BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

No way I'm off the Dodge bandwagon, but I am concerned about Mendoza and what's happening on defense.

If NT doesn't beat a winless ull team, doubt if you'll see many "thousands" at the ULM game.

Wonder what the Vegas odds would be on Mendoza's defensive scheme holding ANYONE to less than 30 points this season ?

ull, loser of all including to a 1AA, opens as a 9 point favorite in Vegas. Vegas Insider http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/las-vegas/

AMEN !

Don't know how this happened, but Howell has NT as a 2.5 favorite over ull.

PATHETIC is the only way to describe the defense. #113 Rushing Defense #115 Passing Defense #119 Total Defense #119 Scoring Defense

I'm sure that TD regrets ever saying that "defense would be the strength of the team". I know it's only 4 games, but to me, Mendoza's defensive schemes just ain't workin'.

Absolutely correct. IMHO a lot of the fault for our defensive problems rests squarely with the defensive coaches.

27,774 in attendance for the ASU vs Memphis game. Great figures for a 6PM start on Thursday nite ! Congrats to A State !

The Sports Network DATE & TIME: Saturday, September 29th, 7:00 p.m. (et) FACTS & STATS: Site: Razorback Stadium (72,000) -- Fayetteville, Arkansas. Television: Local. Home Record: North Texas 0-1, Arkansas 1-1. Away Record: North Texas 0-2, Arkansas 0-1. Neutral Record: North Texas 0-0, Arkansas 0-0. Conference Record: North Texas 0-1, Arkansas 0-2. Series Record: Arkansas leads, 8-0. GAME NOTES: The Arkansas Razorbacks have not gotten off to the start that they envisioned, and they will take a break from the brutal SEC schedule to take on North Texas on Saturday. North Texas is still in search of its first victory under new head coach Todd Dodge. The Mean Green fell to 0-3 with a 30-20 home loss to Florida Atlantic last Saturday. Particularly frustrating is the fact that the club has held 14-point leads in each of the last two games but has been unable to hold on for victory. Arkansas beat Troy in non-conference action to open the season, but the Razorbacks have since suffered back-to-back losses, both to league foes. After suffering a three-point loss to Alabama, the Hogs were handed a 42-29 loss by Kentucky in front of the home crowd last weekend. The upcoming schedule is quite favorable, as Arkansas has a chance to turn things around in a hurry. Arkansas has won all eight series meetings with North Texas. North Texas is scoring 20.3 ppg this season, a modest average by most standards. The running game has been non-existent, accounting for just 64.0 ypg and 2.4 ypc. Of the seven offensive touchdowns that the team has scored, only two have come on the ground. As for the passing attack, it is generating a staggering 378.0 ypg, but nine interceptions have clearly hurt the Mean Green. Daniel Meager has taken the majority of snaps for coach Dodge, and he has completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 1,010 yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers are strong, but seven interceptions does raise concern. The best of the receivers has been Casey Fitzgerald, an undersized junior who has made 35 grabs for 542 yards and three touchdowns. Tailback Jamario Thomas, who led the nation in rushing as a freshman, is now a senior and needs more touches for this offense to be successful. Despite 466 total yards last weekend against Florida Atlantic, North Texas managed only 20 points. The most obvious reason is that the Mean Green suffered three interceptions. The Mean Green have been one of the worst defensive teams in the nation thus far, as they are yielding 51.3 ppg and 536.0 total ypg. The run defense has been poor, surrendering 12 touchdowns and 5.0 ypc. Unfortunately, the pass defense has been equally as bad if not worse, as foes are racking up 359.3 ypg through the air while averaging 14.2 yards per connection. It is blatantly obvious that big plays can be made against this team. Aaron Weathers leads North Texas with 24 total tackles, but the Mean Green lack a major defensive playmaker. Last weekend, the club surrendered 406 yards and 30 points to Florida Atlantic. The Mean Green yielded 15.2 yards per pass completion, including a 74-yard touchdown pass that proved to be the difference. The best football player in the nation plays for Arkansas, as tailback Darren McFadden is once against a major contender for the Heisman Trophy. McFadden leads the nation in rushing with 173.0 ypg and ranks third in all-purpose yards with 222.67 per game. He has run for four touchdowns and thrown one. McFadden's backup, Felix Jones, could start for almost any other team in the nation. He has rushed for 358 yards while averaging a staggering 8.9 ypc. A special teams phenom, Jones has also returned a pair of kickoffs for scores thus far. Through three outings, Arkansas is scoring 37.7 ppg while racking up 484.0 total ypg. The ground attack has been unstoppable as expected, accounting for 329.7 ypg and 6.4 ypc. Quarterback Casey Dick has completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes, and he is considered the weak link by most opponents. McFadden had a 56-yard touchdown run against Kentucky, and Jones returned a kickoff 82 yards for a score. Unfortunately, Dick threw a pair of interceptions that proved costly. Arkansas is giving up 36.3 ppg and 420.3 total ypg, numbers that need to be improved in a hurry. The Razorbacks have yielded 13 touchdowns to opposing offenses in three games, and they have shown weakness against the run and the pass. Arkansas has posted seven takeaways, a strong number, but the club's total of four sacks needs to be improved. Weston Dacus leads the Razorbacks with 19 total tackles, while Matt Hewitt and Michael Grant are second with 17 stops apiece. Against Kentucky last weekend, Arkansas surrendered three touchdowns in the final eight minutes of the clash, ruining what had been a solid defensive performance up to that point. There is no reason that this game should be close. Arkansas is clearly disappointed over the losses it has suffered, and the Razorbacks will likely take out their frustration on the Mean Green. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Arkansas 50, North Texas 13

SUN BELT PREDICTIONS http://cfn.scout.com/2/651730.html

North Texas (0-3) at Arkansas (1-2) 7:00 PM Why to watch: And now comes the relaxing portion of the Arkansas program. After two straight rough losses, coming against Alabama and Kentucky, to kick off the SEC season 0-2, the Razorbacks get two weeks off against North Texas and Chattanooga before diving back into SEC play against Auburn. North Texas, losers of five in a row, might not be that great, but it has an interesting, wide-open passing offense that'll bomb away and keep pressing late into the game. Why North Texas might win: Bombs away. It might not always be pretty, and it might not always be efficient, but the Mean Green throws, and throws, and throws some more. The Arkansas secondary hasn't exactly been tight so far, especially late in the two losses. Without much of a pass rush, UNT QB Daniel Meager should be able to have time he didn't have in the first few weeks. He'll throw it 50+ times and could generate a few late scores. Why Arkansas might win: The Mean Green defense hasn't even been close. Forgetting the bombing by Oklahoma, UNT has been ripped apart by SMU and Florida Atlantic, although those came against the pass. If the Hogs were ever going to stretch their legs a bit and try to generate some sort of balance, this would be the time. The Mean Green defensive front will be shoved around at will, and Darren McFadden and Felix Jones should be able to tear off big runs any time they want to. Who to watch: How much does Arkansas want to push McFadden for the Heisman? You'll know if the star keeps getting the ball in the second half of what's certain to be a blowout. Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray ran for five touchdowns in the opener, and McFadden could pad the stats if given the chance. However, games like this are scheduled to work on the finer points, and Arkansas has to use it to get Casey Dick and the passing game going. Dick her completed a mere 35 of 71 passes, and is coming off an ugly 13 of 28 performance with two interceptions against Kentucky. What will happen: Arkansas will end this by the early second quarter, but Meager will end up throwing for 400 yards. CFN Prediction: Arkansas 58 ... North Texas 20... Line: Arkansas -36

Arkansas 51 North Texas 13 Other Sun Belt Predictions Arkansas State 25 Memphis 24 Kentucky 45 FLorida Atlantic 17 UCF 38 UL-Lafayette 18 Middle Tennessee 28 Florida International 11 Troy 37 UL-Monroe 22 Bowling Green 21 Western Kentucky 17 Harmon Forecast http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/8820391

stymes@intcomm.net

Mean Green couldn't adjust to blitzes 12:11 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer Florida Atlantic head coach Howard Schnellenberger decided he had seen enough of North Texas' offense, and quarterback Daniel Meager playing in a comfort zone, at halftime of Saturday's game at Fouts Field. FAU came after Meager and the Mean Green with abandon in the second half, a change in philosophy that Schnellenberger and UNT head coach Todd Dodge said was perhaps the biggest factor in FAU's 30-20 win at Fouts Field. The loss dropped the Mean Green to 0-3 on the season. "We decided we were going to be a little more reckless," Schnellenberger said Monday during the Sun Belt's weekly conference call. "They were able to go back, plant and throw the ball in the first half. They looked like they were out for a Sunday stroll. We crowded them and blitzed them a little more and were able to get them out of their rhythm." The Mean Green scored 17 points in the first half and racked up 313 yards of total offense. Thomas Moreland kicked a field goal in the third quarter for UNT before FAU rattled off 20 unanswered points to pull away for the win. UNT's second-half performance against FAU was its worst in terms of scoring in a half since it was shut out in the first half of its season opener at nationally ranked Oklahoma. "We had one of our most effective drives of the game to start the second half, but stayed behind the chains on our next four possessions," Dodge said. "Florida Atlantic also did a good job of not giving up the big play in the passing game." UNT turned the ball over twice, went three-and-out twice and missed a field goal after scoring its only points of the second half. The Owls posted two of their three sacks after halftime, when UNT was also flagged for a costly clipping penalty. "They absolutely got more pressure on us in the second half," Dodge said. "When you break down each sack, we had one where we didn't get rid of the ball in time, another that we just got beaten and one where we were beaten when we didn’t adjust to a twist by a defensive lineman." [uNT still learning how to close] UNT is still in the process of learning to close out games, Dodge said Monday, just two days after his team failed to capitalize on its opportunities for a win in the second half for the second consecutive time this season. The Mean Green blew a 10-point lead in its 30-20 loss to FAU and surrendered 14 points in the last five minutes of a 45-31 loss to SMU on Sept. 8. "We put ourselves in the hunt in the fourth quarter the last two weeks and didn't finish the deal," Dodge said. "Our players have to start seeing us have success." UNT made a series of key mistakes in the second half against FAU, including having its second blocked punt on the night and giving up what proved to be the biggest play of the game. FAU scored the game-winning touchdown on a 74-yard pass from quarterback Rusty Smith to wide receiver Cortez Gent with 8:04 left in the fourth quarter. [Dodge: Punt blocks came on missed blocks] Both of the punts UNT had blocked in its loss to FAU were the result of missed assignments in the Mean Green's protection scheme, Dodge said Monday. FAU defensive back Tarvoris Hill blocked a punt in the second quarter to set up the Owls at the UNT 18-yard line for their first touchdown of the game. Wide receiver Wilfred Rivera blocked a second punt in the fourth quarter. The Owls took over at the UNT 17-yard line and iced the game a short time later with a 7-yard touchdown run by DiIvory Edgecomb. Schnellenberger said that FAU didn’t see any weakness in the Mean Green's protection scheme before the game. "We just spent more time with our special teams to shake us out of our doldrums," Schnellenberger said. "We worked on every aspect of our special teams. We got a lot done with our punt block and punt return teams." BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

North Texas … Now that the new offense is in place, UNT can't lose the passing battle. Florida Atlantic was able to outpass the Mean Green 322 yards to 301, while the running game didn't work outside of a big run from Jamario Thomas. A positive overall sign was the play of the run defense that did a decent job throughout, but to start winning, there can't be three interceptions in critical times, and Daniel Meager has to get more yards after the catch from his receivers. 301 yards on 61 pass attempts isn't going to get it done in this offense. SUN BELT ROUNDUP http://cfn.scout.com/2/682449.html

INSIDE SLANT Just when North Texas (0-3, 0-1 Sun Belt) looked to be on the verge of an upset, special teams play and a stalled offense led to a 30-20 home loss in its conference opener against Florida Atlantic. The Mean Green had two punts blocked and gained less than 30 yards in the fourth quarter. UNT also squandered a 10-point third-quarter lead. "Any time you have a turnover or a blocked punt, it gives the other team the potential to score," junior quarterback Daniel Meager told the Denton Record-Chronicle. "It makes it a lot easier for them to score when they don't have far to go." UNT had two interceptions in the end zone, which might have made the biggest difference in the game, along with the special teams miscues. "We had two interceptions in the end zone that really hurt our momentum," first-year coach Todd Dodge told the Denton Record-Chronicle. "I thought if we could have converted some of those opportunities it might have been a different result." UNT's passing game continued to rack up big numbers, but unfortunately, the breakdowns in special teams and turnovers were too much to overcome. UNT has a most difficult test on Sept. 29 when it plays at Arkansas, which is coming off back-to-back tough losses to Alabama and Kentucky. NOTES, QUOTES —UNT had two punts blocked against Florida Atlantic. Punter Truman Spencer had gone 142 punts and 33 consecutive games without a block. GAME BALL GOES TO: RB Jamario Thomas — The senior, who led the nation in rushing as a true freshman, has struggled since with injuries. However, he had 121 yards rushing, scored a touchdown and averaged 6.4 yards a carry against Florida Atlantic. KEEP AN EYE ON: WR Korey Washington — The sophomore had six receptions against Florida Atlantic. Casey Fitzgerald and Brandon Jackson had 10 each, but Washington's emergence will make the offense better. QUOTE TO NOTE: "When you are a competitor as our coaches and players are, for 24 hours it is devastating. We felt really good about preparation and our kids' focus. I liked their focus before the game. This hurts." — Coach Todd Dodge. STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL LOOKING GOOD: UNT is moving the ball effectively with the passing game, and the running game had its best output of the season against Florida Atlantic. WRs Casey Fitzgerald and Brandon Jackson — The junior and senior have combined for 62 receptions in three games. DB Aaron Weathers — The Mean Green are not a good defensive football team, but the senior, a former all-conference player, has performed well. STILL NEEDS SOME WORK: QB Daniel Meager — The junior has thrown for more than 900 yards the last two weeks, but he threw three interceptions against Florida Atlantic. —UNT's special teams proved most costly against Florida Atlantic as the Mean Green had two punts blocked. —The Mean Green offensive line needs to continue to get better in all phases, particularly protecting quarterback Daniel Meager. ROSTER REPORT: Sophomore OL Robert Peachy (hamstring) returned to the starting lineup last week. Senior OL Josh Alexander (knee) is out for the season. Backup LB Bryant Seidle (shoulder) is likely out for the season.

Just some interesting stat stuff from the NCAA site. Meager is 99 of 152 for 1,010 yards, but has only 4 TD's against 7 INT's. Horrible ratio. UNT is #90 on 3rd down conversions making 16 of 47 for only 34 %. About a 1 in 3 ratio. Not so hot. UNT ranks #59 in time of posession at 29.44 minutes per game. 4 Sun Belt teams plus WKU have a better time of posession. Discipline ? UNT ranks #103 in penalties with 27 for 164 yards in 3 games and #58 in average penalties per game with 9 for 54.67 yards. UNT ranks #5 in passing offense, #34 in total offense, but #97 in scoring offense.

5 Thoughts - Don't Think, Just Throw CollegeFootballNews.com Posted Sep 23, 2007 If you could average over 600 yards and 50 points per game, wouldn't you want to? Then why aren't Texas Tech's Mike Leach and Hawaii's June Jones hotter coaching properties? Hart for Heisman, the wacky first four weeks, jumping on the Buckeye bandwagon, and more, in the latest 5 Thought Don't think, just throw ! Peter Fiutek 1. We've all been brainwashed since berth that defense wins championships, and that you must have a good, sound running game to have any shot at being successful in football. Yes, that's fine, but the idea is to score the most points possible. With that in mind, it's time for one of the big-time programs to rethink things a little bit and realize that Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach, or Hawaii head man June Jones, could actually be on to something. I know, I know, the teams with the wacky passing attacks took a hit last week. That's glossing over the overall point. Right now, if you told Tennessee it could be second in the nation in total offense, averaging 606 yards per game (it's currently 48th in the nation averaging 418 yards per game), and could average 49.5 points per game (15 more a game than it's currently cranking out), you'd think it'd want that. Texas Tech is putting up those numbers. If you said to Florida State it could be averaging 55.75 points and 543 yards per game (like Hawaii currently is), don't you think it'd want to? Of course, the numbers are a bit skewed, since Hawaii and Texas Tech haven't played the teams Tennessee and Florida State have, but you get the idea. It's also important to note that programs like Baylor and Arizona haven't exactly lit the world on fire by copying Texas Tech, but that's Baylor and Arizona. I'm wondering what would happen (no offense, TTechers) if a big, BIG name program had Leach as the head coach. I'm wondering what would happen if you could get an elite of the elite recruit to run the offense, and more Michael Crabtrees to catch the passes. I'm wondering how this whole thing would work if Leach or Jones were at a place that wakes up in the morning and gets a boatload of top-flight defensive talent knocking on the recruiting door. I'm not saying Virginia Tech should replace Frank Beamer, but pair the Texas Tech offense, assuming it's coached properly, with the Hokie defense, and you'd have an unstoppable machine. Yards are yards, points are points, and offense is offense. A passing yard counts the same as a rushing yard. It's time one of the top teams, once the fur starts flying and the coaching carousel begins, to think outside the spread box and take a look at Leach or Jones. If nothing else, it would be a whole bunch of fun. COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS FIVE THOUGHTS http://cfn.scout.com/2/683036.html

Football prepares for home opener Dodge ready to test offense on conference foes Richard White Issue date: 9/21/07 After enduring two losses on the road followed by a bye week, the Todd Dodge football era will make its first impression in Denton with the Mean Green home opener against Florida Atlantic University at 6 p.m., Saturday at Fouts Field. "Everyone is jazzed up," said senior linebacker Maurice Holman. "With the last two weeks we got that sour taste in our mouths and somebody's got to pay for it, so why not at home?" NT is 55-19-2 all-time in home openers and 41-12-2 in home openers at Fouts Field. This game will carry more weight than the previous two since it ushers in conference play. NT (0-2) is 4-2 in conference openers, but is 0-3 versus FAU (2-1). However, FAU has hardly dominated NT. The Owls won 17-16 in 2006, 26-23 in 2005 and 20-13 in 2004. After a blowout loss to the University of Oklahoma in Norman to start the season, NT lost to Southern Methodist University in Dallas. NT did set several offensive school records against the Mustangs, which Dodge has stressed that his players remember. "We're just trying to carry over from the SMU game," Dodge said. "Seventy-five to eighty percent of what we did offensively during the SMU game was very good and we're just trying to build on that and limit our unforced errors." While the passing game has recently soared to new heights never before seen in school history, the running game has yet to make any impact. Dodge, who favors the passing game, said the opponents will dictate how NT's offense produces throughout the season. "We're an offense that's going to take what they give us," Dodge said. "If we can throw for 601 yards, then I don't know that we need a rushing game. But we're going to have to run the ball better; there is no doubt about that. It's one of those deals where it's all about moving the chains, whether we do it with the run or the pass." Junior quarterback Daniel Meager and his many receivers might find trouble connecting against FAU's stout defense. The Owls rank second in the conference in scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense. NT players said they are trying to improve week to week. "I'm trying to get better every week," said senior receiver Brandon Jackson who had 133 yards and one touchdown against SMU. "I expect to be better than I was in the SMU game." Defensively, NT has struggled considerably this season. Whereas FAU excels in defense, NT ranks last in scoring defense and total defense. Improving on its own poor tackling has been a constant fixture for NT lately. "We did so much tackling in our bye week that we should be tackle pros, a tackling machine," Holman said. "We put in some new stuff this week, so we're going to jump on them early like we did SMU, but hold on." Another poor defensive showing will cost NT since FAU leads the conference in passing efficiency, led by quarterback Rusty Smith's 783 passing yards and seven touchdowns. By rotating several players into the game, Dodge said he is hoping the defense will finally find its niche this weekend. "The biggest thing we had to address is our tackling," Dodge said. "We'd like to play 16 or 17 people on the defensive side of the ball every game. I think we're at our best when we do that by keeping fresh legs."

Subsequent article a few weeks later....... they changed their mind(s) and decided to go ahead and play.

GAME BALL a blog by Richard White Richard White Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: OPINION Hi, Richard White here. I'm the Mean Green football beat writer for the North Texas Daily. This blog is a place for you, the NT student, fan, alumni, faculty or staff (any sports fan) to give me your thoughts on what you think about the football team and other sports. If you don't like NT sports, then spread your venom elsewhere. This is not a place to cause trouble or talk about how other university programs deserve more credit. Yes, NT has several strong, deep programs such as the music department, but this is a sports blog, so keep your comments on topic. If you don't like sports, then why are you here on this site? Criticism is fine, as long as it's constructive. Vulgar or obscene comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. With that being said, let's dive into the 2007 Mean Green football season. LINK http://media.www.ntdaily.com/media/storage...l-2960510.shtml