The Fake Lonnie Finch

Here's another one to keep an eye on. Earlier in the season, there were rumors that he'd leave to OU program. If he does...team him up with old OU scout team buddy Tyler Stradford just about an hour and a half south? Plus, he's from Charlie Brown's hometown. We'll be happy to take all the disgruntled Oklahoma and Oklahoma State recruits we can get. http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footb...s_jameel00.html

As long as the receivers coach will let them cuss here and there during the game (or, at least wait until after the game to reprimand them), yes, I like "The Wild Bunch" for our defense. Or, the "The Wild Green Bunch."

I think the point is that among the Sun Belt teams the competition is better. Forget about out of conference. We all know that for every Troy win over Missouri and Oklahoma State, there are the beatings they take to Florida. The Sun Belt as a whole is more competitive with each other. There is a good measure of stability within the Belt even though it's schools can't run with the big dogs outside the conference yet. Most of the coaches have been at their respective schools long enough to know their conference opponents' strengths and weaknesses. And, that makes for some pretty good football these days in the Belt. Arkansas State - Steve Roberts, 8th season Florida Atlantic - Howard Schnellenberger, 9th season Louisiana - Rickey Bustle, 8th season Louisiana-Monroe - Charlie Weatherby, 7th season Middle Tennessee - Rick Stockstill, 4th season Troy - Larry Blakeney, 19th season Western Kentucky - Dave Elson, 7th season Only us and FIU have coaches that haven't been around at least four seasons. And, even at Middle Tennessee, the coach prior to Stockstill was there for seven years. FIU's Mario Cristobal is no stranger to football at this level either having been an assistant for nine years at Rutgers and Miami before the being hired to lead the Panthers. This conference has some solid coaching. But, it is what it is once you step outside. You don't have speed two or three deep the way an Oklahoma or Florida does. I'm one who has never obsessed about what happens out of conference in this league. You can even check back to my pre-season prediction. There, I stated it wouldn't be lack of progress if we went 0-4 out of conference, but won half of our Sun Belt games. I stand by that. Going 4-4 in the Belt would be fine...and, at this point, should be expected.

The reason I like this is that the kid is a fighter. We need fighters on this team. He could be our LeGarrett Blount. Hey, anyone want to go across the middle for a pass against the guy who survives knife fights? And, a guy who will voluntarily live in Cisco, Texas for a couple of years? Didn't think so. They may not even have dorms at Cisco. Plus, I think they have to hunt and kill their own food as well...out on the hard-scrabble plains of West Texas. Also...consider this...the kid gets kicked off the loose ship that Pirate Mike runs up in Lubbock? Wow! Now that's some stuff right there. This team needs more characters, and this guy fits the bill perfectly. Play him this year, if possible.

As far as Malzahn, he's taking the route coaches normally take: high school to college assistant to head coach. Check Troy head coach Larry Blakeney's resume: QB at Auburn, seven years as a high school coach, 14 years as an assistant at Auburn, now in his 19th year as Troy's head coach. A full 14 years between his high school coaching career to the time he was named head coach at Troy. And, in those intervening 14 years, he spent 10 seasons daily watching Pat Dye build Auburn from an also-ran in the SEC to a perennial conference and national title contender. That's valuable. The problem with Todd Dodge is simply that the gap between what it takes to run a high school football team versus what it take to run a FBS college football program is vast. As an assistant, you can be responsible for your group of players and see how the whole thing operates. Dodge never had that. I think that's why he was naive enough to bring on so many high school coaches with him. You have to assume naivete, otherwise you have to believe he really thought he was such a genius that he could win at this level with high school coaches. He couldn't be that stupid, right? The disappointment is that we have an athletic director who should have known better. He's a guy who coached a little in I-A and had some experience over at TCU on the administration side. Surely, he had to know that (1) hiring a high school coach was risky enough without (2) also letting him bring so many high school assistants. I think that's why he's had the problem he's had, on and off the field. He didn't know how to handle a team that wasn't full of suburban white kids. He didn't know how to handle a media that didn't fawn all over him. It manifested itself in garbage like coaches reprimanding players for cussing in the middle of football games and not allowing the local press access. What you hope Dodge has learned is that you can't run an FBS program like Cuba, every command coming from the top down. You need assistant who know what they are doing. And, then, you have to have faith enough in yourself that you delegate authority out to them.

Likey the beginning of the end at Tech: http://www.gomeangreen.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=27927 Posting signing day blurb from 2006: http://www.kcbd.com/global/story.asp?s=444...tType=Printable

No one cares unless it works. If Troy was going 3-9 every season, it wouldn't be an issue. They have a coaching staff and compliance team that does a good job of reading whether or not a player will make it. There are no rules against having more than 25 kids sign an NLI. The only limits are on scholarships. As I stated earlier in the year on the "secret" recruiting board, Troy is smart because having a kid who may not qualify early sign an NLI prevents someone from scooping them up later in the spring or summer if they do qualify later. Also, as long as Blankney has been coaching in that region, he's got the trust of high school and JUCO coaches so that he can work it. I also stand by my "secret" board postings earlier in the year that said we should be doing the same thing. You take an edge where you can find it. This is legal, and it can give teams on the bubble and edge. We should be doing it.

From the article: "The nature of passing can vary (if you only throw bubble screens that does not entirely count) but passing repeatedly is an underdog strategy." Anyway, the this is alot of what Sammy Hagar would call "mental masturbation." The bottom line is that underdogs have to have coaches that know what to do, speed in enough places to counter what "Goliath" has, and discipline. Troy tried passing and pulling tricks on Florida earlier this year and got whipped. They lost a game to LSU last year that they "had in the bag" because they kept throwing the ball. The problem is, I believe, most teams in this situation don't trust themselves. Early in a season, a Goliath isn't going to put in a full package of plays on offense or schemes on defense to prepare for an opponent that is outmanned. There's no point in it. If you are Alabama, why show the SEC every trick up your sleeve against North Texas? Better athletes will almost always win, even if they make a few mistakes. What Goliath wants to do is get up early and pull starters to give underclassmen some reps, and get out with no injuries. But, if early in the ballgame your coaching staff is smart enough to realize how the Goliath is proceeding in its limited plans and schemes, and the team has enough discipline to adjust on the fly - and speed to execute the adjustments - you can take down a Goliath. Goliath doesn't like it when you "hang with them." They haven't put in enough of the playbook that week to counter you if you shut down their basic stuff. Conversely, if you are moving the ball against the basic defensive scheme they employ for you, they may not be able to fully counter for the same reason. The vast majority of the time, though, Goliath is going to win. People look at Appalachian State versus Michigan a couple of years ago, but fail to mention the hundreds of other games where Goliath won. Darrell Dickey would occassionally do a good job of keeping a Goliath game close, but never really had enough speed on his roster to take down anyone other than Spike Dykes-led Texas Tech teams, who could be beaten if you could shut down their run game. The trick plays and desperate passing game is garbage. If Goliath can score on you in four plays or less (SEE North Texas @ Oklahoma, 2007), it doesn't matter if you limit the total number of plays either. In those games, nothing matters. OU ran bubble screens that scored against us. It was ridiculous. Then, there was the high school defensive coordinator on our sideline trying to figure out what to do...and well...as I've said, you've got to have coaches who know what they are doing, first and foremost. The idea that Todd Dodge and his crew in 2007 had any clue as to how to crack Bob Stoops and his coaches was as laughable then as it is now. The bottom line is you have the have coaches with enough smarts and players with enough speed and discipline to execute your normal gameplan when Goliath goes vanilla. If you don't, you'll get whipped everytime. If you've got smart coaches who trust what they are doing, and speedy and disciplined enough players to execute their orders, you can bring down Goliath.

Yes, because in the big picture of the NFL, those high school championships are so important. I mean, everybody knows that the NFL scouts and general managers pretty much ignore what a player does in college and drills down to what guys did in high school. If only Tony had some high school championships under his belt, he'd be a better quarterback. He might even be able to beat mid-majors like Ohio and Middle Tennessee like Riley...oops...wait a minute. Looks like I've got the "proven winner's" games mixed up. Someone list Riley's college wins for us here, then list Tony's college and pro wins. Make sure you bring an extra sheet of paper. If you spell out B-A-L-L S-T-A-T-E really big, maybe you can fit Riley's college wins onto two sheets of paper. Maybe the problem is that Tony's dad doesn't coach the Cowboys. I mean, you look at our alma mater UNT and Colorado and you can easily see that the father-son/head coach-quarterback package is unstoppable. Jerry Jones is crazy to keep Wade around when Tony Romo's dad is available. Now, I don't know if Romo and his dad wrote plays out on napkins at the dinner table or at restaurants or if they drew them up on the church bulletins, but whatever. It must work because we're off to a flying start with Riley at 1-3 and Dallas is just 2-2 with both loses to undefeated teams with Tony. I mean, the comparison between the two is obvious.

This is a smart guy, Phil Steele... OU, with one loss, is ranked ahead of Texas in the Big 12. Yeah, okay. UAB has already beaten Rice by 20. And, Rice is winless. So, Steele ranks Rice ahead of UAB. Of course. Who could possibly argue this one? He's got Texas Tech, with two losses, ahead of three unbeaten Big 12 teams. Sure. That makes sense. Ohio State, with one loss, over three other undefeated Big Ten (or 11) teams. Uh, huh. Pittsburgh and their loss, in Steele's genius formula, is ranked ahead of the two unbeaten school from the Big East. I tell ya...it just keeps getting better! And, he's got a winless Florida Atlantic ahead of us. Hmm. I can see why people follow this guy's stuff. It all makes very good sense...if you set the reality of actual game results aside.

I know a few Frog fans with season tickets, but our kiddoes have been down with the flu. So, we'll be chilling out at home this weekend. It's fun to hit TCU games every couple of years. We'll definitely head over to Forth Worth for the Frog game against Utah on November 14th. That'll likely be the Mountain West Conference title showdown, and UNT will be at Florida International that weekend in Miami. I'll have George and Hank in my ear and the Frogs and Utes in my eyes. It really is cool to have three college football teams in the area. I just wish that we could somehow gin up another series with the Frogs. On that note, it should please our fervent Pony haters that SMU is about to go through a meat-grinder of an October...relatively speaking. I wouldn't be surprised to see them lose the next five: Oct. 03 - @ TCU Oct. 10 - EAST CAROLINA Oct. 17 - NAVY Oct. 24 - @ Houston Oct. 31 - @ Tulsa That's as tough a mid-major slate as you'll see in a stretch. Good luck, June

Hey, it's good the see the mean shade of green again. Hopefully, the meaner shade of green will return once we've rid ourselves of the high school coaches who brought it from their high school. It'd be nice to get back to college-looking Nike, Reebok or Adidas jerseys again as well.

It's tough to feel sorry for any minor bowl that has hitched its cart to BCS conferences. If their attorneys had any brains at all, they'd have made a clause for the bowl to pursue teams closer in the region if they felt the qualifying Big 12 or SEC teams would do the foundation more harm than good, thereby making BCS tie-ins based on records secondary to the finances of the foundation. Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette, both Sun Belt schools with 6-6 records, would have had fan bases up for a game against Louisiana Tech. With both so close, expenses would have been cut even further. Plus...what a game for the fans! La Tech versus close cross-border school Arkansas State or in-state rival U La-La! That would have been fun to watch. The whole sham of the bowl system is that it's supposed to be a "reward" for the kids. In reality, it's nothing more than corporate haggling with conferences. As much money as March Madness brings in, there's no telling what a playoff would generate. Plus, I think a playoff - separate from the minor bowls - would allow the minor bowls to contract with more regional teams. Of course, because it makes sense, it won't happen or even be considered. We're talking about dealing with an entity that ignores rule-breaking by the USCs, OUs, etc. of the world while pretending not to be involved with the post season. It's ridiculous. That's what it argues in order to continually dodge antitrust suits - they don't control the post season in FBS football. Really? You don't control it? Then why do players have to be academically eligible to participate? That's control. If the NCAA truly doesn't control the off-season, the schools should be able to field any player they choose, regardless of grades, conduct, etc. We could run Booger Kennedy back out there for a bowl game for all you care, NCAA, if you aren't in control, as you claim. My example is extreme, but it goes to the heart of the NCAA's absurd claim that it is not responsible for the NCAA FBS football championship. There are many other examples, such as the fact that the NCAA requires certain financial criteria be met before a bowl is sanctioned. It's pure garbage. If you've got nothing to do with FBS post season football, NCAA, then why are you making financial requirements for it? We ought to be able to damn well set up a Safeway Parking Lot Bowl if we want to an invite any-damn-one in the country to play in it...if the NCAA truly has no control over the post season, as it claims. Such garbage. The non-BCS conferences are such f'ing cowards for letting the BCS conferences and NCAA run roughshod over them all the time. Get some damned attorneys with some rocks and end the thing. F'ing, F'ing F!

Really? Find one instance over the past three seasons where anyone - even the most ardent Dodge fluffer - said that Ford was "a brilliant play caller." It's been quite clear for 28 games now that he hasn't clue one what he's doing against college defenses.

Perhaps. But, it is more likely that it will be the death knell instead. And, I'd like to thank everyone who made this moment possible: -Mrs. Strawn, my 7th grade English teacher, who encouraged me to memorize the poetry of dead, English writers. -Mrs. Whipple, my 11th grade English teacher, who made me stay after class when I hadn't done my homework. -Miss Lynch, my 12th grade English teacher, who taught me to have passion about literature. -Professor and author Jack Welch, my freshman composition instructor, who taught me the importance of form and grammar. -Professor Eugene Wright, my Shakepeare professor, who taught me the importance of Middle English in the scheme of the development of the English we now speak in America. -The University of North Texas for bestowing a Literature degree upon me. -And, Lorri Brokaw, who on our first date told me not to end my sentences with prepositions because it was unbecoming for such a handsome lad. She and Miss Lynch were the first to show me that good literature and good legs were not mutually exclusive. Meow. All of these and more have made it possible for me to bring to you this rare and fastidious piece of grammar smack.

Exactly. Our fanbase is very quick to dis paying customers...and, sometimes, longtime paying customers. If the guy wanted to show up wearing a barrell and boots, it shouldn't matter. Money is money.

Um... The Eagles Nest (formerly Non-Unt Sports) The Place for Non-UNT sports...etc., etc., etc. "...failures of college spread QBs in the pros...." -The Fake Lonnie Finch. The discussion is the use of the spread and spread QBs in the pros, not college spread offenses. Knowing where you are, important. Reading comprehension, important.

Looks like Joe and I share more than a birthdate. He's also not sold on the spread. Speaks of the getting under center versus majority shotgun. Also, mentions failures of college spread QBs in the pros. But, what could Joe possibly know? I mean, he's never even coached football. How could he possibly comment on the spread if he hasn't coached? Right? http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...ol.37a0841.html "In the spread [in college], you may play against some good teams ... but they aren't all great players. Then the NFL takes all the [great] players, puts them together, and it's a little tougher [offense] to run. Everyone is so big and strong. "I think the spread is still a few years away, if not more. They like to run the ball in the NFL. So you have to be able to get up under center." -Joe Montana

Amen. This place has gotten so desperate emotionally that many here tried to parlay a win over a very bad Ball State team into competitiveness against Alabama.

This kind of garbage is laughable; but, sports journalists never give it up. Here's the "blueprint" forever and for all time: Teams like Alabama go vanilla against teams they can simply overpower athletically, like FIU or North Texas. That an athletically inferior school may "hang with" an Alabama while it is running a stripped down offense and basic defense is irrelevant. Saban has his team scheming for Arkansas the following week. But, predictably, writers having to cover the affair will step way out on the "blueprint" limb anyway; if for nothing else, to fill space.

I must break my code of silence for this one and just say...WOW! The outcome of the game be damned. Win, lose or draw...WOW!

That was my first thought. Damn, I'm getting old. Anyway, this will please all of the kids on campus who wear their Longhorn gear instead of UNT stuff.

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http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/12111534 http://hurricanesports.cstv.com/sports/m-f...k_taylor00.html

KRAM...KRAM....