emmitt01

Funny, I just did it.

That I'll agree with.

Here's why I'm not down on our team or our prospects for the rest of the season (except against LSU). 1)Five turnovers! Name a team, any team, that will win games where they are giving the ball away five times...or even one that will only lose that game by 3. 2)Dropped balls. You complain that we don't pass enough. Anyone remember a pass to Muzzy across the middle early in the first quarter? That ball was catchable. How about the long pass to Brock Stickler? Either of these passes puts us in a position to win. 3)Running mistakes. The infamous first and goal towards the end of the first half started with a handoff to Patrick Cobbs that he tried to bounce outside instead of lowering his shoulders and picking up the yard or two. Rewatch the film, even Craig James says "you can't bounce outside on a team with Troy's speed." Yet we tried it time and again. 4)17,000 fans. Never in the time that I've been watching North Texas would I have expected this many given the scores of our previous games. 5)There is a God. Given the way Middle Tennessee fans are viewing our loss last night as somehow validation for their delusions I am sure we will win the belt by divine intervention...that's the only way justice can be served. Be mad if you want guys, just realize that we did some things that made it very hard to win...the biggest of them being FIVE turnovers. But these are all things that can be corrected and I think our team will mature and make those strides.

Obviously we'll have to agree to disagree but here's the question that I don't think you've asked yourself. For all the "sucess" the other teams in the belt have had against non-conference competition (Troy's win against Mizzou, MTSU's several wins against Vandy, etc) which program has the hardware to show for it and the better perception nationally? Want a clue, cuz you need one....North Texas. Look at the preseason prognostications, look at the national media attention, look at the common perceptions. We are the "big" game when we roll into many SBC towns...our SBC brethren are still met with "who?" And another thing. How many times has ANYBODY said they would be satisfied with this production in a year when we actually return a team with games under their belt? Or, how many times have we said we'd be satisfied if we look the same in game 8 or 9 as opposed to game 3 or 4? The answer...none. The problem with many of our fans is we whoop and holler about our national rushing champions and how we're "going to the next level" but then bitch and complain when those same schemes, those EXACT same schemes, don't produce with different talent running them. And I find it cute that you chose to respond to the last sentence of my previous post, the statement made entirely with a sarcastic tone, as opposed to acknowledging that Dickey's playbook alone does not make or break our football fortunes. Figures. Hell, by your logic Idaho should have won several national championships the last few years or at least the Sun Belt title. Their offense was "creative" and fun to watch.

No apologies, just facts. And, yes, the following are all facts regardless of whether you choose to view them as such: 1)Poor fan support(though getting better). A generous estimate would put us at 4,000 season tickets. Even if you say that 10,000 seats go to the students you are looking at 4,000 out of the remaining 20,500 or about slightly less than 25%...and I don't believe that we have 4,000 season tickets sold. And how many of our "fans" bitch, whine and moan about when the game's start, seat cushions, umbrellas, etc. when discussing whether they will attend games? 2)Second/Third rate facilities. We all know it but we just choose to discount it when looking for stud recruits to come here. Yeah, Fouts has new turf and a Jumbo tron. Great, now the players have a better surface to play on and our fans can get a better view of the game by watching the jumbo tron than they can just looking at the field. And don't begin to talk about the new athletic center, it's been here for a grand total of ONE recruiting class. The benefits of the AC and the other new facilities won't be seen for a good 3 to 4 years if not longer. 3)Teams lose games. I'll say it again, teams lose games...and they lose badly sometimes. Oklahoma hung 70+ on Texas aTm a few years ago. OU has drubbed UT by big point spreads in the past few years. Tech hung 70 on TCU last year and put up 70 on Nebraska the last time they played. Did I mention that the teams on the losing end of these scores also boast multi-million dollar football budgets that dwarf our athletic budget? Seems Dickey should have some esteemed company in the ol' unemployment line. And the Sun Belt streak was going to end sometime. Personally, if you'd have given me a choice I would have picked to have it end the year we had a rookie QB, an O-Line that had yet to gel and a brand new defensive line. Throw into that mix a QB and a potential starting d-lineman who couldn't get their heads on straight in the classroom and I'd think this would be the opportune time to take your lumps in conference. But I guess we should all take the hardline stance of "we won't tolerate losing!" 4)Players have to grow up on the field. When you have inexperience across both lines you don't walk out onto the field and dominate people. I know, I know, Dickey should teach them to block and tackle and be better players...in between holding his players hands in class, teaching them discipline, revolutionizing his playbook, raising his daughter, making time for his wife, being a good-will ambassador to fans and potential new fans, sleeping, and finding time to grab a bite to eat. Jesus, if a man can't do all of these things then we need to fire him yesterday! Or, and I know I'm asking for a leap of faith here but bear with me, could it be that young kids make mistakes in football games and will get better with time. When Danny Meager is a senior, our defensive line has more than FOUR games under their belts, our secondary isn't playing together for the first time, and we're not replacing names like Adrian Awasom, Scott Hall, Andy Blount, Andy Brewster, Jonas Buckles, the list goes on, and if he hasn't recruited somebody to fill in the holes...then talk to me about how the coach should have his team better ready to play. Hell, what do I know though, I'm just an apologist.

Uh, I think you're a little late on the whole benching TJ Raymond thing. He's academically ineligible and hasn't taken a single snap this year. But yeah, he embarrassed me too.

1)Turnovers- Darrell Dickey didn't throw either interception last night nor did he put the ball on the turf any of the THREE times it was fumbled. 2)Penalties- Anybody remember an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that sustained a crucial Troy drive? (You should because it was an iffy call) Talk all you want about how the coach should teach discipline but Dickey can't be on the team to physically restrain his players. What's he gonna do....bench them? Yeah, cuz we're so blessed in the depth department. Ok, if you're willing to blindly overlook both of these things then fire away at how you don't like the playcalling.

Baseball isn't boring to me. Red Sox fans on the other hand..... GO YANKEES!!!

I'm there with 4 first timers. One is an OU alum, one is her husband (now he's an OU fan under penalty of death ) The other two are friends of theirs and I think OU alums as well. They hate UT just as much as I do so their good people in my book...be nice to them. Oh yeah, and two of them are DPD as well so be really nice to them.

Ok, my birthday is the 23rd of this month. Because I just know that you're all racking your brains for gift ideas I'll make it simple: http://cgi.ebay.com/JOE-GREENE-signed-NORT...1QQcmdZViewItem I don't care if you all pitch in or if just one person makes the purchase...I'll consider it from all of you regardless.

The caption reads "An Aggie receiver makes the catch in front of North Texas' Jamel Branch"

Here's an idea....focus on a few images for more than 1.2 seconds at a time to actually make an impact. And, yes, let's pretend we don't still live in 1982 musically.

I think it's HUGE that he would say "they've been on me for quite some time and they say I'm important to them." That means that 1)We're putting forth the effort to stay after him (And DD personally to boot) and 2)We're conveying to him how much/how early he could make an impact here as opposed to elsewhere. Even in an run heavy offense a kid with talent and the ability to tuck and run himself would have to give us at least a look.

I talked to that same guy and he told me Joey Byerly was academically ineligible.

So concise, yet so true.

So we're talking about getting blown out with flair?

I don't think any team in the history of college football has ever been blowed out at home.

It really doesn't matter that they are the defending MAC champion or that they have a pretty good team, they're being hammered by a non-BCS Fresno State team on national television. Geez, I'd understand if they were losing to a major conference team with a bajillion dollars but losing to anyone outside of the power conferences is just unacceptable. I think they should take the following steps: 1)Complain about their plight ad nauseum 2)Fire their coach 3)Drop down to 1AA Geez, if they can't win then we stand no chance at lil' ol' North Texas. They even have better facilities than we do and more support. ****This post is rated SC for heavy sarcastic content****

Come for all the reasons that Stebo listed but most of all come for the most important reason... This is your team. Win, lose or draw this is your alma mater/adopted team/favorite pastime. Being a fan doesn't mean that you support them when they please you, it means you support them every time they strap em up and play. I've been saying it to apathetic students for years now...if you want a better product on the field give them a better product in the stands.

You're exactly right...he took a senior laden team, full of players from their days in 1AA (when they didn't have to follow the 1A eligibility and transfer rules), and beat North Texas. Very impressive indeed.

Regardless of how much I think many of you are overreacting and no matter how much I really see good things for this team late in this year and next year..."Houston, we have a BIG problem!" LSU is manhandling the Tennessee offensive line and their defense is fast, fast, fast. Oh yeah, their offense pretty good too. I am ecstatic that we have a few games between now and then...maybe we could be 3-2 going into that game? I hope so because I can see 70 hung on us with ease.

You are exactly right. Those 27-0 and 35-10 scores were put up when we had some semblance of experience at the QB and O-Line positions, a defensive line with real college snaps together, and one of the most dominating defensive linemen this school has ever seen (booger, who WAS NOT playing his first season on the D-line). How long will it take for some people to realize that you don't just say "well, we've won our conference for four years, we've got some pretty talented people to plug into the empty spots, so I expect us to do great things"? Take a good hard look at Oklahoma next weekend when they play K-State. They're another team with QB inexperience, a "learn on the job" offensive line and a defense that is ramping up...and their "meal ticket" is, yep, the running game. The reason they'll stay in games this year is that their "rookies" are 5 star athletes who were recruited to a school with millions in the athletic budget. Wanna get us to that level? Cool, make your checks out to "University of North Texas Athletics" and make sure there's a lot of zeroes on there. Until then give this team one year, just one, and I bet you'll see a world of difference in '06.

Wow, I really love the cliff divers on this board. Anyone remember 65-0 against a certain Texas team last year? Boy, we really overachieved coming back to win more than 3 games after that. And as for there not being any talent on this team, I can't even begin to justify that with a response. Let's recap for those playing at home: 1)Redshirt frosh quarterback 2)O-Line with 3, count em, 3 games playing together 3)New starters at not one, not two, not three but four defensive line positions.... 4)New starters at not one, not two, but three defensive backfield positions.... 5)The Sun Belt defenses ARE NOT, let me repeat are not, of Tulsa or K-state's caliber. You can say we got lucky in beating MTSU but five turnovers are not the result of just one team playing badly, they're the result of the other team being at the right time to cash in on them. Clint Marks didn't walk into the huddle and say "ok guys, fumble on three...ready, break!" Jeez, I can't wait to see what would be said if the cupboard really was bare.

This QB Vincent of theirs is a player...another "Non-BCS" school with a stud under center. And I really like their unis and midfield logo.

I think a few things led to Saturday's loss and I think they are all "correctible" save a few. 1)We have a redshirt freshman quarterback with a true freshman backing him up. I'm sure Dickey wanted to play it close to the vest and take the game out of Danny's hands. He tried to do that but the way the game was going forced him to take more chances which Tulsa pounced on. Dickey did not anticipate losing Andrew Smith. Before anyone says "that was last year" remember two things. We did try to sign a JUCO quarterback in the off-season. That guy starts at Nebraska right now (Zac Taylor). Second, Joey Byerly did not do his job in the classroom. Dickey doesn't do academic work for players last I checked, and if he does I don't want to know about it (though the NCAA might). Combine this with my next point and the QB play was predictably shaky... 2)Our O-Line got whooped. There is no play in ANY coach's playbook that is suited for 8 and 9 men baring down on your freshman quarterback with all of 15-20 snaps total in his collegiate career. What's that I hear? Quick slant or something of the like?....please see my next point. 3)We faced 2nd, 3rd, and 4th and a billion a bunch. What does a quick slant do for you on 2nd and 20? Or 1st and 25? Or how about 4th and 55? We shot ourselves in the foot so much that we negated any and all remedy to the stacked box. A quick slant on 2nd and 20 might net you 6 yards or so...so now it's 3rd and 14, where's your quick out now? 4)We didn't run the ball badly. Patrick, even against a heavy run blitz, still averaged over 5 yards a carry if I recall correctly. He even had one run down to the 1 when it was 2-2. With 23,000+ on hand punching that one in and making it 9-2 would have been a whole different ballgame. 5)Jamario was hurting. I know it might have helped to put him out there to get some yards or even as a decoy but why risk 'the franchise' in a blowout? And I don't agree with redshirting him either. I'd be willing to be that 15-20% of that crowd was there specifically to see the two-headed monster in the backfield and will return to see it later in the season as our ground game gets untracked. 6)We knew coming into this season that our defense would be 'green' with no pun intended. Think having TJ Raymond take care of his business in the classroom would have helped? How about Isaac Thomas being well enough to go all the way through fall practice getting his snaps? We are replacing FOUR starters on that d-line and THREE secondary players. Ask Oklahoma what replacing that much of any part of your team will do to you. I'm not ready to put on the green tinted glasses and call for an undefeated season from here on out but I am willing to say that IF we make strides this weekend in Kansas, IF we come home and defend our brand new turf better against Troy, and IF we put it together against La Tech (we've got several weeks to get there) that this season could still look good by the time it's all said and done. If we don't do all of this though let's try to look at this team for what they are up against.