Smitty

I'm was impressed with Willis. He's a hell of an athlete and he made some huge plays. But they've got holes to fill elsewhere. Their game next week against Arkansas State will be extremely interesting.

AMEN, MY FRIEND! AMEN!

How in hell is a snap WAY over the quarterback's head the fault of the quarterback? And why shouldn't Meager be the starter next year? He has already improved dramatically in two weeks, and done so while learning a radically different system. I'm am extremely impressed with him. He has absolutely earned the starting job. Anytime there was the least bit of pressure he folded? You mean, like when he drove the team 99 yards in the fourth quarter to a game-tying touchdown? That wasn't pressure? That was folding? Yes he made mistakes, but he did much more right than wrong, and he took some big steps forward tonight. By the way, if anyone wants to build us a football stadium just like Ford (except in green and white) that's fine by me. Great place to watch a game.

Just got back from the game, and I have no idea what's been said - but I thought Meager did a very good job. He made some great passes, and to throw for 600 yards when you have no running game is amazing. Yes, he had two bad interceptions at the end of the game, but this was truly a team loss. Missed opportunities on both sides of the ball cost us. That and some really good plays by Willis. I have no problem with Meager being the starting quarterback. He's learning and he's improving. Tonight was definitely a step forward. The whole team grew up some tonight, and we got a glimpse of what this offense is capable of. The defense, abused all night, made some plays the in the fourth quarter to give UNT a chance. And a 99-yard drive in the fourth quarter to tie the game was impressive. The running game will come, but tonight there was no reason to run. SMU was daring us to throw, so we threw. And threw. And threw. I'm very optimistic, and from I read on SMU's board, much more optimistic than the Ponies are. Consider this: against a team with no running game, SMU gave up 600 yards of passing. And they still haven't figured out what to do with Casey Fitzgerald, who is going to have a massive, record-breaking season. I'm impressed with some of SMU's players, but I just don't see them getting to a bowl game unless they significantly improve. They had better beat Arkansas State next week to have a chance. Disappointed, but very proud.

WOW!

Boise State's in trouble today, trailing Washington, 24-10, nearing halftime.

Completely agree. The Sun Belt is growing up nicely.

According to the NCAA's website, the most points in a half by both teams is 76, Houston vs. Tulsa in 1968. This game, with 1:34 to go in the first half, is now at 73 total points. Nevermind, that was 76 by one team, not both. Their record book online does not show the record for both teams in one half.

Did MTSU get some players back healthy? How in the world have they put 28 on the board so fast against Louisville when they got hammered 27-14 last week by Florida Atlantic? FAU shut them out for three quarters! Or maybe FAU's better than we thought, too. And remember that Troy played Arkansas tough last week. The little Sun Belt might be growing up.

If you ever want to find a score or a schedule, there's a website that has just about all the NCAA Division I football game results listed by year, by school, etc. Here's a link to the page for North Texas (it does not include the I-AA years): North Texas football results

If you set the line at 3-4 points, the bets would flood in on SMU. After last week, SMU is still going to have a higher national profile than UNT. Whether that's right or wrong doesn't matter to the bookies. They want the same amount bet on UNT as on SMU. Hence, the line is set to make sure that happens. Think about it this way: if you're not a fan of either team, all you know is that UNT got beat 79-10, they have a new coach who is using the former coach's players, and they're on the road. True, SMU got beat 49-9, but they're at home and they're considered a possible bowl team and a contender for their conference title. Right or wrong, Conference USA is considered a better conference than the Sun Belt. That all adds up to SMU being a strong favorite in the minds of a lot of gamblers - and that's where the bookies look to determine the line.

Absolutely. I could not agree more.

The ALL OUT blitz doesn't work too well against ANY offense when your players are screaming that they're about to run it three seconds before the snap. Nice poker faces, Ponies.

I know it's not popular, but again I ask: show me the economic study that says paying for a multi-millionaire's stadium makes good fiscal sense, because I've never heard of one. I've seen some that show that subsidizing a stadium to attract or retain a professional sports franchise does not help per capita income in the city, but never anything that suggests that it makes economic sense to pay for a pro team's mega stadium.

I do understand what you mean (and I certainly agree with F-SMU). But what respect has North Texas earned? Why should anyone respect us today, four days after a 69-point loss and coming off two miserable seasons? Should they respect our growth, our potential, our coach's successful past, our new shade of green? True, we played OU on the road while SMU played Tech at home. So what? We need to drop this overly sensitive attitude that pervades sports today, an attitude that suggests if someone criticizes us then they must hate us, or if someone says something good about our opponent then they must be against us. The unpleasant fact is that North Texas football has not earned respect in three years. You want to start earning respect? Fill Ford with green, fill Fouts with green, and start cracking skulls.

It is available from Amazon

Bill's book is also available through Amazon. I've known Bill for many years, and he's a great broadcaster and an even better person.

Actually, the line is as much an evaluation of the bettors as it is an evaluation of a game. The only thing the bookies care about is having the same amount of money bet on each team - that way, the bookies win before the game kicks off. The line and/or odds are the way they even out the wagering. Based on reputation, expectations, and last week's results, the bookies estimated that they would have to give 16-17 points to get half the gamblers to take UNT. The line is not so much an indication of how the bookies view the game, but an indication of how the bookies believe the public views the game.

Bill has a new book out about his career, called Play By Play.

It looks like its about four blocks from Mockingbird Station to the stadium. Not too far to walk, but you do have to cross the bridge over Central Expressway. There's a lot of traffic on the service road around there. But SMU says they do run a shuttle bus service to and from the stadium and Mockingbird Station.

They should have been dogged! It was unbelievable. I could hear it clearly on TV.

In his column this morning, Kevin Sherrington said of the SMU-Tech attendance: Pony Up, indeed.

Fantastic work, King.

I know that 79-10 was horrible, but consider which is the bigger disappointment: Getting blown out in record fashion by team that will contend for the national title, on the road, to start a season in which you are installing new coaches, a new offense, and a new defense OR Getting blown out by a team you really thought you could beat, at home, to start a season in which you have the pieces in place and fully expect to go to a bowl game Pretty miserable choice either way. Willis is still in, and got picked again. Now 49-9. Very empty stadium.

Long, tough, frustrating day for Willis. They might want to get him out of there before he gets hurt. This one is over, and he's taken some punishment. It will be absolutely fascinating to see how UNT and SMU come back from games in which they were physically dominated. Oh, shot of the crowd - or what's left. 10:55 to go and a significant portion of the SMU fans have split. Pony up, huh?