The Fake Lonnie Finch

There's no way Western Kentucky can have more money than us in a coaching search. No way. So, it'll be interesting to see who they pursue. I've seen things as crazy as Romeo Crennel being mentioned. Yes, I know he's a WKU grad...but, come on...could they really land an ex-NFL head coach and defensive coordinator? The guy was a special teams, then defensive line coach with the Giants during their two Super Bowl seasons with Parcells. He picked up two more as the defensive coordinator at New England earlier this decade. In 2007, he even guided the awful Cleveland Browns to a winning season - one of only two since their return to the NFL in 1999. If the Hilltoppers get Crennel, that would be huge for them...and, not so great for us.

I find it funny that when Darrell Dickey pointed out the obvious about the facilities, he was called negative. But, when Villareal and Dodge say the same thing, they are said to be helping. Also, the intensity thing is something that was discussed on the VIP board before last week's game. KingDL started it there as well. It's a good discussion in light of the fact that many of us over there considered the ULM game to very winnable considering the circumstances of both teams in the weeks leading up to the game (UNT's seemingly improving offense versus an ULM team on a losing streak, with two quarterbacks battling injuries, and playing on the road). Anyway, the gist of the thread ended up being that the ULM game was yet another chance for Todd Dodge to prove he could get this team prepared for a game with some meaning. Unfortunately, as with every other opportunity of the way to 5-28, the team came out flat. The only difference between ULM and the other games is that this time, we didn't at least rally at some point. It's no secret that I'm not on board with the Todd Dodge experiment. But, again, I predicted they'd be 2-7 at this point, and that's what they are. Alot of what many of you think is negativity from me is simply reality. I never saw anything on the roster or in the lead up to the season that would lead me to believe that this team could win more than three game. I pegged them at 3-9. I'm as eager and desparate as any of the rest of you for us to succeed again in the area of football. The difference remains that I can't just be told words and believe them. At some point, it has to show up on the field - and show up consistently. A win over ULM - or at least a fight - would have been signs of that. Before the season, I predicted the that ULM would beat us 28-20. I really expected a dogfight. As I posted on the VIP board last week, there is no way that ULM has better athletes than we across the board. No way. It's simply not possible. So, I surmised that the X factor would be coaching - which coach would have his troops up for the battle. More and more, though, I have to rethink it. ULM brought in a new defensive coordinator and began the season replacing its starting QB. Well, for whatever reason, their defense has responded to his switch to the 3-3-5. And, it's not like the guy came from a big league school. Dude was defensive coordinator for a year at New Mexico. Before his stint at UNM, he was at UTEP - a school not known for stellar defenses. But, damn if he doesn't have have that defense giving up less than 24 a game in the Belt, and less than 28 a game overall! In his first season as DC. You guys are always whining about "we don't have the money for this type of coach, we don't have the money for that type of coach." This guy ULM hired was a refugee from UTEP and UNM and he held us to 6 points - with players he didn't recruit and running a new, very unorthodox defense. The excuses for Dodge's failure here have always been thin to me, but they're getting thinner. I'm also not defending Deloach anymore either. These guys aren't getting it done. And, you don't have to hire million dollar a year coaches to right the ship. It's proved over and over again in every other type of school you can name - public, private, big enrollment, small enrollment...it doesn't matter. This coaching staff isn't meshing with the players or itself in any consistent way. My expectations were not that high for this season - not as high as many of you. But, I've got to tell you, if we lose to Army, lose all the remaining games and finish 2-10 and Dodge stays...we're in a heap of trouble. Too much is going right for too many other schools in state. Baylor just notched their fourth win led by the their third string QB. TCU is likely to be a BCS team. SMU is likely to go to a bowl game. Houston will be in a bowl game. Texas Tech. Probably Texas A&M. Really of the Texas schools not named "Longhorns" only Rice and UTEP are going to be sitting at home with us without some sort of buzz to sell recruits in December and January. I don't see how we are helped if we go 2-10 and retain this coaching staff. I can see retaining Shelton Gandy, Spencer Leftwich, and maybe Chuck Petersen - if a new coach puts him back on the offensive side of the ball. But, guys, if Army comes in here and rolls us under their new head coach with their new offense, what would that really be saying about this program under Todd Dodge in year three?

Thanks for the reply, MGP. Some of the things you cover have also been related to me by other players' parents over the past year - a couple who were even brought in by Dodge himself. Again, for the record, I'm not for brining in undersized guys at any position. It was just strange to me that some objected even though it's already happening here. Having gone to UNT and Tulsa, I've kind of wondered what would have happened if your son had gone to Tulsa instead. I know Charlie was bigger than the Blankenship boy that played TE up there, and even a little bigger than the youngest Blankenship that went to Nebraska and played defensive end. The Blankenship that played tight end caught quite a few passes up there. I also agree with your statements about recruiting outside of Texas. This has been a battle I've fought on the VIP board. So much emphasis was placed on getting "DFW guys" in the beginning. Well, after a couple of seasons of beatings what happened...Shelton Gandy was sent to get some players from well outside of the DFW area. I always have believed that North Texas would have to take more of an Oklahoma or Nebraska approach to recruiting and get guys wherever they can get them. When I was at Tulsa, there were quite a few guys who had played college ball - couple were in grad school and still playing. But, there were others who had played at Iowa State, Texas, UNLV, and TCU. Chatting with those guys about their recruiting was always fun. It'd be fun to hear your parent perspective on it sometime. The most interesting part of getting to know those guys was going to football games with the guy from UNLV. He had played middle linebacker at UNLV and Tulsa played some of the same teams back then. One was Rice. I remember watching a game Rice was playing and he called nearly every play the Owls ran. Anyway, the Owls were behind and had a fourth and maybe 6 on the 25 yard line or so and they were going for it instead of kicking a field goal. I said, ""That's crazy." This guy watched them line up and said, "Nah, they're throwing this one to the slot in the end zone." I thought he was crazy because Ken Hatfield was still the coach and running option. I'll be damned if they didn't run the play my friend said they would and hit the slot for a touchdown.

And, as noted, we are already playing an undersized defensive end and linebacker. Some may (laughably) want to pin that on Deloach - but, what do you want? He's working with three of Dodge's recruiting classes, so he's doing the best he can with what Dodge with all of his mighty recruiting prowess has been able to sign. That means a small DE and LB. I'm not really in favor of signing this kid, I just think it's funny that people oppose it due to either size of the player or scholarship waste since those two things already existence with this bunch running the show.

Good point! Sign the kid up. Maybe he can also kick.

Why? Dodge has guys signed from 2007 that are now wasting scholarship space, or who have flown the coop. Why begin to have standards now? Besides, we already have one defensive back playing linebacker....why not another?

I'll have my son bring his Bob the Builder stuff. Whatever helps get it done, right?

From the article: “Gary was so frustrated that he decided to come down before halftime,” Dodge said. “We will discuss if he will come down again. He will be back in the box for this game.” Hmm. Doesn't sound like you'll discuss it at all. Sounds like he'll be in the box. Not enough room on the sideline for more than one ego, Todd? Or, was the wide receivers coach offended by some of the language the more experienced and well-qualified coach used in the heat of battle? Probably a little of both. Amateur to the end. And, sickening to boot.

This is a joke as well. Dickey's 2001 "run-based" team had 21 touchdowns through the air, 11 to George Marshall alone. Kevin Galbreath ran for 1200 yards and was backed by some kid named Cobbs who ran for 400+ more. Scott Hall pulling the trigger with a cast that also included Ja'mel Branch, Kevin Howard, and Andy Blount. And, that's just on the offensive side of the ball. Booger Kennedy was leading the charge up front. There is no DL on the roster even remotely like Booger. Jonas Buckles, Don McGee and Craig Jones shoring up the back end. There isn't a defensive back on the roster that even approaches the athletic ability of Jonas Buckles. Not even close. Not in coverage, not in run defense. Future NFL linebackers Brad Kassell and Cody Spencer...and Chris Hurd? No one on this current roster, with perhaps...perhaps...the exception of Nwigwe would crack the starting lineup at LB against those guys. It's ridiculous to even suggest such. This 2009 offering by Todd Dodge couldn't hold a candle to the 2001 or 2002 squad. You can build up Todd Dodge in your mind all you want, but he hasn't gotten near the playmakers on defense that Darrell Dickey did. Nor has he had as consistent an offense as Dickey did beginning with the 2001 run. Hell, the 2001 team scored 21 times through the air. This pass-heavy team may not even throw that many, and you want to say the 2009 team was obviously better than the 2001 squad? The 2001 squad only threw 257 passes all year. The 2009 squad has already thrown it 270 times and has only 11 touchdown passes to show for it. Dude, you may like Todd Dodge. You may look at his 5-27 record and think he's on the right track. Fine. Some agree with you. Others don't. But, to try to say this team would is in any way comparable to the 2001 squad is absurd.

Also, Troy's win would virtually give them the Sun Belt crown. With a 6-0 record, they'd only have FAU and Louisiana remaining. Current one-loss MTSU would need to win out and have Troy drop two since the Trojans already beat them. Troy will destroy Western KY. So, anyone think they could seriously lose back-to-back to FAU and Louisiana? The other part of the puzzle for MTSU is that they don't have any more gimmies on their schedule. Their final four games are against FIU, Louisiana, Arkansas State, and Louisiana-Monroe. One loss would to any of those teams would knock them out of the title race. Mathematically, Lousiana is still in the race. But, Troy would have to lose two more. And, Lousiana would have to win out against a schedule of Arkansas State, Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Monroe, and Troy. In reality, the title hopes of MTSU and Louisiana lie in the hands of Western KY this weekend against Troy. So...the conference is pretty much Troy's if they can somehow squeak by the Hilltoppers this weekend. It is a road game for Troy. So....

Here's another scenario: The possibility of six undefeateds - Florida/Alabama (SEC winner), Texas, TCU, Boise State, Iowa, and Cincinnati. Someone want to tell me that any of those teams could without a doubt beat any of the others? Of all seasons, this would be a tremendous one for a playoff. But, we'll get the ripoff fodder of the two teams ranked highest in the polls at the beginning of the season benefitting at the end as well.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news...p&type=lgns The Big 12's douche bag commissioner wants their 6-6 teams to be considered winning teams in consideration for bowl games. Currently, if you have a 6-6 record, you can't be placed into a bowl game unless all other teams with real winning records have been invited to a bowl game. Big 12 commish wants an exception for his conference. The rich get richer, and continue to whine about it. Sickening. We couldn't even get out foot in the door for the failing Independence Bowl as a second bid for our conference and these other douches want more and more for marginal seasons. Screw the BCS. I hope the nuthuggers out in Utah can get a good enough antitrust attorney to bang the BCS and bowl system. I have my doubts, but one can hope.

The difference is that Troy won't have to score 60+ because Western KY won't put 49 on them in three quarters. Look for Troy to hit their 40s, have Western KY held to 10 or fewer midway through the third quarter, then put in their second teamers.

I went back and looked at my UNT prediction for this season. After seven games, I predicted we'd be 1-6. And, here we are at 1-6. I predicted a 3-9 season with wins over FAU, WKU, and Army. I think we can still get to 3-9. If we can't get to 3-9, there are problems. Actually, there are problems anyway, but you get the drift. I wasn't high on this thing to begin with. And, my low expectations are being fulfilled. If we can't beat WKU and Army, there needs to be a coaching change. WKU is terrible. And, while Army has a decent defense, we really should be able to hold their newly-installed offense down. If not...again, it's hard to fathom a scenario where we don't beat WKU and Army. I'd say, withhold coaching change threads until after WKU. If we lose to WKU, surely Rick Villareal and the administration would be able to see that, after three years, this thing can't even get off the ground against schools on training wheels. And, hopefully, at that point they would get the wheels in motion to find a replacement. To me, this WKU game should be like Custer's Last Stand - Dodge's career here either survives it or it doesn't. We'll see Saturday whether Dodge can inject any urgency at all into his team against the worst school in FBS, the Hilltoppers. If he can't, it's time for him to go. Long ago, in July, I predicted a 37-22 UNT win over WKU. Yes, a 15 point win. There's no reason this squad shouldn't be able to get it done, no matter who the quarterback is, and with or without Nwigwe. The Hilltoppers are just awful.

Thread dates...this thread is from last season, begun before we eeked out a win at W Kentucky.

No one "deserves" to continue to run the program into the ground. Football coaches are judged on the number of wins they produce. This guy ain't producing them. It's time to clear the deck. It's not the University of Todd Dodge. As a UT grad, he could care less. He'd have used us as a stepping stone anyway, if by some miracle this experiment had worked. But, it hasn't. Cut him loose and get the next guy in here.

I'll go ahead and say - fire them both. Fire them all. There. Happy? Nothing is working these days. We're in year three. The same crap that was happening under Dickey in 2005-2006 and Dodge in 2007-2008 is still happening. Clear everyone out...blow it the f up and start over.

It's Just Not Working.

Of the call that led to the safety, Dodge said there was only one man to beat if Tune could get the pitch away. Yeah? No kidding, Todd? That's what every option play is - one man to beat when it's blocked right. But, you're not running it against the scout team out there. The guy speaks as if he's out there re-inventing the wheel. But, kiddoes, this isn't Tom Osborne, Barry Switzer, or Emory Bellard teaching our kids the option. It's the High School Todds. Tom, Barry, and Emory would have had a fullback in there whether they were running some variation of the I or the Bone. I'll bet secondary coach Petersen could teach this play. But, I'll bet twice as much that he wouldn't run it out of his own end zone. Running that play out of the end zone is the microcosm of the High School Todds Era.

Tune is the better QB. But, his problem is the same as Meager and Vizza: (1) the OC, WR coach, and head coach don't know jack about coaching at this level, and (2) he isn't the coach's son. Therefore, it doesn't matter that he takes care of the ball better. Once Riley is semi-healthy, he'll be back in the shotgun, getting hit behind the line on 4th and 1.

Freshmen or JUCO, one this is certain - you need a coach who knows what they're doing with the players he has on his roster. You can give me watercolors or oils, but I'm not an artist. So, whatever I put on canvas will not look good. You want a masterpiece, hire a real artist. You want a good football team, hire a real coach.

It's not that he cannot...he apparently will not. Cynically, I think we're being played here the way Colorado fans were played by Dan Hawkins and his father-son experiment. At some point, Hawkins began to care about his job...but, it's probably too late for him. A week after surprising Kansas, K-State notched up the Buffaloes. Hawkins has run Colorado into the ground. Dodge is running us further into the ground.

We get the same thing, win or loss - everyone telling us this thing is "on the right track" no matter how crappy it looks. Heard George say it on the radio yesterday. Crazy. The standard is the champion of your league. For us, that's Troy. We haven't gotten more competitive with them since Dodge was hired. And, we won't as long as Dodge is here. I wish someone in the athletic department cared about our alma mater. Anyone.

(1) A fullback on plays where one yard is needed. (2) A fullback on plays where you're backed up in your own end zone and need to get some room for your punter. (3) Tight ends...yes...tight ends that your QBs actually throw the ball to. Three seasons of this crap and nothing's changed on the offensive side of the ball. Worse yet, the defense and special teams has regressed, too. Dodge is a disaster. Even if we beat the horrible WKU next week, hiring Dodge an unmitigated disaster. No more five year contracts. Three years with an option for a fourth if a winning record is achieved by year three.

What's the difference? When Dodge was hired, we switched to the Southlake colors and uniform. Maybe the folks in Beaumont couldn't tell the difference.