The Fake Lonnie Finch

When I was a child, I would sit underneath a tree on campus and make paper airplanes.

"The only variable now is time." - Howard Schnellenberger

...so, the team is now obligated to win out and take the championship. Pass the message along to them, please.

The thought of this year's FIU team demanding what color their opponent pounds them in is.... F*ck it. I can't even think of a word to describe that kind of ridiculous inanity. The last problem in the world FIU's football program has is their opponent's jersey color.

Chancellor's punt return v. Rice.

Rice. In our conferece. The pre-season favorite of many in the C-USA West. Beating them set the table for everything we have earned. And, allows us to keep contending for the conference title. Ball State a close second, given what they've done this season.

...got better today as Big 12 lightweights TCU and West Virgina lose. TCU is done for the year. West Virgina is, now 4-7, done as well. Big 12, pitifully, will not fill all of its bowl slots...allowing for teams like UTSA to hold out hope of getting to a bowl game if they keep winning...which means, they will come out scrapping hard Saturday. When the season began, who'd have thought the key to the C-USA West title would be beating UTSA? I didn't think they'd be a pushover. But, I also didn't think they'd be angling for a winning season with a possible bowl on the line this late in the season either. It'll make for a good, hard-hitting game next weekend!

The only thing that worries me is Coker. He's been in many battles in his day. He'll have his charges ready. Their defense is not bad. Take out the games they were obviously going to be overmatched in (Oklahoma State, Arizona, Houston), and they are 5-2. They give up 20 per game in those seven games. Like, I said last week, this will be our toughest out remaining. Tulsa is done. UTEP was done. UTSA has a real coach and they think they are playing for a possible bowl game. They will come out fighting.

Kansas is awful. Iowa State has lost some close games. Four of their losses - Texas (1 point), Texas Tech (7), Iowa (6), and TCU (4) - have been by seven or fewer points. They will not be a gimme for West Virginia. And, no way TCU beats both Kansas State and Baylor.

Someone explain to me the assumption that TCU makes a bowl game. They are 4-6 with games remaining at Kansas State and against Baylor. They will lose at least one of those, and likely both. That gives them a finish of 5-7 or 4-8. Big 12 only sends six unless TCU has a miracle finish.

NT's All-Time I-A/FBS Leaders in Tackles: 1. Craig Robertson: 381 2. Brad Kassel: 365 3. Burks Washington: 351 With 95 tackles on the season so far, Orr sits at 339 tackles for his career. He needs 21.0 per game to catch Robertson in the regular season; 14.0 with regular season + bowl game; 10.5 regular season + C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME + bowl game. To pass Burk Washington: 13, To pass Brad Kassell: 27 It is now highly likely that Orr passes Washington during the regular season. With the bowl, and championship game, he will certainly pass Kassell. He'll need to get over 10 a game for the rest of the season, plus the championship and bowl game, to get past Robertson.

Brelan Chancellor is already the NT career leader in: Kickoff Returns: 120 (and counting) Kickoff Return Yards: 2,910 (and counting) Kickoffs Returned For TD: 3 (...and counting!) In All-Purpose Yards at NT, he now trails only: 1. Lance Dunbar: 5,375 2. Patrick Cobbs: 5,222 3. Brelan Chancellor: 5,142 -Brelan Chancellor joined Partick Cobbs and Lance Dunbar as the only Mean Green players to reach 5,000 career all-purpose yards. And, he did it in style with a 65 yard punt return for a touchdown versus Rice, a game that clinched bowl eligibility for North Texas for the first time since 2004. He needs only 81 more all-purpose yards in the two remaining regular season games to get past Cobbs He needs 234 to pass Lance Dunbar as UNT's all-time all-purpose yards leader. Punt return yards in a season: The record is held by J.T. Smith who had 380 punt return yards during the 1976 season. This year, Chancellor has 287. He needs 94 punt return yards in the final two regular season games to break Smith's record.

Among NT QBs at the Division I-A/FBS level, Thompson is now: Passing Attempts 1. Steve Ramsey: 1,015 2. Derek Thompson: 950 (needs 32.6 attempts per game to pass Ramsey) Passes Completed 1. Derek Thompson: 571 2. Giovanni Vizza: 532 On a 3rd and 5 from the Louisiana Tech 38, Derek Thompson completed a 35 yard pass to Darnell Smith to become UNT's all-time leader in completed passes among I-A/FBS-level quarterbacks. Passing Efficiency 1. Scott Hall: 132.26 2. Derek Thompson: 127.4 3. Riley Dodge: 125.71 Touchdown Passes 1. Steve Ramsey: 69 2. Scott Hall: 50 3. Derek Thompson: 39 Passing Yards 1. Steve Ramsey: 7,076 2. Derek Thompson: 6,789 (needs 143.6 per game to pass Ramsey) Completion Percentage 1. Riley Dodge: 64.7% 2. Jordan Case: 61.6% 3. Giovanni Vizza: 60.7% 4. Derek Thompson: 60.1% Career 200 Yard Passing Games 1. Steve Ramsey: 20 2. Derek Thompson: 18 (has a outside shot at getting past Ramsey) Career 300 Yard Passing Games 1. Derek Thompson: 7 2. Steve Ramsey: 6 During the 3rd Quarter, on a 3rd and 10 from the Southern Miss 39, Derek Thompson completed a 14 yard pass to Brelan Chancellor to become UNT's all-time leader in 300 yard passing games among Divison I-A/FBS quarterbacks. Career Total Offense (Passing + Rushing) 1. Derek Thompson: 7,072 2. Steve Ramsey: 6,568 During the 1st Quarter, on a 3rd and 8 from the Southern Miss 44, Derek Thompson completed a 15 yard pass to Brelan Chancellor to become UNT's all-time total offense leader among Division I-A/FBS quarterbacks. During the 4th Quarter, on a 2nd and 9 from the UTEP 42, Derek Thompson threw a touchdown pass to Carlos Harris to become UNT's first I-A/FBS quarterback to surpass 7,000 career yards in total offense. Until the touchdown strike to Harris to put him over 7,000 yards in total offense, all of Derek Thompson's record setting plays this season had come on 3rd down with 5 or more yards to go.

Rice had a bye.

Would be an awesome get for Texas. But, Saban with cameras from the Longhorn Network around him all the time? Doesn't seem to be his style.

No. Remember that during the Dodge Era I was outed as Northeastern State coach Kenny Evans.

That's not true. Steve Ramsey threw passes more than Derek Thompson...and still completed less passes and threw twice as many interceptions. Without the NFL-quality receivers and linemen - and defense on the other side - that Ramsey had, Derek is breaking his records. In a run-first offense, Derek is breaking the records of Ramsey who played in a pass heavy offense. So, you have two I-A/FBS-level quarterbacks who stand above the rest in North Texas' history: Steve Ramsey and Derek Thompson. Ramsey was the All-Century QB for NT, and Thompson is breaking his records...with less around him, and in offenses geared toward the run. Ramsey took over a team that had been conference co-champs the year before he became starter. Thompson took over a program that had been 3-9 and hadn't had a winning season in six seasons. Sorry. What Derek has done in this program is Hall of Fame worthy.

The topic isn't who is the best player to ever play for the Mean Green. The topic is "Derek Thompson...1st ballot UNT Hall of Famer?" So, put on your thinking cap here: -Which UNT quarterback will lead in most statistical categories? That would be Derek. -Which UNT quarterback will have led the team back to a bowl game? That would be Derek. -Which Hall of Fame are we talking about: Pro Football? NCAA? Or, UNT? That would be UNT. To have your best quarterback, the one who led your program out of an eight-year losing streak, not make your own school's Hall of Fame on the first ballot would be an embarrassment to the school.

Yes, easily. He will end up owning almost every record among all of North Texas' I-A/FBS-level quarterbacks. And, he did so with far less talent all the way around, on both sides of the ball, than Steve Ramsey had. If anyone who has ever worn the Mean Green deserves first ballot Hall of Fame election, it's Derek.

Hello? The new paradigm is already here. It's been here since about 2006. There is no longer a majority race in America. The conglomeration of the former "minorities" is now the majority. And, they will continue to be the majority. This country isn't,and never was, a pure democracy. The electoral college will continue to tip for the Democrats. The decline into socialism will be difficult for many to face. And, those who believe they want it will be like most in this hemisphere who believe(d) they want(ed) it - disappointed that they are still poor, or getting poorer. The health care plan is just an example of what is to come.

I'm not. Derek has always been a winner. He now has a team around him that, like him, has more positives to his game than negatives. Dan McCarney says we are a run-first team. Fine. We are 9th in the C-USA in rushing yards per game. We are 3rd in passing yards per game. Our pass game is efficient. And, here is something important that is overlooked: our offense is third in the C-USA (behind ECU and Marshall) in 3rd Down Conversion % at 47.5%. Every record Derek has passed this season has come on a 3rd and at least 5. The idea that many people here had here before the season that we should go ahead and let one of the younger guys start to get them experience waas a slap in the face to every senior on the roster. Derek has led this team well, and has been able to lead this team to a bowl. How anyone can question him now is absurd. Do not be surprised when Derek is leading the team on the field for the Liberty Bowl.

Okay. Let's play this. Explain to me how the Republican Party is going to get Tea Party voters and Christian Right voters to support any old moderate candidate they throw up there, i.e., John McCain/Mitt Romney. Also, show me an electoral map in Florida, Colorado, Ohio, or Pennslyvania, where there is enough white/suburban vote to overcome "minority" voting in each state's big cities. You have be real realistic about what people believe, and where the demographics of the country are headed. Texas is in the final throes of being a Republican stronghold. There is no path to the White House any longer for the Republican Party. And, here is where the water is even muddier for the Republicans: without the Executive Branch, all federal judicial appointments will be made by Democratic presidents. So, laws passed by states that may be conservative and to the liking of the state's voting base, have little chance of surviving federal appeals court challenges. Once you understand how demographics plays into the eletoral college, this stuff isn't difficult to discern. There is a reason presidential candidates of either party do not waste their time in any but a handful of states.

Oh. Alright. Dear Derek, Thanks for taking us back to a bowl game. And, thank you for having a better TD to Interception ratio than Virginia Tech and Miami (FL)'s starting QBs, who have also led their teams into bowl eligibility with several games remaining on the schedule. You are a great quarterback. Best of luck this weekend. Keep truckin' Sincerely, UNT Fan Without His Head Up His Ass

So, what is better? Mexico's three party system? Italy's dozens of party system? Name a country whose system is better than two parties. By the way, I've already predicted that America will split into a three parties within the next four election cycles. Democratic Party will stay the same as "minorities" continue as the majority in enough urban cities to win the electoral college. Republican Party will split between moderates and conservatives. Unknown what the conservatives will call their party, but it matters little. America will destory itself over a 70 year or so period, the same as Mexico did when it had one party win the presidency for seven consecutive decades. By then, it won't matter. Countries like China will have passed America in global importance by then. America will be mired in the same type of economic and social malaise that plagues Central and South American countries, and Mexico. If you have children, just make sure they know enough math/finance/science to get well paying jobs either here or abroad. Also, knowing one or two other foriegn languages will be a strength for them. I suggest Spanish and Chinese. Hindu wouldn't hurt.

Derek is a great QB. We're lucky to have him. QB Rating: 140.0 = 3rd among C-USA starters; best in C-USA West = 49th in NCAA (http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/individual/8) Attempts: 264 = 4th among C-USA starters; 2nd best in C-USA West (Soza, 283) Completions: 177 = 3rd among C-USA starters; 2nd best in C-USA West (Soza, 179) Completion %: 67.0 = 2nd among C-USA starters; best in the C-USA West = 19th in NCAA (http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/individual/755) Yards Passing = 2nd among C-USA starters; best in the C-USA West = 26th in the NCAA (http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/individual/453) TD Passes = 3rd among C-USA starters; tied for best in the C-USA West (McHargue also with 12) Other NCAA Completions Per Game, 33rd (http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/individual/707) Dear Derek, Thank you for taking us back to a bowl game. Keep truckin'. Sincerely, UNT Fan Without His Head Up His Ass