The Fake Lonnie Finch

Yes, Mickey Matthews! He played there (70s) and coached there (80s). His claim to fame, though, is that he was part of Jim Donnan's Marshall coaching staff that dominated I-AA ball before they went I-A. Another Texan that was on Donnan's Marshall staff back then was Tim Billings, who is now with Wake Forest. I've put his name in everytime I've suggested a replacement. Matthew also coached at Georgia. Dude, if we could hire Mickey Matthew or Tim Billings...the recruiting haul those guy could bring from all parts of the country. Anyway, it's probably best not to talk about it. It makes dealing with the current reality that much more depressing. As it stands, we're picking up the scraps Baylor and SMU are leaving behind - and, they're bad, too! It's hard to believe we're so desperate for WRs after two years that we're offering every JUCO WR that comes down the pike. When will it end? Please, please, let it end soon. We shouldn't be scrapping around for JUCO WRs in Todd Dodge's third recruiting class, we just shouldn't. What we need is linemen that will give the QB time to throw. He could sign every JUCO WR in the country and it wouldn't make a difference. Oh, well...add Mickey Matthews to the long list of coaches we'd like to have but never will.

I would really love to see the dude from Buffalo get a chance. And, the guy at ACU is unreal. Hey, I know it's Division II. But, this guy just hung 93 on WT A&M who has a coach many people here talked up before Dodge replaced Dickey. If some thought Carthel was good enough for the jump, why not the guy who is now dominating him? ACU has one, maybe two more games left. There's an outside chance that their tailback could get 1,000 receiving. He'll get to 2,000 rushing next week easily. He's 250 from 1,000 in receiving. Freaking amazing.

In addition to the guys named in previous threads - none of whom we'll get because so many other jobs are now open, and more will follow, I've now dropped into what I call a second tier of coaches to hire: (1) Danny Barrett, the Assistant Head Coach/QB coach of Buffalo. He and Turner Gill have done an amazing job at Buffalo. The Bulls won a share of the MAC East last year - in their bsecond year. This year, they've won it all to themselves. Despite their incrdeible turnaround, I believe Barrett will be overlooked in most coaching searches. Le'ts get him: http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/footbal...s/barrett.shtml (2) Chris Thomsen, Head Coach of Abilene Christian. ACU scored 93 in a second round playoff game today. The lowest they've scored all season is 37. In every other game, they've scored at least 42. At one point this season, they ripped off five straight games of 50+ points. And that's just on the offensive side of the ball On the defensive side, they've only given up 30 twice. In one other game, they gave up 27. In eight of their 11 games, they've given up fewer than 17 points. At one point in the season, they went four games in a row giving up 11 or fewer points. So, they've getting it done on both sides of the ball. Tailback Bernard Scott has run for 1,987 yards and 26 TDs in 11 games; he also has 42 catches for 750 yards and 6 TDs. QB Billy Malone has thrown for 2,944 yards, 34 TDs and only 6 ints. Receiver Johnny Knox has 52 catches for 1,025 yards and 11 TDs. The defense has scored seven touchdowns on interception and fumble returns. They have 17 interception on the year to go along with 20 fumble recoveries! 20 f'n fumble recoveries? Are you kidding me? Top it off with 36 sacks for the defensive unit as well. Former TCU and ACU tight end and TCU and minor league baseball player Chris Thomsen: http://www.acusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?...p;Q_SEASON=2008 Also, I'm seriously considering going out to Abilene next weekend to watch those guys in their next playoff game. I don't really care that it's Division II. I just want to see this type of dominance on some field somewhere.

Tap the breaks there. Speed. The Big Ten doesn't have it. They have it out West. Either Utah or Boise would give Ohio State all they want, and possibly beat them. Ask OU and Pittsburgh how Boise and Utah do in BCS bowls.

Okay, that's two good things. They call a great game. For comparison, here's a link that has the OU guys: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footb.../112108aab.html They're terrible. I wonder if Jub-Jub would leave for the right price? Anyway, out again until next year. Leaving on a positive note...the announcers are worthy. Maybe someday the team will be.

It is clear that there is nothing new to discuss about the 2008 season, nor will there be for the foreseeable future. With that said, I'm out of here until the fall practice of 2009. Those who like to PM me and want to keep in contact can reach me through this e-mail address: saveuntfootball@yahoo.com It's been real...it's been fun...but it hasn't been like eating a decently baked pecan pie.

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=874022 November 10, 2008 Mike Huguenin Rivals.com College Football Editor Monday with Mike: Forget that four-year plan A second-year coach could win the SEC and play for the national title. Two second-year coaches could win the ACC and play in a BCS bowl game. A second-year coach could win the Big East and play in the BCS. A second-year coach could at least tie for the Big Ten title and possibly play in the BCS. Another second-year coach could oversee a turnaround from 1-11 to 9-3 or 8-4. Butch Davis is just one coach proving it doesn't have to take long to turn things around. A first-year coach still has an outside shot at the ACC title and the resultant BCS berth. The same goes for a first-year coach in the Big East. A third-year coach should win the WAC and could earn a second BCS berth in three seasons. You want to know why schools are more and more willing to pull the trigger and dismiss coaches, even during the season? There are nine reasons listed above. A new coach better be prepared for expectations that have him turning around a program in a season or two. A four- or five-year plan? Get real – and we don't mean get realistic. Nick Saban is in his second season at Alabama. The Tide are 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in the BCS. Butch Davis and Randy Shannon are in their second seasons at North Carolina and Miami, respectively, and each has a shot at the ACC Coastal Division title. Brian Kelly (more on him in a minute) has Cincinnati in control of its fate in the Big East in his second season. Michigan State's Mark Dantonio – whom Kelly replaced at Cincinnati – has the Spartans in the hunt for the Big Ten title. And Minnesota's Tim Brewster still has a chance to see his team finish 9-3 a season after it went 1-11. Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson and West Virginia's Bill Stewart are in their first seasons, and their teams still have a shot at the ACC and Big East crowns, respectively. And third-year Boise State coach Chris Petersen's team has all but officially wrapped up the WAC title, and is three wins away from a 12-0 record and a likely BCS bid. That means along with big salaries at schools such as Clemson, Tennessee and Washington will come expectations that those schools will contend for titles in the next two or three seasons. School officials and fans can point to Davis and Saban as examples of coaches who took over mediocre or worse programs and turned them into championship contenders almost immediately. Obviously, there has been some good fortune surrounding Davis and Saban. The ACC, for example, lacks an elite team, which has helped the Tar Heels climb back to respectability quickly. And the SEC this season isn't as deep as usual, which means the Crimson Tide haven't had to run through the usual grinding conference schedule. Unfortunately for the new coaches, real-life issues won't matter. The new bosses and the fans will expect results fast. Look at Ron Prince: He got 34 games at Kansas State – less than three full seasons – before his bosses pulled the plug last week. And not to belittle the K-State program, but the new coaches at Clemson, Tennessee and Washington will be taking over at schools with far greater football histories than K-State's. Fans at those schools are used to winning – a lot of winning, in Tennessee's case. What happens at those schools if the new guy is struggling in Year Three? Does the plug get pulled and the process start all over? Well, if those schools follow the lead at, for instance, Florida, the answer is probably yes. After all, Florida gave Ron Zook less than three full seasons before officials gave him his walking papers. Then, two seasons later, the Gators were celebrating a national title. This decade alone, four coaches have won national titles in either their first or second season on the job. Good luck, new coaches. The best coach in the Big East is... Brian Kelly has been successful everywhere he has been. Our question of the week: Why doesn't Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly get more mention when coaching vacancies crop up? He's the best coach in the Big East and his resume is a good one: He won two Division II national titles at Grand Valley State (Mich.), he helped get Central Michigan started on its turnaround and he has Cincinnati in control of its destiny in the Big East race this season in his second year at the school. Plus, consider what he has had to deal with at quarterback alone this season. Returning starter Ben Mauk, who led the Bearcats to a 10-3 record last season, was denied a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA in August. Then, new starter Dustin Grutza broke his right leg in Game 2. Then, replacement Tony Pike broke his left arm in Game 4. Then, redshirt freshmen Chazz Anderson and Zach Collaros were thrown into the fray. Pike is back now and led the Bearcats to a win Saturday at West Virginia. The Bearcats (6-2) have four games left, starting Friday at Louisville. The toughest, though, is a home game against Pittsburgh on Nov. 22. Assuming the Bearcats beat Louisville on Friday, a victory over Pitt would all but lock up the Big East regular-season crown and a resultant BCS bid. Cincinnati in the BCS? Maybe that would get Kelly the attention he deserves.

As to the whole Christianity thing, it's just wrong. Christ never directed people to kill babies. It's a cop out used by murderers. But, here's the thing that gets me about all of this type of stuff, and throw in the post-partum as well - somehow, in all of this, the husbands skate away free and clear. Andrea Yates' husband made me sick. The woman told him what she was going to do, and that son of a bitch left those kids at home with her anyway! He's the one that had them living in a bus and following the strict fundamentalist bullcrap. And, yet, when the woman "snaps" he's walking free! In my eyes, he's as much to blame for those kids' deaths as she is. Finally, on the "chance glance" thing - now that I've got two kids, I'm always careful. Not that I think my kids are being looked at, but because when you're doing kids things, there are always other people's kids around - at the park, at games, at various function. I go out of my way not to get near other people's kids. It scares me to death that some idiot could accuse me of anything like a "chance glance." I hate it. I know my kids have to be involved in things, but...like someone else posted, there truly is a double standard when it comes to men. Unfortunately, the way society is these days, you've got to look out for yourself as well as your kids.

These are horrible and shows - again - why it doesn't matter whether or not a person is crazy, if they committed the crime o murder, they should be put away for life. Life in prison, or life in the asylum, or both, it doesn't matter. To me, the only place these people should be released out of psychiatric care is straight into prison. Here's the thing I'll never understand...so you're telling me the person was "crazy" enough to kill one time, but that they're fine now and it won't happen again? To me, the fact that they've been crazy before is all the reason more to not let them back out. Look, I've talked this stuff in circles with legal people, and believe me, there are people who dress up everyday in coats and ties, with degrees from Ivy League, Big Ten, you-name-it universities who absolutely believe letting these "crazy" people go is the right thing to do. When I was in law school at Tulsa, the attorney who represented Timothy McViegh was like a hero to my idiot law professors. The guy honestly believed he could have gotten McViegh off if McVeigh would have just played ball. He wouldnot', thank God. But every bed-wetting liberal law professor up there kissed this criminal defense attorney's ass like you've never seen. Anyway, it's a pathetic shame that this woman is being let loose into society again. But, dadgummit, those types of attorney are every-f'n-where you turn around. Liberal as the day is long, ready to take away your rights for being an average, working class American, but running like a dog to a T-bone steak to defend murders, terrorists, and other miscreants. It's just sickening.

Duke hired David Cutcliffe following the 2007 season. Duke went 1-11 in 2007. In 2006, 0-12. In 2005, 1-11, in 2004, 2-9. Four year, four win and 43 losses. So, I wonder if the "cupboard was bare" when Cutcliffe arrived? So, here is Duke in 2008 - four wins, five losses...26 commitments and there are still three games left in the season! Yes, without "his own players" he somehow matches the win total of the previous four years and has kids clamoring to get into his program. Someone try to tell me coaching doesn't matter when this is happening at Duke. Just how is David Cutcliffe improving on the field and in the realm of recruiting with less than one full season under his belt? Of his 26 commitment, two are four-star, 10 are three-star, so he's not just getting the second best and table scraps. How can he do it? Could it be that knows how to do it? I think so.

At his last five years at a rich high school. Go take a look at his high school coaching record prior to Southlake. It ain't great. He took over a school that already had a winning tradition. The other places he went, not so much, and he wasn't able to do much for them.

OU is ranked ahead of Texas because two other teams in the BCS Top 25 need them to be highly ranked in order to help their own bowl bids - TCU and Cincinnati. Both played OU this year, so OU's standing helps eachof their strength of schedule. Also, you've got Mike Leach at Texas Tech who is a former OU assistant. It will help him for OU to be ranked as high as possible when OU plays Tech in two weeks. This is the prime example of why a playoff is needed. In a playoff, there is no bias for either regional sportswriters or coaches. You simply get the result that you get on the field.

100% correct. I would only add that it is the responsibility of the athletic director, president, and board to find someone for a buy out. That's what happens at the major powers. However, we have the misfortune of having a board that doesn't care enough to buy out, an athletic director without the balls to buy out, and a president without sense enough to lead a buy out. I'm beginning to think that the board simply ignores what's going on, Bataille simply defers to RV about what's going on, and RV simply stays in denial about what's going on. And, so, here is where we're left - chalking up another lost season. The difference between these two and any of the 19 I've been a part of as either a student or alumni is that we are now never competitive in any game whatsoever if the school is a full FBS. People mention recruiting and the off-season. Just give me a break. We're not getting the best players in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We're not even getting the second or third best. All that hype about "Dodge and his Texas prep connections" is just as big a ruse as "Dodge is an offensive genius." He doesn't have the former, and never was the latter. It's a ruse, all a damn ruse. And, we're the suckers. Again. High school coaches standing on a college sideline getting their butts kicked week after week after week. Pathetic.

When you look at Mario Cristobal taking a pathetic FIU program and it's 26 game losing streak and turning it around "without his players" you have to wake up to the reality that coaching matters. Germaine Dawson, Chad Rose...do those names ring a bell. They were starters in 2006. Where are they now? Colt Mahan - relegated to special teams and now only getting on the playing field late in the season? Not one snap behind center to Daniel Meager? With all of the blowout we've been in, not one snap? Not even to try to change to pace when Vizza is off? Dropped passes galore. Terrible pass protection. Inconsistent run game. The inability to convert thrid downs. That is the offense side of the ball. The defensive side is giving up 100 yard rushers every game and 100 yard receivers every game. They can neither stop the run nor the pass. Long runs for touchdowns. Long passes for touchdowns. Screen passes for long touchdowns. Nothing works on the defensive side of the ball. Blocked kick after blocked kick on special team. Ten games into the season and the kick returners are still fumbling and mishandling kickoffs. It's atrocious, our special teams. And, this is all on the players? Look, Mario Cristobal is using "some other coaches players." Heck, Nick Saban at Alabama is using "someone else's players." Cut, the crap of saying the players aren't good enough. It doesn't fly. It's the coaching, or lack thereof. You don't play as poorly as this team has for so many games without there being a problem at the top. The buck stops at the top, not with the players.

No. Mario Cristobal is only in his second year. He doesn't have "his players" in place yet. How could he possibly lead the Golden Panthers to a bowl? I mean, give him some time to get "his players" in there before expecting him to win. Sheesh.

Thank NC- I was just trying to find the positive in Saturday's game. It turned out to be FAU's player's names.

And celebrate their cool names. I've never seen a team with such coloful names: DiIvory Edgecomb ... the all-too-rare double I. Cortez Gent ... the Hispanic soudning last name used as a first name, followed by a very British sounding last name. Franz Joseph ... football player or famous classical musician from Austria? Warley Leroy ... surely Leroy is the first name and Warley is the last name. No? Royce Rose ... on the alphabetical roster, it's Rose Royce, just like the 70s soul band that gave us such classics as "Car Wash" and "I Wanna Get Next To You" Also interesting, but not playing, freshman Yourhighness Morgan, a freshman linebacker. Also not playing, Jarvis Manley. Last name, Manley. Roster says 5 foot - 5 inches tall, and 140 pounds. The perfect size for a person with the last name Manley. Love reading the FAU roster. Of course my all-time favorite was Kokain Mothershed: http://media.www.thechartonline.com/media/...ll-476488.shtml

Maybe so. Maybe so. But, has Tina Yothers seen this action? http://video.aol.com/video-detail/joel-pri...wigwe/747100449 (Language warning...in case RV is logged in and Coach Dodge happens to be in the office).

Yes. Hamas was already launching missiles into Israel again the morning after Obama won. It's not just us, but our allies that will be in trouble if we let our gaurd down. By the way, I had a cousin who served in Iraq for a 12-month tour. He was with an Apache helicopter unit. Some of what someone has posted here is true, about is knowing where Bin Laden is. That post talked about Pakistan. But, according to my cousin, the same was true in and around Baghdad. They knew where the insurgents were, but weren't allowed to go get them without cause - basically, coming under intense fire from them without any citizens around. The problem, according to him, is that until the surge, we were tyring to fight the insurgents in a politically correct manner. His example was this: After the roadside bombs went off, a team of engineers was always sent to patch the hole. Well, so they went out and patched them, but then had to stand and wait for the thing to dry sufficiently. Often times, during the waiting period, the crew would begin to take on small arms fire. However, they were not allowed to fire back if any civilians were around. So, they sat there like sitting ducks. They had to sit there until a certain amount of force was being used against them. At that point, they could call in the Apaches, who would simply blow the crap out of wherever the aggression was coming from. Freaking crazy. You couldn't return small arms fire, or go into the neighborhood and smoke the perpetrators out. But, if it got too bad, you could call in the birds to blow it to bits. Go figure that one out. It was the most bizarre thing to sit and listen to my cousin tell the story. I told him, "Screw that. If that's the way we're fighting it, why are we there?" A couple of months after his tour ended, Petraes ordered up the surge. And, not surprisingly, it worked. Seriously, people who say Bush just wanted to kill people are not just idiots, but horribly ignorant. We were going out of our way not to kill people until the surge. Of course, that was part of Bush's problem, trying to please too many people here and abroad. It would have been better if he had been the "cowboy" he was accused of being. He never was. He was more like a ranch hand. And, a nice one. The kind that would let you borrow his horse for the day. Good man. I still love him, though. Anyone who protects the unborn is good in my book. And, well...I liked my tax breaks as well. Those were nice. It's much more fun to file a return knowing money is coming back than to have to dig through the tax code and find ways to hide it for a few years. Oh, well. If Obama does anything for me, it'll be that I brush up on tax law again.

But, does he cuss or smoke a little grass on the side? That's the threshold here.

You continue to prove my point about going out and getting money. From a tiny alumni base, Tulsa's AD found money. UNT has graduated tens of thousands more students than Tulsa has. And, we are near DFW, much bigger than the Tulsa Metro area. And, we also live in an oil/gas producing state. The difference remains - Tulsa somehow managed to get money behind their effort to resurrect their football program, we have not. Again, it can be done. It has been done at other places. We're just not doing it.

Why do you hate George and Hank?

Tulsa. And, they did what I suggested...got an AD who got funds together to hire Steve Kragthorpe, who at the time was the Buffalo Bills coach. See, read carefully, the AD went out and got the funds to hire a coach like Kragthorpe. In short, he did his job. Now, Tulsa is a private school with less than 3,000 undergrads and had a stadium worse than Fouts. Yet, Kragthorpe agreed to coach there. Kragthorpe's immediate success with "another coach's players" led to an inflow of cash that led to the stadium being refurbished. And, after Kragthorpe left, Tulsa has been able to keep their gridiron success going.

The most points given up in a season by a I-A/FBS school is 553 by U-LaLa in 1997. We've given up 440 in nine games thusfar. If we play to our average, we should beat that record handily (586). We came close last year. Oh...and if we give up 500, Todd Dodge will join former UNLV coach Jeff Horton as the only I-A/FBS coaches to lead schools to two 500+ points allowed seasons. Not to be outdone by Horton, Dodge could also do it in consecutive seasons. Good work! 553 - Louisiana-Lafayette........1997 / NCAA I-A 551 - Nevada-Las Vegas.........1996 / NCAA I-A 541 - North Texas..................2007 / NCAA FBS 532 - California......................1994 / NCAA I-A 520 - Nevada-Las Vegas.........1995 / NCAA I-A 518 - Minnesota.....................1983 / NCAA I-A 518 - New Mexico...................1988 / NCAA I-A 505 - Northwestern (IL)..........1981 / NCAA I-A 502 - Colorado St..................1981 / NCAA I-A To keep from being the record-holders, our defense has got to allow less than 35 points a game over the final three games. Can it be done? [Note: Northwestern and Colorado State did not play one another in 1981...although, what a game that would have been!]

I predict that, no matter the outcome on the field, Howard Schnellenberger will be...well, himself. Nice championship ring on his left annular finger...he's married to one of his championships?