the real grad88

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I could not have said it better.

Dodge and the program needs the fans to rally around him/them like a family right now. Would anybody want to be in his shoes right now? I say he's a man just for sticking it out and staying positive with the team. Hang in there Dodge, you and team will get through this.

Would you live up to such high standards? Would any of us? Is Dodge supposed to turn the water boy into a winning QB? Good grief, some of you need to get real. This is not an NFL team. This is not an upper-tier D-I program with an 80 million dollar football budget. This is laughable.

When I come to the game, I have fun, period. It's exciting when we win, but that is not the main thing in terms of my support and attitude about the program. I don't think about firing the coach based upon a win-loss percentage. It truly never enters my mind. I think about how the young men (STUDENT ATHLETES) on the field are competing. I think about how the coach is representing the university. DODGE is a class-act all the way around...a coach who truly wants the players to be students and to succeed in life. Dodge represents us well in the community and around the state. Everywhere he goes, he is liked and respected. Parents know their kids are in good hands with Dodge. Does it mean that winning is not important? No, it just means that it is not MOST important. I was never more proud than I was at the last home game. I saw more school spirit and pride than I have ever seen at UNT, and I left knowing that the program and school are on the right path. We could do a lot worse than Dodge and RV.

A few years ago, practically everyone on this board was giddy with excitement and talking about the genius of a man that RV was for getting a genius coach from SLC to step up to the college ranks, and now so many are ready to crucify both of them. Pathetic. RV has done wonders for athletics in general at NT. Dodge is having some VERY bad luck this year with major injuries. I still think he is a class-act and capable of developing a winning program here. I don't know of any coaches in this league (the Belt) who could take the injury set-backs Dodge has had this year and win. Dodge needs a 3 year contract just to give him a chance with the new stadium. I think he could do something with it. He came here with a promise of a new stadium, and I think he should get a chance to coach in it.

Yes, we could still be in for a turn-around. Here's to positive thinking!

I sat beside a father of one of the Rice players at the game, a very nice gentleman from Lake Dallas. We talked a lot about NT and Dodge and Texas college football in general. A couple of things he said, I thought were interesting. (1) He said that most folks from Rice want to see NT in the same conference and they want to see a "revived SWC", where every conference game is a short bus ride away. (2) He said that his son was heavily recruited by Dodge (his son was number 5...don't remember his name). He said that they were very impressed with Dodge and UNT and would have come had it not been for the difference in money in the programs...resulting in such things as LONG bus rides at UNT to Belt games as opposed to getting to fly in CUSA. (3) He said that it would be crazy to get rid of Dodge now, but that we should let him have a chance in the new stadium...that if we will stick with Dodge, he will be a winner and so will UNT. I just thought it was interesting to hear the perspective from someone from the "outside".

What? Are you serious? You would rather Dickey had been fired BEFORE the turn-around? You would rather have not had the conference championships and bowl appearances? That makes no sense. Dickey was not a horrible coach. He was a good coach who recruited some good players and coached them to greatness. I will never regret those years. Sure, things soured on him and he got down on everybody and needed to go...but to say that he didn't accomplish anything is...I don't know what to call it.

And, when are mistakes just mistakes? I saw a LOT of mistakes made by Rice last night too. We just made a couple of more mistakes in crucial situations. I saw a talented team out there giving it their all. The coaches are doing a good job. We all want to win, even Dodge.

I couldn't disagree more. Do not listen to this stuff RV. We lost in a tough battle that went down to the wire. The kids played with heart. The coaches did their job, and they care for those kids. We just lost a tough game. I saw a game in which we could have laid down after getting stung early, but we didn't. They battled the whole night until the end. This team will win its share of games this year if they play like they did last night.

Wonderful. That really is what it is all about. My son and I had a similar experience last night.

I agree. I am hopeful from what I saw last night.

I'm just saying that with the exception of some very stupid mistakes on special teams, I liked what I saw last night. The play-calling was aggressive and the team played well on both sides of the ball. Except for our QB being lost (that's a biggie)...I think we win a bunch of Belt games and Dodge should stay another year to see if he can make even more progress. Now, if we win 1-2 games this year, Dodge knows he's gone. I sat beside a Rice player's Dad last night from Lake Dallas. He said that his son was recruited heavily by Dodge. He said Dodge was by far the best coach, but his son chose Rice because of things like long bus rides in Belt games as opposed to getting to fly in CUSA (more money). I still believe that Dodge can get us there.

If we start off next year with a new coach, we are going to have a miserable time. It takes 3 years for a new coach to get off the ground. It will be horrible for recruiting to change right now. I actually saw progress last night, and I think we are going to win more games in the Belt than we lose. I say you stay with Dodge another year to see what happens with the new stadium and recruiting. Who knows Texas high school football better than TD? No one.

It was the first game I have been able to come back to in years, and I have to say that I was VERY impressed with the band. From the size of it to the quality of the sound it was great. The thing that most impressed me was their spirit. When I was a student (I was not in the band), they seemed to be more in it for themselves. School spirit was almost something they consciously avoided. That wasn't what I saw Saturday night. They were awesome in every sense of the word. I can say that for the whole student body. School spirit has found itself at UNT, and I am so proud of that.

For me, it was 1988, my senior year. What a gifted team that was and the offense so fun to watch. The trip to Austin was the best NT game I have seen in person, period. It was pure joy hearing the silence all over that huge stadium as the Mean Green led throughout the whole game, until the very last! Of course, the win was stolen from us at the end by the catch OUT of the back of the endzone. Our offense literally took everyone's breath away that day, passing for some 500 yards, I believe. Even the TV Sportcasters down there knew that NT really deserved the win. After beating Rice and Tech and then to go from that Texas game and not go deeper in the I-AA playoffs was very much a letdown, however.

Yep, 88 was my senior year. The Wishbone and Shoot (the way I remember it) was the best offensive scheme I ever saw the Mean Green run. Teams really did not know how to prepare for that offense. Texas sure didn't!! It was exciting to watch and I am sure fun to play. If I were a player today, I would hate the Spread, with the One-back option. I just wish that these fads wouldn't dominate the game so much. Anybody remember TCU Veer offense? That was a fun offense to watch, and very effective.

There will probably be a lot of disagreement, but it does make discussion more interesting, so here goes. The last 10 years has seen a complete change in offensive football in favor of the Spread. This has been to the deteriment of real, traditional football as we have known it. For a while, I was intrigued. The change was exciting. I now find the Spread offense that practically EVERYONE is running so boring that I can hardly keep interested in College and High School ball. It's like watching flag/sandlot football as for as offense is concerned. And, when everyone does the same thing, it is pretty boring. AND THEN came this year's bowl games that included Air Force and Navy, and I suddenly found myself interested. After thinking about it, I realized it was because there was a contrast between the team matchups...the Spread against the Triple Option. It made those bowl games more interesting. I also find it interesting that the Triple Option teams (Air Force and Navy) absolutely dominated the Spread teams. Go figure. I'm tired of seeing the single back right at the QBs side. Boring as dust. Give me a team that can cram it down your throat (combined with a dominating defense), and you've got a winner most of the time. That's my take. I'm not saying that I want every team to have the Triple Option. I'm just saying that I would like to see variety return to college football the way it used to be.

I think that college coaches should be given enough time for THEIR RECRUITS to become at least juniors, if not seniors. That is the only way to determine if their recruiting and coaching is going to pay off. To let him go after this year would be premature. Look how young this team is. One more year, and if there is not a major improvement, then it will be time. If you let him go this year, we basically START OVER before we know what we were going to have. THEN, we have to wait 2 or 3 years with the new coach before we can expect any progress.

Hmmm, so they think they can get into the Big East. I wish them luck, because then UNT might just be in the position at that time to get an invite to CUSA. Getting the new stadium at this time could just be the ticket.

When Dodge was hired, the hoopla was all about his unbeatable Spread offense. Got to admit, I was real excited that first season, to watch North Texas move the ball. Then, reality quickly set in and a reminder of what really made some of the Dickey teams so good...DEFENSE! When I watched the OU/Tech game, it was clear that what really separated those teams was OU's defense, which contantly destroyed Tech's game plan and put the offense in the right positions to score. That is exactly what the Dickey defenses did in the good years. I always had the feeling that we would be in every game because of the defense. It was nasty, mean and fast. There was nothing more exciting that watching Booger just destroy and offensive play and then come to the sidelines shaking his head, "NO". Dickey's good teams would destroy this team hands down...because of the defense. I for one would love to see all of the stops pulled for defensive players. We need a good DL line rotation that can play with an attitude and put the pressure on the QB. We need some quick LBs that can move from sideline to sideline like our teams of old. We need great DB play. Put it all together and we will win some championships. If Dodge's defense doesn't show improvement next year, then I say he must be given the exit. I don't buy for a minute that Dodge doesn't have the resources to win...in the BELT. We are not in CUSA or the BIG XII. We actually should have an advantage in recruiting against the other BELT schools. We are in the Metroplex for crying out loud. Denton is a heck of a lot better town than most of the other BELT schools, and in a much better location. RECRUIT DEFENSE OR ELSE!

My point is that the kid has accepted responsibility, and there would be nothing wrong with Dodge going to visit him and making him a part of the Mean Green. To say (as some have) that the kid should never be given the opportunity to be a part of a team because he made a dumb comment is flat ridiculous...and mind numbing frankly.

Oh, and I forgot. Dodge needs to fly down and see this kid and his parents and get him on this team!

Thank you for your logic! This kid apologized! He knows it was a big error of judgment and he has made amends. Let me get this straight. A 45 year old president can have sex with an intern in the oval office and apologize to Americans and keep his job and go down as one of America's great presidents but one 19-20 year old young man can't have an error in judgment and overcome that mistake! This isn't even the same country that I know and love. Political correctness and the thought police are destroying this nation....AND I AM A MODERATE.

Thank You. I know that I'm not supposed to say anything positive about Dickey on this board, but the folks that complain about Dickey offense always refer to the losing seasons. When Dickey offense was winning, it was exciting to watch. My point is NOT that I am tired of Dodge's offense BUT that I am tired of the SAMENESS of offenses in college football today. I for one will be excited when these new offensive coordinators begin experimenting with "new" offenses that involve the triple option. Remember Corkey Nelson's wide open wishbone spread attack...or Bone and Shoot...whatever he called it?!! Now that was exciting!