The Fake Lonnie Finch

The problem is always the same with these out of conference get-bashed-for-cash games - athletes, schemes. Kansas State has better athletes; and, their coaches have seen the spread run by better athletes for many years. It's not the rocket science everyone crack it up to be. I don't think the Wildcats put 60 on us, but we will have our hands full with their size and speed from the opening kickoff. We're far too inexperienced and thin on our lines, and way too inexperienced at linebacker and in the secondary. It will show early and often, I'm afraid. It's not pessimism, it's looking at what we have versus what they have.

I think the stigma has more to do with the pro game. I can't think of any college spread QBs in the NFL because the defenses in the NFL are too fast. You still have to be able to run the ball, play defense, and have a consistent special teams to win in the NFL. In college, you can get away with winging it around because not every team will have fast, strong, athletic defensive backs. Nor will every college team have defense ends that can get a good pass rush. The average college defense is what keeps the Mike Leaches and Steve Spurriers of the world employed. The spread is find for college. But, at the end of the day, you need a defense, too, if you are interested in championships. This is why Mike Leach has the perfect job. Lubbock is fine if Tech goes to a bowl game every year. They've never won a Big 12 title. They've never even been in a title game. It doesn't matter. They plug a QB into their dink and dunk offense, take their 7-9 wins a year, and are happy. The old Houston Oilers and Detroit Lions have long ago proven that it doesn't work against NFL-class athletes. To address the Tebow thing as well: The "runner-thrower" QB hasn't fared very well in the NFL either. Again, when you have linebackers, safeties, and in some instances defensive ends, that run as fast as tailbacks, you are never going to be able to have a QB who runs as much as he throws. Additionally, as big as NFL players are and as hard as they hit, it's stupid to even attempt it. Even before he was nailed for dogfighting, Michael Vick wasn't beating the world with the Falcons. Vince Young is awful at Tennessee and has been constantly nicked up with injuries. The bottom line is, you have to know how to play quarterback to be an NFL quarterback. It's not a backyard free-for-all up there. You need discipline and the ability to complete the ball all over the field, long and short. Athletic guys like Vick and Young and Tebow can get away with what they did in college because their teams, overall, were more athletic than the vast majority of teams they played. In the NFL, it's just not that way. Every defense is big and fast. Remember, Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson have Super Bowl rings. Vick and Young...not so much.

The Mizzou AD should be careful. They are a basketball school that occassionally shows up for football. They're on a high right now, but the future...well, if Pinkel jumps ship for a bigger job...the parking lot on football days will be filled with pigeons again.

K-State got a large cash infusion in the late 80s from a guy who won the lottery. And, they hired from the Iowa coaching tree begun by Hayden Fry. We haven't had either. What we can do is schedule the way K-State began to schedule under Bill Snyder - winnable home games in September. Yes, that's right. Here I am beating the dead horse again. But, someone brought up K-State and their rise. Since we don't have lottery winners donating and we can't afford to hire a college level coach, we can do Part C and help ourselves out in the scheduling department.

This is where we find out whether Dodge is a team coach or his son's coach. Riley needs to put on some muscle before he does anything against the likes of K-State, LSU, etc. He's not big enough to begin with. If his dad sticks him in there to get beat up anyway...well...I don't know. It will just confirm that Todd Dodge isn't as bright as everyone thought coming in.

I'd go players only: Joe Greene Cedric Hardman J.T. Smith Abner Haynes It's hard not to put Spider Lockhart up there as well.

This dead horse has been beaten over and over this off-season (and others), but the schedule, with our lack of depth along the lines and the number of new players on defense, doesn't set up well for us. Of the first four games, Rice is really the only winnable game - which, believe me, would be great. It would be nice to see a road win over a non-Sun Belt school no matter who it is. The middle four (games 5 through 8) are going to give a chance at consistency because three of them are at home, two back-to-back against predictably weak FIU and ULL. ULM and Troy are supposed to be good. If we can pick one off from that pair to go along with home wins versus FIU and ULL, that'd be great. The final four games are tough because it's the teams that have high expectations in the league, and three of those are on the road. Really, you throw in Troy and our last five games are against five teams who could legitimately win the Sun Belt this year. Well, not WKU - but, you know what I mean. Their program is trying to log a 13th consecutive winning season. They're not going to be pushovers this year or next year when they get full membership. The whole thing just doesn't set up well. This is what I mean when I say Game #1 should always be at home and always against a winnable opponent. Yes, people pooh-pooh Texas Tech, Kansas and others for scheduling I-AAs for those games, but...you know what, they're BCS. We're not. We've got a ton of questions to be answered. It would be easier to get the young and inexperienced guys into the flow versus a Stephen F. Austin or Sam Houston or Southeast Missouri than to roll up to Kansas State and their 260 pound QB who has notched up the likes of UT twice. I'd like to get to the point where we don't have three or four road games to start the season. But, if it has to be that way, at least try to work the the Belt so that we're not also playing three in a row on the road at the end of the season. It just doesn't make sense in building a program. It's not the way Tech, KSU, and Kansas have built their programs. I'd follow their lead and give ourselves more of a chance on the field - while also giving the fan base more opportunities to come support the team at home.

The other problem is that players tend to lose weight throughout the season. How much will he weigh during the three game road stretch at the end of the season?

I expect 3-9, but would not be surprised by 5-7 (adding winnables Rice and WKU to the win list). DeLoach coming back to guide the defense will be a factor in improving, but he doesn't have the cast of characters he did in 2001 and 2002. It took him a few seasons to build that tough 2002 defense. Now is no different. Too much inexperience on the defensive side of the ball this year. On the offensive side, we'll be fine if Dodge can resist the temptation to monkey with Vizza. Vizza is proven and will again be hooking up with Casey Fitzgerald, Brock Stickler, and Sam Dibrell. Micah Mosely and Cam Montgomery will do well, but the offensive line depth will hurt us in the end. Dodge must turn to recruiting linemen this year or he will flame out before his contract is up. Overall, the games will be closer than last year, and I believe we'll have a winning record at home. However, getting over five wins is going to be asking alot of this group. In 2009, however, there will be no excuse for not contending for the Sun Belt title. Key opponents will have lost senior QBs while Vizza will be a battle-hardened junior...if, if, if Dodge can resist the urge to put in his son too soon! Dodge, Jr. should be redshirting the 2008 campaign while Vizza leads the way and the experienced Meager backs up for his final season. If Todd Dodge can't see that...well...everyone will have vastly overrated his knowledge as a football coach. Game 1 at Kansas State: KSU 45, UNT 21 It doesn't really matter that KSU has a bunch of JUCO guys coming in. On the offensive side of the ball, they have plenty coming back. Their veteran offensive line wears our fledgling defensive line down in the third quarter to break away. Game 2 Tulsa: TU 41, UNT 34 This is a game of two spread offenses. Tulsa had a bad defense on the road last year, but still managed to outscore most opponent in the way to a CUSA Championship appearance and a 63-7 beating of Bowling Green in the GMAC Bowl. TU is still a few seasons ahead of us. Our new defensive backs get their first real look at a spread team. Game 3 at LSU: LSU 45, UNT 19 It's LSU. They will be coming off a game with Troy and preparing for the game the next week at Auburn. They get up on us early, then pull the starters to rest for the early SEC showdown with Auburn the following week. Game 4 at Rice: Rice 43, UNT 32 Like the Tulsa game, this is two offenses that wing it around. Rice will have been trashed by Texas the weekend before we get there and will be happy to see softer competition. Game 5 Florida International: UNT 40, FIU 25 We inexplicably lost to the worst team in college football last year, FIU. It won't happen again. Game 6 Louisiana-Lafayette: UNT 36, ULL 31 Yes, ULL has some talented seniors on offense. However, most of it is run-based. By this point in the season, I expect out DL to be doing better against the run. We feed off the win the weekend before and steal one from hardluck Ricky Bustle's bunch for a second consecutive home win. Game 7 at Louisiana-Monroe: ULM 39, UNT 21 Kinsmon Lancaster and a group of experienced receivers and a gelling Warhawk defense snap our two game win streak. Game 8 Troy: Troy 36, UNT 32 We give Troy an unexpected fight, but fall short. We are getting tougher at home. Game 9 at Western Kentucky: WKU 48, UNT 15 For whatever reason, the bottom falls out. The Hilltoppers remember the game that got away in Denton and play a tighter, more disciplined game this time around. Game 10 at Florida Atlantic: FAU 40, UNT 25 These are the Sun Belt favorites. Much experience on offense and defense. At this point in the season, Owl QB Rusty Smith should be well into leading FAU to back-to-back Sun Belt titles. Game 11 at Middle Tennessee State: MTSU 38, UNT 18 A third consecutive tough conference road game. MTSU will be fighting for a piece of the Sun Belt title; we'll still be struggling to learn how to win on the road. Although, this many conference road games this late in the season would be brutal on any team, much less the one we'll have with such an inexperienced defense. Game 12 Arkansas State: UNT 31, ASU 28 For some reason, Arkansas State has lost tons of road game under Steve Robers - even in Sun Belt play! Their inability to win consistently on the road will bite them here again, was we finish 3-2 at home for the 2008 season - a positive sign for a breakout 2009 season.

The only problem is FAU doesn't play "smashmouth" football. They wing it around like we do. Again, the man played before facemasks...there's bound to be some damage up there.

Or, there may something in play that we don't want to admit here because it would mean dissing the athletic department. If you google "sixth year" eligibility NCAA, you can be able to glean that most of the acceptance or rejections are a matter of paperwork. Now, could it be that our athletic department people - the same ones who lost us five scholarships on the APR or whatever it is, have been promising us a new stadium forever, etc. - can't seem to get the right information to the NCAA when it comes to requesting such things as extra years of eligibility. Once again, look at the big picture. Is our athletic department the model of efficiency and production? What do we get for the money paid to them? Or, what have we gotten? Not just with the current people, but with those is the past as well. Maybe I'm being too simplistic, but an athletic department's value should be judged upon much more than, "well they're nice people" or "they are loyal and wear green" or "they talk up the program in public." I could care less what the AD does or says in that regard. In fact, if we had a new stadium and weren't losing scholarships, I'd be just fine with the AD showing up at UNT events in MUTS gear. The point is, there is a way things are done, across the board, in a successful athletic department. And, I submit, that there is more than a possibility that the NCAA rejecting requests has much to do with whether an athletic department know what to submit and how to do it. Cincinnati appearently doesn't, because the kid has been rejected three different times. I'm sure the Bearcat AD wears Bearcat gear and talk up U-Cincy at local functions. But, does he know how to get the ducks in a row when needed. The answer appears to be, no.

Maybe the offense just wasn't for him. His high school team was run-based, as was pointed out when he signed. It doesn't really matter, there are plenty of receivers on the roster with more experience. My guess is he wouldn't have seen much time until next year or the year after anyway.

Based on what? He had only one injury. Most of the guys who get six years have had two major injuries and have had a redshirt year. Also, I don't see how OU fits into it all. You are probably thinking of Jason White and all of the beatings he laid on Texas and still moping about it deep inside. In 1999, White redshirted with a back injury. In 2000, he was backup to Josh Heupel. In 2001, he blew out a knee. In 2002, he blew out the other knee. So, in his first four years, he only had one healthy season. After the 2003 season, he appealed for a sixth season based on the well-documented injuries. Mauk, took a redshirt at Wake Forest in 2003. In 2004, he played in 10 games for WFU. In 2005, he played in seven games for WFU. In 2006, he was injured in game one for WFU. So, in his first four years, he had two full, healthy season. In 2007, he took advantage of the new NCAA transfer rules that allowed immediate transfer for players wanting to go to grad school at another school. He chose Cincinnati. He played the full year, no injury. He's already danced around the NCAA three times on this and been denied. He's now coming back five years after he redshirted and saying he was hurt in 2003, but hasn't provided the NCAA with medical evidence that he was injured then. So, as you can see - even through the painful memories of OU being undefeated against Texas with White playing QB - his situation was altogether different than Mauk's.

Ease up on ol' Howie...he played for Bear Bryant in the days before facemasks. He's sure to have taken to damage from those days that is just now surfacing. My guess is UT responds by going deep on play one one so FAU can't get "three hats" on the screen and bubble passes too soon. Then, Howie will see it doesn't matter how hard you hit if you don't have the speed to catch the player you're trying to hit - lessons Todd Dodge learned at OU and Arkansas last year.

All assistants at Cisco Junior College: http://web.cjc.edu:8080/football_website/C...ing%20Staff.htm

How are we, in terms of football, relatively on the same terms as TCU and Houston? They are in better conferences, get more national exposure, and have been going to bowl games recently. We are nowhere near the same terms as UH and TCU. They can ignore us with impunity. Impunity, I say!

Alot has been made about Kansas State's signing of 19 JUCOs. However, they return seven starters on offense including the 6-6, 250 lb QB who has beaten the Texas Longhorns twice. I think 25 is on the low side. The Wildcats lost six starters on defense - three of those in the secondary. However, if we can't get a pass rush (SEE the two DEs who couldn't go to class enough), they'll simply run all over us all day and our offense won't have many chances to exploit the new secondary. I really, really hate this type of game. OU bombed us with redshirt freshman right out of the gate last year. K-State has a junior QB the size of a defensive end...in fact, he'll probably be bigger than our defensive ends. I just don't like it. Talk is talk. But, when you go over and see what the Wildcats have coming back...I just don't see the "upset" talk being anything more than that. Pray for a pass rush and multiple special teams screw ups by KSU - they'll be breaking in a new punter and holder, and their top kick returner graduated. There's an edge we have.

Amazing how a grown man can sit around a computer and pretend to know something about recruiting. It's a shame we or Baylor or SMU or Houston didn't hire the Insurance Pro. What a knack for eyeing QB talent he has. I mean, this Padron kid goes to June Jones' camp, catches the coaching staff's eye with his play, and gets an offer. Insurance Pro sits on his keester, obstensibly selling insurance, has never seen Padron throw the ball, and decides June Jones' four decades of quarterbacking and quarterback coaching should be called into question. How did all of college football miss out on Insurance Pro?

Hey. I've got a law degree. When can I take the UNT AD job? I promise to eliminate the track around the field, kill the crickets (but preserves the albino squirrel), and get more regional games our fans can travel to. I also promise not to wear coaching shorts...EVAR! I'll also try to get the place renamed Fouts Field at Flying Tomato Stadium. Tortillas will be welcomed, maybe even provided at the gate (after checking in with the event insurers...and, then, ignoring them when told we can't throw flour-goods from the stands). There would be some logo with a star and interlocking NT. We'd go back to a deeper green for jerseys. Reebok would be the supplier of choice for unis. Also, there would be billboards, schmoozing with talk radio people, phone conversations with money-making people with UNT degree...and without UNT degrees. We would start the lottery idea (probably in secret, due to crappy NCAA regulations) for a weekly pool to try to win the lottery and give the proceeds to the athletic department for a football stadium. I would allow the guy who always yangs on and on about baseball to throw out the first pitch at our new baseball stadium. Nolan Ryan did fund-raisers for Abilene Christian when they resurrected their baseball program. I will try to get legendary local players to help us get our back up. And, I'll do it all for $78,346 per year plus complimentary use of a Kia Rio (gas included), an unlimited supply of Pepsi-Cola, and one piece of pecan pie everyday delivered fresh to my desk by 11 a.m.

Wylie has a pretty good football stadium, too. <sigh...why can't we just have a good stadium, Lord?> I'd be extremely happy if we just eliminated the track around the field and moved the seating closer. Do that and put some half-a**ed facade around the whole facility. I'd be happy with that much. At this point, I really, really would. I'd even help spackle if need be...really, I would...I have my own putty knife!

Too much crap to sort through, so I'll keep it short: (1) As I posted within the last month, it took DeLoach five years to whip UNT's defense into shape. Don't expect miracles...unless Jonas Buckles, Brandon Kennedy, et. al. come back and suit up. We wasted tons of defensive experience last season on a high school defensive coordinator and a secondary coach who hadn't been on a sideline in a dozen or so years (great hires). We were already going to be young and thin on the defensive side of the ball on '08. Losing the two defensive end is bad no matter how you slice it. Just more and more inexperience everywhere you turn on that side of the ball. (2) With a weak defensive line, it won't matter how many DBs we have or whether or not they can cover. If we can't stop the run, our opponents willl simply run over us and ball control us to death game after game - with our "record-setting" offense standing on the sidelines watching. (FREEBIE: Defense wins football games. Trent Dilfer has a Super Bowl ring - thanks to a great Baltimore Raven defense. If a team can't score on your defense, they can't beat you. OU-Mizzouri last year...twice the Sooner shut down the supposed high-octane Mizzou offense. There are millions of examples. These are just two (or three if you count both Tiger pummelings last season against Oklahoma). If Dodge flames out here, please, please, please hire a coach who knows something about stopping people from scoring!) (3) The stadium talk...<sigh>

Aggieville is close enough to the stadium to drink before the game - if you just can't keep your alcoholism under control for a few hours. Sheesh. I've been to one game at KSU and it was fine. Loud crowd. Good tailgating scene. A really involved student section. The fans were decent to their opponents' fans. It's a fun place to go see a game.

...take Eddrick Gilmore's classes and tests for him?

(1) The student athlete is responsible. (2) The athletic department is supposed to have people in place for academic counseling and tutoring...and mentoring...and, etc., etc., etc. Therefore, (3) It is both Gilmore and the athletic department's fault. BONUS - There are enough crap degree plans at public schools for people, including athletes, to get by. When I was taking upper level classes for my degree at UNT, there were people in another degree plan (that I will not mention) showing each other their flip charts for one of their degree plan's upper level courses. Yes, a flip chart like you'd see used in grades K-2. This was a major project in that said degree plan's upper level class. If Gilmore and the athletic department couldn't steer him toward the "upper level flip chart classes degree plan", well.... No one makes these guys study nuclear physics. If you don't get off your butt and study, though, you are going to have problems - even in the flip chart classes, I suspect.

...(You Fill In The Blank). I'll start. ...have Wheaties boxes with Todd Dodge's picture on it.