MeanGreen61

We report......... you decide http://collegesportsinfo.com/blog/2005/10/...-rumblings.html

As stated I found it on the CUSA board. It was easy, but yes I'm retired. I'd sure enjoy it more if I were a lot younger

Interesting bowl overview from a thread on the CUSA board. Who's eligible, who's ineligible, who needs what to get there. Teams already eligible Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Texas Tech, Boston College, Oregon, Texas, UCLA, TCU, UGA, USC, Florida State, Wisconsin, Toledo, Cal, Ohio State, Miami, FL, Auburn, Colorado, Florida, UTEP, LSU, Michigan Teams already ineligible Temple, NM State, Buffalo, Duke, FAU, Army, FIU, Syracuse, Kent State, Ball State, SMU, Washington, Idaho, Rice, San Diego St, UNLV, Arizona, Illinois, Air Force, Purdue, Miss State, San Jose State Teams need to go _____ or better to become eligible 1-4 Fresno State 1-3 Boise State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Notre Dame 1-2 UCF, Tulsa, Central Michigan, Iowa, Iowa State, Miami-OH, Mich State, Minnesota, Mizzou, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Western Michigan 1-1 New Mexico 2-2 Houston, Southern Miss, Memphis, Arksansas State, UCONN, La Tech, Navy, Nevada, Stanford, Virginia 3-2 South Florida 2-1 Marshall, Akron, Arizona State, Baylor, BGSU, BYU, Cincy, Clemson, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas St, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon State, NIU, Pitt, Utah, Vandy, Wyoming 3-1 UAB, UL-Monroe, North Carolina, NC State, Tennessee 4-1 Middle Tennessee State 2-0 Wake Forest 3-0 ECU, Eastern Michigan, UL-Lafayette, Ole Miss, OK State, Troy, Washington 4-0 Tulane, Arkansas, Hawaii, Kentucky, North Texas, Utah State

Couple of interesting tidbits off the Cajun board. 1.For the Ragin' Cajuns, the match marked the seventh time in school history that UL faced North Texas. The Mean Green are still perfect against the Cajuns. 2.UL scored two goals on UNT for the first time in school history.

AMEN !

FIU-FAU still holdin' #8 spot. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2211211

11/18/04 (last '04 regular season game)beat ASU 31-7. It was easy to find

Makes me proud to be an 'old Navy guy'

Off the CUSA board. Football: Navy picks up travel costs for Tulane By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer Tulane athletic director Rick Dickson hasn't held a staff meeting in months. When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, it essentially shut down the university that has been based there since 1834. With its facilities destroyed or damaged, Tulane's entire athletic department has been forced to pick up and move. Dickson is based in Dallas while his basketball team is across the state in College Station. Meanwhile, Tulane's football team is operating out of Ruston, La. Dickson was personally affected by the hurricane, losing his home in New Orleans along with most of his personal belongings. "Rick asked if he could come casual to dinner on Friday night because he currently doesn't own a necktie," Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said. Gladchuk has an emotional attachment to New Orleans and especially Tulane University since he served as the school's athletic director from 1987-90. Hearing that such a great institution is in danger of financial collapse sends shivers down his spine. Tulane is coming to Annapolis this weekend to play Navy in football, and Gladchuk is making certain the trip doesn't cost the visitors a dime. With the support of Adm. Rodney Rempt, the Naval Academy Superintendent, Gladchuk has wiped out all the travel costs normally associated with a football road trip. "We've tried to come up with a way to make this trip on Navy," Gladchuk said. "We're just doing everything we can to help them, to support them." Visiting teams are normally guaranteed an average of $120,000 from the host school. Gladchuk upped that amount by $50,000 and sent the check to Dickson in advance. Tulane is using the additional money to cover air fare for the entire football traveling party. "Everything involving Tulane athletics is so disjointed right now. There's no cash flow and the school president has basically told Rick Dickson to figure it out," Gladchuk said. "They're really worried about losing everything. We feel compelled to do what we can to help ease the burden." Navy has come up with ways to save Tulane approximately $50,000 more in expenses for this trip. At the academy's urging, the Wyndham Hotel in Baltimore is providing complimentary rooms for the entire traveling party. When players, coaches and support staff arrive at their hotel rooms, they will find gifts bags filled with all sorts of goodies as a welcome offering from the Naval Academy. Navy has also arranged for free bus transportation for the team throughout its stay in the area. The entire Tulane traveling party has been invited to a dinner at the academy on Friday night. Finally, all Tulane students that wish to attend the game will receive a free ticket by simply presenting a valid student identification card. Gladchuk estimates the total relief Navy is offering the Tulane athletic department to reach roughly $200,000. "We just want this entire trip, except for the 60 minutes on Saturday, to be very enjoyable for the Tulane folks," Gladchuk said.

Mean Green soccer = Top notch program and still movin' up! Player of the Year: Heather Hutyra, So., F, North Texas Freshman of the Year: Kelli Lunsford, MF, North Texas Coach of the Year: John Hedlund, North Texas Soccer: Title quest II UNT looking to repeat as SBC champs 09:42 AM CST on Wednesday, November 2, 2005 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer The North Texas soccer team will enter the Sun Belt Conference Tournament today in an unfamiliar situation. North Texas head soccer coach John Hedlund leads his team in conditioning drills during practice on Oct. 18 in Denton. Hedlund and his team are looking to repeat as Sun Belt Conference champions when the tournament begins at 10 a.m. today when the Mean Green take on South Alabama. In previous years, the Mean Green answered questions about if and when they would break through to beat Denver and win the tournament title. Today, it’s UNT that every other team in the league will be looking to knock off when the tournament kicks off in Mobile, Ala. UNT won the 2005 Sun Belt regular season title and is the tournament’s No. 1 seed. That title is just the latest achievement the Mean Green have posted since a breakthrough campaign last year that saw UNT win the Sun Belt tournament title and earn an NCAA tournament bid for the first time in school history. UNT (13-3-2, 8-1) will look to extend its run of success and begin a charge at a second straight SBC tournament title today against Louisiana-Lafayette (4-9-3, 2-6-1). “I can’t even explain what it felt like to win it last year,” UNT sophomore forward Heather Hutyra said. “It was a great feeling. We want to win it again and go back to the NCAA Tournament. We are ready to go.” UNT will enter the tournament as a decided favorite after a standout regular season. The Mean Green posted a 15-game unbeaten streak that lasted 63 days and didn’t lose a game until Middle Tennessee knocked them off in their regular season finale. Freshman forward Kelli Lunsford called that 3-0 loss a wakeup call that has provided the Mean Green even more motivation to get back on track heading into the tournament. “It was a tough game for us because we clinched on Friday and didn’t have anything to play for against Middle,” UNT head coach John Hedlund said. “They had their senior day and were physical with us.” UNT appears to have the ability to bounce back from that season-ending loss in time to make a run in the tournament. The Mean Green rank second in the Sun Belt in both goals scored with 46 and goals allowed with 16. Few other teams in the league are as balanced as UNT, which also features some of the top players in the conference. Hutyra was named the league’s Player of the Year on Tuesday after finishing the regular season ranked among the national leaders in both points per game (ninth, 2.35) and goals per game (tied for seventh, 1.0). What has made UNT even more dangerous this season is the balance it has developed offensively. UNT’s opponents frequently double-team Hutyra, which has opened up opportunities for Lunsford and Kristen Campbell, who are tied for fifth in the Sun Belt with seven goals each on the season. Lunsford, defender Angela Hawkins and goalkeeper Kandice Ellis joined Hutyra on the All-Sun Belt team. Hedlund was named the Coach of the Year, while Lunsford was the Freshman of the Year “When teams double-team Heather in the middle, it leaves the outside open,” Lunsford said. “We are going to have to take advantage of that.” UNT has pressed the issue offensively this season because of its abundance of offensive weapons and does not plan on changing its approach this weekend. “We have to be aggressive and use all of our weapons,” Hedlund said. “With the players we have, if we attack, we can make it tough on opponents.” UNT followed that plan last year and made it to the NCAA Tournament, where the Mean Green fell to Texas in the first round. Hedlund said repeating as conference champions and getting back to the national tournament will be a challenge. The Mean Green only beat ULL 1-0 in the regular season. UNT will also have to deal with being the favorite instead of filling the underdog role. “The girls are confident and feel good about our chances,” Hedlund said. “Beating SMU and Rice earlier in the year really helped and showed us we could win the big games.” BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

UNT 26-3 when scoring 20+ UNT 5-23 when scoring less than 20 http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview?game...7&date=20051105

Hawaii fans to say aloha to tailgating alcohol? Associated Press HONOLULU -- For Hawaii fans, it's not just the football season that seems to be slipping away. Warrior followers may have to do without a cold one when tailgating next year. The Aloha Stadium Authority on Tuesday agreed to hold a public hearing on plans to ban alcohol in the stadium's parking lot during high school and college regular season sporting events. The hearing will be scheduled after the University of Hawaii's regular football season ends Dec. 3, when the Warriors play San Diego State. The hearing could also be held on a weekend or at night to increase attendance. Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona has been asking for the ban, along with UH interim President David McClain. They argue that beer drinking has contributed to unruly behavior at a stadium frequented by many families. Alcohol will still be sold inside the stadium. Vendors who sell beer and food at the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium had spoken against banning alcohol inside the stadium, saying it would hurt their sales. The proposal to ban alcohol from the stadium parking lot still needs approval from Gov. Linda Lingle. Student government president Grant Teichman said he was upset with the authority's vote, saying most students oppose the ban. "It's really going to hurt the students who just want to go out there and have a good time," said Teichman, noting that 40 student senators representing all university programs have unanimously voted against the ban. "It will dramatically affect tailgating, one of the few traditions that our students have," he said. But student Scott Alonso said the ban is needed to prevent fights like the one that happened in 2002 when Hawaii played Cincinnati, and in 2003, when the Warriors faced Houston. "I think it's the right message," said Alonso, who is also sports editor for the school's student-run newspaper, Ka Leo O Hawaii. "Sports is not about alcohol. Sports is for people to enjoy." McClain had originally sought to have alcohol banned inside the stadium because he didn't think police would be able to control it in the parking lot during tailgating. "He thought that there might be enforceable problems with that," said university spokeswoman Carolyn Tanaka. "But we will work with the authority."

Mean Green struggling on the ground Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com North Texas' four-time Sun Belt Conference football champion team has both of the last two national rushing champions. Patrick Cobbs ran for 1,680 yards in 2003 when he led the country in both rushing and scoring and became the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Year. He ranks fourth among all Division I-A active ball carriers. When Cobbs was hurt last season, Jamario Thomas tallied 1,801 yards in his freshman year and became the NCAA's fastest-ever running back to 1,000 yards on the way to Freshman All-America status and that same Sun Belt offensive award. The combination would seem to be unstoppable, especially in a Sun Belt that has not been noted for stalwart defenses. So why have the Mean Green been not-so-mean on offense this year? UNT is last in the league in total offense (and defense) and scoring offense (and defense), and ranks only fifth in the league in rushing with only 121.3 yards per game on the ground. The Mean Green has scored two rushing touchdowns all year, and one of those came from freshman quarterback Daniel Meager. Cobbs has one rushing score this year and Thomas has zero. "Jamario's been a little hurt throughout the season," said UNT coach Darrell Dickey, "but our inability to sustain drives has hurt both of them. We've had games where we've had 55 or 60 plays, and if you're converting first downs you're going to get 75, 80 plays. That's what we haven't done this year." Heading into Saturday's home contest against Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns, the Mean Green has had 60 or fewer offensive snaps in five of their seven games. Only against Troy did North Texas have solid offensive numbers (76 plays, 323 yards), and UNT had five turnovers in that game. In fact, the Mean Green has less than half the ground yardage the Cajuns have amassed (1.819 to 849) this season. Quite likely, UNT is still struggling with the graduation losses of three starting offensive linemen and two-time all-conference quarterback Scott Hall. "We're not where we hoped we'd be," Dickey said. "We had expectations, but we also had reality checks in that we had a young football team. We're not pleased with our results right now, but to be honest we've progressed." That was hard to see in Saturday's 56-3 loss at LSU, but Dickey and his players insist the improvements are there. "We moved the ball against the number seven team in the country," said wide receiver Johnny Quinn. "It's just the score got out of control." "We made improvements that aren't showing up on the stat sheets and the scoreboard," Dickey said. "We showed a little sign of life against LSU. It's crazy to say when you get beat 56-3, but I saw some good things Saturday." Cobbs only had three carries for 21 yards against the Tigers before aggravating a sore right ankle. Even with the team's offensive struggles, he's had five 100-yard rush games this year. "You keep looking at them on film," said Cajun head coach Rickey Bustle, "and you keep waiting for them to just break out. Those two guys are great ones." Thomas, likely closer to healthy than at any time this year, had a season-high 83 yards against the Tigers. He's getting most of the practice repetitions this week to take the pressure off Cobbs. But even with all the struggles, the Mean Green stands 2-1 in league play and could claim a fifth straight New Orleans Bowl berth if they win their last four games. "Our team knows our fate will be determined by our next four games," Dickey said, "as opposed to the previous six." UNT's One-Two Punch Patrick Cobbs 2003 Accolades Led the nation in rushing (152.7 yards per game) Led the nation in scoring (11.5 points per game) Nine straight 100-yard rushing games Only player in the nation with four 200-yard rushing games Jamario Thomas 2004 Accolades Led the nation in rushing (180.1 yards per game) Set NCAA freshman record for 200-yard games (six) Set NCAA record for fastest back to 1,000 yards One of only three freshmen ever to rush for 1,800 yards Only player in the nation with six 200-yard rush games

John: Last year the Sun Belt put two schools in bowl games: North Texas and Troy. However, I understand only one slot is guaranteed as far as the conference goes. Are you trying to secure an automatic second bid for with some bowl game for a Sun Belt Conference school? Commissioner Waters: John, last year was only the second time we have had two teams eligible. Until we have two teams eligible on a consistent basis, I am not comfortable obligating conference funds to a bowl game where we might not have a team. Now with that said, I think we are making real progress on adjusting our schedules so that we are not playing as many “high-profile” games and focusing more on putting people in our own stands. In some ways this is an advantage for us of the new criteria. ASK THE COMMISSIONER http://sunbeltsportstv.nmnathletics.com/Vi...CRIBER_CONTENT=

ULL preparing for North Texas By GLENN QUEBEDEAUX Special to The Advocate LAFAYETTE -- After a streak of three weeks in which they saw everything go against them, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns are finally seeing things fall their way for a change. Two weeks ago, the Cajuns scored late to pull off a stunning 13-10 upset at Middle Tennessee. And Saturday night, after blowing a 20-0 lead and being taken into overtime by the Troy Trojans, they managed to pull off another three-point victory, 31-28. Earlier this year -- certainly during the first 15 days of October when they lost three straight, two by three points -- both of those games almost certainly would have ended differently. So what is the sudden difference? "I think we're a team that's learning how to win," redshirt freshman Michael Desormeaux said after the Cajuns' latest victory. "It might be a little too late, but we still have a chance to have a heckuva season and it can be great for us, great for our program. "We've got three games left … I think we go to North Texas next week and hopefully we can continue to find a way to win. I don't care what the score is as long as we get it done." The Cajuns (3-5, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) stands 1‰ games behind league-leading Louisiana-Monroe, a team the Cajuns play Nov. 26 in Monroe. The Indians still must play defending champion North Texas and at Middle Tennessee. ULL, meanwhile, must face North Texas this week and last-place Florida International before its date with the Indians (3-4, 3-0). Arkansas State, the only other SBC team (4-3, 3-1) with one loss still must face Middle Tennessee, Troy and North Texas. "Every one of them (games) is huge now," ULL coach Rickey Bustle said. "It's a matter of us taking care of our business a day at a time. "That's the way we started this approach two weeks ago: we have a chance to maybe win (conference). We said that a couple of weeks ago and people probably saw that and thought I was crazy. "I just felt like if we did the right things and kept playing hard that we might get ourselves in the thick of it. "We'll see." The Cajuns certainly did the right things and kept playing hard Saturday after squandering leads of 20 and 14 points in the second half. Sean Comiskey, who had missed a field goal and extra point and also botched a kickoff, booted a 40-yard field goal on the fourth play of overtime to give the Cajuns the victory. It was the third game-winning field goal of Comiskey's ULL career. And the ULL defense also did its part in overtime, stopping the Trojans on three straight plays and forcing a field goal. That field goal attempt sailed wide left, ending a two-game winning streak for Troy (3-5, 2-2). The Cajuns had led 14-0 after one quarter, 20-0 in the third and 28-14 in the final quarter. "We just didn't put them away," Bustle said. The game marked the return of ULL quarterback Jerry Babb, who missed almost a month of action with a shoulder injury. He entered the game on the Cajuns third offensive series after Desormeaux had led the team to two touchdowns on the first two drives. Babb completed his first three passes but then missed his next seven. He finished 3 of 10 for 48 yards and had two rushes for four yards. "We were going to play Jerry on the second or third series," said Bustle. "And Jerry did OK. We had really good field position at times, we just couldn't get any points out it. "Jerry's a little rusty throwing the football and on a couple of reads. We just tried to play through it and got Mike back in there in the second half and (we) said 'we'll see what happens.' '' Bustle said he had considered holding off making the switch in the first quarter, given Desormeaux's success running the team. But he decided against it. "We had talked about it and we were going to go with it because we needed to open it up a little bit. But we didn't do it." Both quarterbacks are expected to see action this week as well. Desormeaux finished Saturday's game completing 6 of 10 passes for 86 yards. He also rushed 13 times for 64 yards and scored one touchdown. Freshman running back Tyrell Venroy led the Cajuns with 156 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. It was Venroy's second 100-yard rushing game of the season.

Mean Green Soccer Dominates Awards Courtesy: University of North Texas Release: 11/01/2005 DENTON (11/1/2005) - On the field the North Texas women’s soccer team dominated the competition, and off the field the Mean Green has done the same. The trio of Heather Hutyra, Kelli Lunsford, and head coach John Hedlund were honored by the Sun Belt Conference by being named the Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year. Courtesy Rick Yeatts Hutyra was named the Player of the Year after racking up a league-high 17 goals and 40 points. Hutyra had two hat trick’s this season and is seventh in the nation in goals, goals per game, and ninth in points per game. Hutyra, just a sophomore, is the youngest player to be named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. Hutyra was also named to the first-team all conference for the second consecutive season. Lunsford was named the Freshman of the Year after scoring seven points, dishing out seven assists, and compiling 21 points. Lunsford has been a force in conference play scoring six goals along with four assists. She leads the team in shots and has the fourth most points as a freshman in school history. Along with being named Freshman of the Year, Lunsford was also tabbed as a first-team all-conference selection. Joining Hutyra and Lunsford on the first-team all conference are junior Angela Hawkins and goalkeeper Kandice Ellis. Hawkins has been an instrumental part of the North Texas defense this season as the sweeper. The all-conference honor is the first in her career. Ellis leads the league in goals against average, save percentage, and shutouts. She has a career-high six shutouts this season and 70 saves. She is tenth in the nation on save percentage. Ellis is the first goalkeeper in North Texas history to be named to the first-team all-conference. For the first time in his career, Hedlund has been named the Coach of the Year. Last season he was named the Co-Coach of the Year. Hedlund has notched 148 wins at North Texas and has not had a losing season since starting the program 11 years ago. He ranks 14th in the NCAA in winning percentage and 16th among active coaches in wins. Hedlund has guided the Mean Green to three Sun Belt Conference regular season Championships and the school’s only NCAA Tournament berth in 2004. With the four all-conference selections this year, it marks the third straight season that North Texas has had four players named to the all-conference team. Since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2000, North Texas has had three Player’s of the Year, three Freshman of the Year, and 25 first or second team all-conference selections. ALL-SUN BELT CONFERENCE TEAM FIRST TEAM POS. CL SCHOOL Lleane Grimditch F Jr. Denver Holly Grogan F So. Middle Tennessee Heather Hutyra F So. North Texas Rebecca Rodriguez F Jr. Middle Tennessee Kelli Lunsford MF Fr. North Texas Laura Mann MF Jr. Denver Kelly Tarrant MF So. South Alabama Angela Hawkins D Jr. North Texas Heather Ray D Jr. Arkansas State Jenna Silverberg D Jr. Western Kentucky Kandice Ellis GK So. North Texas SECOND TEAM POS. CL SCHOOL Jennifer Beckwith F Jr. South Alabama Megan Kosiba F Jr. Troy Shawna Sparks F Sr. Arkansas State Christi Banas MF Sr. Western Kentucky Jenna Billingsley MF So. Denver Rebecca Kahn MF Sr. South Alabama Claire Ward MF Sr. Middle Tennessee Ingrid Christensen D So. Middle Tennessee Laura Cook D Sr. Arkansas-Little Rock Katy Rayburn D Jr. Middle Tennessee Laura Longard GK Jr. Troy PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Heather Hutyra, So., F, North Texas FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Kelli Lunsford, Fr., MF, North Texas NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Ingrid Christensen, So., D, Middle Tennessee COACH OF THE YEAR: John Hedlund, North Texas

Partnering Across Denton for Student Success Courtesy: University of North Texas Release: 11/01/2005 Courtesy of Rick Yeatts DENTON (8/24/05) - The University of North Texas Athletics Department and the Denton Independent School District are sponsoring a special promotion for the November 5th football game to encourage and promote student success. All DISD Elementary students who were placed on the A/B honor roll for the first six weeks of school received a free ticket to the Mean Green’s November 5th game versus Louisiana-Lafayette. Students who participate in this promotion and their parents will be honored at the game via a video board presentation and announcements. This year, over 8,000 students in the DISD made the honor roll. For more information, call 940-369-7169.

With those $$$$ numbers that could be next year

http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll.../511010344/1006 Bustle plans to go with two-quarterback format Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns expect to use a two-quarterback system in Saturday's road game at North Texas, with a decision on the starter to be made just before kickoff. Redshirt freshman Michael Desormeaux has skippered the squad since junior and three-year starter Jerry Babb suffered a shoulder injury on the fifth play of the Oct. 1 Central Florida game. UL lost that game and its next two, but has won its last two in last-minute fashion, 13-10 at Middle Tennessee and 31-28 in overtime against Troy last Saturday. Desormeaux played the first two series against Troy when UL took a 14-0 lead, and Babb made his first appearance in four weeks in playing the next three series. Desormeaux was in for the final series of the first half and the entire second half. "Jerry came in and did a nice job," Bustle said. "He had some drops and we had three drives stall around the 35. He was a little rusty on a couple of reads, but it was good to see him back in there. If we catch a couple of balls, we're not even talking about it ... he could have been 6-for-6 right off the bat." Desormeaux threw for 86 yards on 6-of-10 completions and was the team's second-leading rusher with 64 yards including a three-yard touchdown run. "Mike's had a couple of really good games and has been much more consistent," Bustle said. Bustle said the two shared time in practice last week, but their shares would be even more balanced beginning in today's 3:45 p.m. practice. "Last week Mike got all the work with the ones and Jerry all the work with the number twos," he said. "This week, we'll get equal work with the ones for both of them. We're not going to get far off our game plan with either one. I feel good that we've got two that are capable of getting the job done." HOOTERS AWARDS: Fenroy was among the honorees of the Cajun coaching staff's weekly awards sponsored by Hooters and Credeur's Specialties. He was picked as offensive Player of the Game, while Tony Hills and Brenton Burkhalter were honored as defensive Players of the Game and Justin Lee was named special teams Player of the Game. Deon Wallace and Brad Bustle were the offensive and defensive scout team players of the week and Rodney Hardeway won the Hammer Award for the team's biggest defensive hit. TAKING THE KNEE: Bustle was queried both at Monday's Quarterback Club meeting and by media members about kneeling on the ball in the final 17 seconds of regulation Saturday, setting up the overtime. The Cajuns, tied 28-28 at the time, had two time outs remaining and were at their own 35-yard line. "We hadn't really trained Mike for that situation," he said, "and Jerry hadn't played in two and a half quarters. With the passing game we've got in there for Mike, we didn't have anything that really fit there. And Jerry hadn't been in there to see what was going on in the game. I really felt that we were going to win it in overtime." ANOTHER FROSH: For the second straight week the Cajuns will face a freshman quarterback, with Daniel Meager having started all year for the Mean Green. Meager, taking over for graduated two-time all-Sun Belt Conference pick Scott Hall, has completed 47.5 percent of his throws for 603 yards and only two touchdowns in seven games. "You don't underestimate anybody just because they're a freshman," said safety Johnny Felders. "We still have to play sound. He's the leader of their offense and he's the first guy we have to stop." FREDRICK'S PICK: Junior wide receiver Corey Fredrick has been UL's top receiver over the last two weeks, and said Monday he prefers catching the left-handed Desormeaux's passes. But it has nothing to do with a dislike of Babb's throwing. "In junior college we had a left-handed quarterback both my years there," said Fredrick, who has eight catches for 141 yards in the last two games. "I'm just used to that. The ball spins differently and it's like a lefthander has more zip on it. But I'll catch them from either hand." TRAVEL QUESTION: The Cajuns don't have a definite travel mode for Saturday's UNT game. Original plans for a charter flight were changed to buses due to university-wide budget cuts, but that could switch back. "Right now we're planning on busing," Bustle said. "We're going to leave early Friday, stop and eat, and get there around 4:30 and do a walk-through." TOP TEN: The Cajuns are ranked 10th nationally in rushing this week with a 227.4 average yards per game. Fenroy is tied for 55th nationally with 80.0 yards per game, and Desormeaux is 72nd with a 71.8 average. UL's 1,819 team rushing yards this year is already the most since 1995 when the Cajuns totaled 1,970 ground yards. It's also in range of the school record of 2,273 season rushing yards, a mark set way back in 1951.

Well there's another one to scratch off the potential coach list (Tongue in cheek post)

Football: UNT ready to resume conference play Two weeks away from Sun Belt have helped Mean Green improve 07:25 AM CST on Tuesday, November 1, 2005 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer North Texas coach Darrell Dickey looked at the Mean Green’s schedule a few weeks ago and saw a golden opportunity in the least likely of places. Games at Louisiana Tech and LSU represented one of the toughest sections of the Mean Green’s schedule, but they also offered a two-week break from Sun Belt Conference play. UNT entered that stretch hoping to make dramatic improvements to prepare for a season-ending run at the conference title. The Mean Green will find out in the next few weeks if that break pays off. “In certain areas we did make some progress,” Dickey said of the Mean Green’s game against LSU. “Defensively, we played hard. We busted some assignments, but not as many as we have been. We also made some plays offensively. With a good week of practice, we will be ready.” UNT has little choice if it wants to win a fifth straight Sun Belt Con-ference title. The Mean Green (2-1) are locked in a three-team race for the league title with Louisiana-Monroe (3-0) and Arkansas State (3-1). UNT has games left with both teams and has a chance to win at least a share of the conference title and become bowl eligible by winning its last four games. The long road UNT faces and its performance in its first three conference games has turned the once-favored Mean Green into an underdog as the chase for the title heats up. Several Sun Belt coaches spoke of a team other than UNT winning the conference title more as a probability than a possibility during the league’s weekly conference call Monday. “Someone else is going to have a chance to win the title this year,” Florida International coach Don Strock said. Those comments were no surprise to Dickey. “We are not flying under the radar, but I don’t know if people respect us as much as they did in the past,” Dickey said. That evaluation is based on what the Mean Green have shown so far this season. UNT ranks last in the Sun Belt in scoring offense with an average of 12.3 points per conference game. If it was not for a defense that has played well against Sun Belt opponents, UNT might already be out of the conference title race. Improving an inept offense was UNT’s largest concern heading into its break from the Sun Belt. Dickey said the Mean Green did make some progress, despite a pair of ugly losses to Tech, 40-14, and LSU, 56-3. UNT put together an 11-play drive and had another last 10 plays against LSU. The Mean Green also saw quarterback Daniel Meager complete 13 passes and running back Jamario Thomas rush for 83 yards. Both totals were season highs. “We have not really clicked yet,” Dickey said. “We have had some drives here and there, but have shot ourselves in the foot. If we can become more consistent, things will come together.” The Mean Green are hoping that time is coming after perhaps their best offensive showing of the year against LSU. “The fact that we moved the ball against the No. 7 team in the nation is a plus, but the score got out of control,” wide receiver Johnny Quinn said. “We can’t do that when we go back into conference play. We play Lafayette next and will have to be on our A-game to be competitive.” Cobbs’ practice time to be limited Offensive coordinator Ramon Flanigan said UNT will cut down on the number of repetitions senior running back Patrick Cobbs takes in practice this week in preparation for Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Lafayette. Cobbs aggravated a sore right ankle during the Mean Green’s loss to LSU on Saturday and finished with three carries for 21 yards. Both totals were season lows. UNT turned to Jamario Thomas to help fill the void and saw the sophomore respond with 83 yards. BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

Happy Halloween. Have fun, be safe!

College Football News weekly Sun Belt Roundup. http://www.collegefootballnews.com/sun_belt/Sun%20Belt.htm North Texas … There was one bright spot in the blowout loss to LSU. Jamario Thomas finally got some work again, and he wasn't bad rushing for 83 yards on the Tiger defense. There's still no passing game to speak of, and this wasn't going to be the game to suddenly get sharp. Patrick Cobbs got a few carries, but he's needed for the Sun Belt schedule ahead with three home games in the final four dates. The team has to start taking advantage of every chance; the Mean Green went 0 for 2 in the red zone.

Could be wishful thinking on the posters part. Another thread on their board is about the construction going on at the Athletic Village. With their budget & the possible cuts coming because of Katrina, they probably can't afford him