MeanGreen61

Translation...... I'm trying to put a good spin on our whipping.

http://www.mtsusidelines.com/media/paper20.../Sports/Massaro. Grateful.For.Student.Turnout-984026.shtml Massaro grateful for student turnout By Chris Massaro Published: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 Article Tools: Page 1 of 1 To the MTSU Student Body: On behalf of the Department of Athletics, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for a great and enthusiastic turnout for the North Texas football game on Saturday. You were part of the sixth largest crowd in stadium history. I was told when I was hired as Director of Athletics on May 2, that we had an apathetic student body that was devoid of school spirit. MTSU is a suitcase college, and everyone goes home on the week-end. What I observed on Saturday was just the opposite. I observed students tailgating and enjoying (some more than others) the festivities at Walnut Grove. I observed a student body that rose as one and created an atmosphere that rivaled any student section in the country. I saw students that were excited over the prospect of winning two white parking passes every game and a Harley Davidson at the end of the year, and watching two teams favored to win the Sun Belt Conference battle tooth and nail. Yes, we are all disappointed with the result. We dominated the four-time defending conference champion, but let them off the hook. However, our team played hard and can still accomplish its goals this season. We need your help. Please remember the fun you had all day Saturday and let's do it again. We only have four more home games this year, so don't miss out. Prove the experts wrong and come out again this Saturday at four. I know you will have fun and I know you will watch our team play well. Again, thank you for the great enthusiasm Saturday night. I could not have been more proud. Here's hoping we have the same student atmosphere Saturday at four ... with different results! Go Blue Raiders! Sincerely, Chris Massaro Director of Athletics

Game plan You may be a Hurricane spy

On attendance, just noticed that the Ponies drew 22,416 for their big game with the Frogs. Hoping we can surpass that

Nice article & promo for the game!

Thread from the Tiger board. UNT-LSU to Thursday night for ESPN ? http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/message...c.asp?p=1147128

Florida is heavily recruited by the Big East, Big 10 and naturally the SEC. They have invaders just like we do in Texas

For now I'll just settle for a 2-0 start for the season!

Louisiana's got $$$ from big brother to get the reschedule done. New Star article. http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../509140364/1006 ULM'S SCHEDULING CHANGES Louisiana-Monroe coach Charlie Weatherbie is trying to make the most of his new-look football schedule that gives him 20 days off in the middle of the season. Last Friday in a move to accommodate LSU and North Texas, ULM's game at Denton, Texas on Oct. 29 was moved to Nov. 19 — which will give the Indians back-to-back bye weeks next month. "I think we can play it like two seasons," Weatherbie said. "Having four or five games, then having a couple of weeks break and having four or five more games. "I think it will help us in conference play. Hopefully we can continue to stay healthy ad regain some health during those two weeks. I think it will be a great opportunity for us." The Indians' home game with Louisiana-Lafayette, originally scheduled for Nov. 19, has been moved to Saturday, Nov. 26. The changes allowed North Texas to play LSU on Oct. 29 in Baton Rouge. The North Texas-LSU game was postponed last week in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. While LSU will reap a huge gate and North Texas is due more than $500,000 for the game, ULM and ULL will gain some financial aid for changing. According to The Advocate, LSU will pay a total of about $100,000 with each of the three schools getting some money. "We're helping (ULM and ULL) with some game costs associated with the switch as well as North Texas because they had to switch their homecoming date," LSU Associate Athletics Director Dan Radakovich told the newspaper. The ULM/ULL game at Malone Stadium is the weekend after Thanksgiving, meaning the two schools will have to keep players and support personnel on campus during a week when school is not in session. In addition, North Texas is expected to make the ULM game its homecoming game.

Russ Goodall: UNT defense must improve against Tulsa 09:21 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 14, 2005 On Saturday night, the North Texas defense did exactly what it had to do — it kept Middle Tennessee from scoring when the chances presented themselves. That’s a definite positive, but the way the Mean Green’s defense played, it also has some serious drawbacks. It was your typical “bend but don’t break” style of defense. Middle Tennessee’s offense wore out the Mean Green between the 30s. But in the red zone, UNT’s youth stepped up to the challenge and made plays. Sophomore linebacker Maurice Holman’s interception deep in UNT territory, and subsequent return for a touchdown, was probably the biggest. But the play of sophomore defensive back Aaron Weathers, who finished with 10 tackles and an interception, was big all night long for the Mean Green. “We can do a little bit better job against the pass,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “We did a great job of defending them in our red zone, but they were able to move the ball on us.” But that was against a Sun Belt Conference opponent. This week UNT steps up to play a so-called stronger conference opponent in Tulsa. The UNT defense won’t have the luxury of being able to rely on the big play in the red zone to keep the game close or turn the game around. There will be no room for 39 assignment errors on defense, which Dickey said was the case against the Blue Raiders. The Mean Green defense is going to have to come out early and establish itself. No more of that “bend but don’t break” philosophy. It’s time to stop bending and make plays between the 30s. Three-and-out is the recipe for success this week. The most important ingredient in that recipe is pressure on Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith. “This is a good protecting team we have coming in here,” Dickey said. “Their quarterback is an excellent player, so we are going to have to get some things corrected to be able to go out and slow them down.” Middle Tennessee quarterback Clint Marks had all day to throw the football, and completed 21 passes for 195 yards. However, he made some crucial mistakes — three interceptions — at some very crucial times. Don’t expect the same from Smith. Smith completed 24 of 36 tosses for 246 yards against No. 22 Oklahoma, and has not thrown an interception this season. Lets face facts: the Mean Green defenders are not as talented as the boys from Norman. So pressure coming in the form of blitzes and different coverage packages would seem like the way to go against Smith. Confuse the sophomore if you can. But wait, lets not forget about tight end Garrett Mills. Mills has caught 18 passes for 190 yards in two games this season, including 13 catches for 152 yards against OU. So the UNT linebackers — Derek Mendoza, Phillip Graves and Holman — will have their hands full keeping Mills and the Tulsa running backs in check. This one is going to come down to the guys up front. Dickey and the Mean Green need to see their defensive line grow up in a hurry. “We played 10 guys up front, which is what we want to do,” Dickey said. “We can play defense better when we can get pressure on the passer with a four-man rush. We have got to do a better job of getting to the quarterback, or at least hurrying him or hitting him, tipping balls and things like that.” While four start — Chris Miller, Sky Pruitt, Jeremiah Chapman and Eli Hutchinson — the other six will see plenty of action. That can be good and bad. The good is that fresh bodies will be rotating into the game for four quarters. The bad is that no one really gets into a rhythm. Either way, the Mean Green defensive line, and the other seven players on the field, are going to need everyone to bring it on Saturday. Consistent pressure on Smith, and UNT just might get one of those elusive non-conference victories everybody talks about. But more important, it will be a 2-0 start to a season that has a long way to go. RUSS GOODALL can be reached at 940-566-6871. His e-mail address is rgoodall@dentonrc.com.

This is from a thread on another board referencing the Non-BCS Top Ten. The poster took the Massey Composite Rankings of 43 services and subtracted the BCS schools to get their rankings for all Non-BCS schools. Massey's has expanded to 45 services reporting, so I made minor changes in the rankings. UNT isn't too far off from where CBS Sportsline has us. Team Conf 1 Utah MW 2 Fresno St WAC 3 New Mexico MW 4 Boise St WAC 5 Toledo MAC 6 UAB CUSA 7 Bowling Green MAC 8 Texas- El Paso CUSA 9 Wyoming MW 10 Air Force MW 11 TCU MW 12 North Illinois MAC 13 Southerm Miss CUSA 14 BYU MW 15 North Texas SBC 16 Navy IND 17 Memphis CUSA 18 Colorado St MW 19 Tulane CUSA 20 Hawaii WAC 21 Marshall CUSA 22 SMU CUSA 23 Louisiana Tech WAC 24 Miami OH MAC 25 UNLV MW 26 Houston CUSA 27 Troy SBC 28 San Diego St MW 29 Ohio MAC 30 Akron MAC 31 East Carolina CUSA 32 Kent St MAC 33 E. Michigan MAC 34 Middle Tennessee SBC 35 Tulsa CUSA 36 Central Michigan MAC 37 Nevada WAC 38 Rice CUSA 39 Utah St WAC 40 Idaho WAC 41 San Jose St WAC 42 Florida Atlantic SBC 43 New Mexico St WAC 44 UCF CUSA 45 Army IND 46 Arkansas St SBC 47 Temple IND 48 W Michigan MAC 49 Ball St MAC 50 Florida Intl SBC 51 La Lafayette SBC 52 La Monroe SBC 53 Buffalo MAC

Lawdy, where did this come from?

All this info is dated. It's from the Equity in Athletics site. It's also skewed because of the differences in accounting,etc at different schools. When a school is showing a profit in volleyball or soccer, ya gotta think something is kinda out of whack.

From the official NCAA site (couldn't get 2002 info to open) 2005 only 1 game - Ntl ranking #1...TO margin 5.0 (#1 Sun Belt) 2004 Ntl ranking #6...TO margin 1.08 (#1 Sun Belt) 2003 Ntl ranking #10...TO margin .85 (#1 Sun Belt) 2001 Ntl Ranking #31...TO maring .36 (#1 Sun Belt)

Non-BCS Top 10 1. Fresno State 2. Utah 3. New Mexico 4. UTEP 5. Toledo 6. Wyoming 7. Air Force 8. Bowling Green 9. North Texas 10. SMU http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/8834102

Ponies out, Frogs in as well as half the Sun Belt (including waiting list) http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2160168

Words of wisdom from his pre-Muts game press conference. "If you win the turnover battle you win 78% of your games. More games are lost rather than won and that is something we have to teach the players. It is not always about making plays, but not giving up the ball".

From a post on the Belt board. Scroll down to team "Power Performance" for week #2. http://therossreport.blogspot.com/

http://www.ntdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART...3/43266c27c8b70 Mean Green escape with victory in season opener Mean Green force five turnovers in 14-7 win over Middle Tennessee Rian Johnson Staff Writer September 13, 2005 A blue moon must have shown high above Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Saturday night. It’s the only way one could explain NT’s win over Middle Tennessee. A freshman quarterback outperforms a Davey O’Brien candidate. Two kickers on the Lou Groza watch list fail to convert four field goal attempts. A Middle Tennessee offense that averaged over 26 points per game last season only managed seven against an inexperienced defense. And eeriest of all, NT sophomore linebacker Maurice Holman accounted for the same number of points as Patrick Cobbs, Jamario Thomas and Johnny Quinn combined. With under nine minutes remaining in the third quarter, Holman scored the first points of the season for the Mean Green, intercepting a pass off Blue Raiders’ quarterback Clint Marks and returning it 99 yards for a touchdown. The interception pulled NT even with Middle Tennessee at 7-7, but more importantly, it prevented the Blue Raiders from gaining a 14-0 third-quarter lead. Holman’s interception was one of five turnovers forced by a Mean Green defense that allowed nearly 400 yards of total offense. “Between the twenties, we gave up a lot of yards,” NT coach Darrell Dickey said. “But we kept them out of the end zone and forced turnovers when we needed to, and that is the most important thing.” Prior to Holman’s interception, NT safety Aaron Weathers also halted a Blue Raiders drive inside the 10-yard line. On second and long from the NT 27 yard-line, Clint Marks was looking for the end zone. “I broke on the pass and saw that he had overthrown him a little so I just tried to go up and make the catch,” Weathers said. Weathers snagged the ball at the six then returned it 16 yards. With under four minutes to play in the game, Mean Green inside linebacker Derek Mendoza sealed the win for NT, grabbing the team’s third interception of the night. While the Blue Raiders’ all-conference quarterback struggled, Dickey said he was pleased with the play of redshirt freshman Daniel Meager. “He stayed composed and handled himself in a tough environment,” Dickey said. In his first career start, Meager completed 10 of 15 passes for 122 yards. While Meager was not able to find the end zone, he did complete a tough task in not throwing an interception against a defense returning 10 of 11 starters from last season. “Overall, I was very pleased with him for his first time out, but he still has a lot of improving to do,” Dickey said. “He has to get to where we can depend on him to do more things during the game.” Although Dickey is happy to escape with a win over the Mean Green’s biggest conference rival, he said he expects more from his team as the season moves forward. “I was very pleased with what we did and the fact that we came out of there with a win,” Dickey said. “As young as we are there is some learning to do and we have a lot of work to do to get to where we need to be.” The Mean Green host the University of Tulsa Saturday, game time is 6 p.m. at Fouts Field. Game Briefs The Cobbs/Thomas Backfield The Mean Green ground game combined for 161 yards on 38 carries. Cobbs had 28 carries for 103 yards and the only offensive touchdown. Thomas rushed for 58 yards on 10 carries, including a 34-yard scamper in the third quarter. Firsts Meager’s first career completion came on his first play from scrimmage; the pass was deflected before wide receiver Joel Nwigwe hauled it in. Blue Raiders defensive lineman Jeff Littlejohn sacked Meager, marking the first time in history that Middle Tennessee has reached an NT quarterback. Lou Groza? The two teams entered Saturday’s game with the top two kickers in the Sun Belt. However, neither place kicker was able to convert on a combined four attempts. Colby Smith missed two for Middle Tennessee and Nick Bazaldua missed a 52-yard attempt at the end of the half and his second attempt was blocked by Littlejohn in the third quarter.

From the DRC Meager to start against Tulsa Redshirt freshman quarterback Daniel Meager will start for the second straight game when UNT faces Tulsa on Saturday. Meager started and threw for 122 yards in the Mean Green’s 14-7 win over Middle Tennessee last week. UNT coach Darrell Dickey said before the game that he planned to rotate quarterbacks, but stuck with Meager throughout the game. Dickey said he was pleased with Meager’s performance, but could rotate quarterbacks against Tulsa depending on the situation. Freshman Matt Phillips and redshirt freshmen Kellen Haynes are among the quarterbacks who could enter the game after Meager. Cobbs, Holman earn Sun Belt honors Senior running back Patrick Cobbs and sophomore linebacker Maurice Holman were named the Sun Belt Conference’s offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, on Monday for their performances in UNT’s 14-7 win over Middle Tennessee. Cobbs rushed for 103 yards, caught four passes for 36 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown. Holman returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown that tied the game at 7 and finished with six tackles in his first college start. Briefly … Sophomore defensive back Gary Oubre will play against Tulsa after missing the Mean Green’s season opener against MTSU with a leg injury. … UNT didn’t have any major injuries in its game against the Blue Raiders, coach Darrell Dickey said.