GrayEagle

I must have missed the posting that SMU had veto power over who is in the conference with them. I don't know of any conference that requires 100% approval for new members. Most conferences are after fans/viewers. To me, a university with 300,000 living alumni is hardly redundant. Market should not be the lone criteria. In the Raleigh market (much smaller than DFW) there are three P-5 teams...North Carolina, North Carolina State and Duke. Nor would it be necessary for SMU to leave. It would save them a lot of travel expense say if we replaced UConn who is rumored unhappy. I like some of CUSA (Western Division) but the East leaves me a little cold (and distant). I also realize that there are drawbacks to every G5 conference but ideally I'd like to be where they are the least. I have an old alumni buddy (who still posts here) who used to say, "Grow where you are planted." I can't argue with that; we certainly want to contribute and not just take up space. But, even after 70 years of following this university's teams, I believe that if we could just get planted over in that river delta that we'd be more prone to have a bumper crop.

If conference makes no difference then why should we want to be elevated? It's a no-brainer to say we need to win. That's why we play. I'd like to be in the AAC or the MWC because of the caliber of teams. It's easier to recruit to higher-perceived conferences if you show signs of competitiveness. I believe that we would have increased attendance playing Houston, Tulsa, Memphis, Navy, Cincinnati and Tulane. We already know that SMU is a good draw. And, the better conferences get the better bowl games. At the least, give the conference commissioner cause to look at your facilities and record when expansion time comes.

Faison (3) was on the kickoff coverage team last game...I didn't really check to see if he was there tonight. I know that McMillan (52) was there during pre-game warmups but I can't tell you if he played or not. Chris Thornton (26) is in the program but I didn't see him tonight but I didn't check every number.

It looks suspiciously like an umbrella to me. I seriously doubt that you would be able to take it in but if you can please don't sit in front of anyone.

49-7

Good Lord willing, I'll be there. I'm going to see our entertaining football team. I want to see our offense. I want to see if our first team defense is for real. I want to see if this team still has a fire in its belly with a lesser known opponent. I can barely walk so it would be easy for me to cop out. But, this team has earned my support so I'll do my dead level best to be there. I hope that at least 25,000 of my fellow alums, friends and students will be there also. Especially the students so that we can keep this thing going.

I will trust Wren Baker on this one. We don't know our chances for another conference. Wren will be the first to know. He also knows more about where to raise money. We also have to watch the economy. We are on the threshold of a depression should we revert to unemployment numbers of recent years with no/slow growth. We also have a boatload of debt that will need to be resolved. I'd think that we need to tread carefully. On the other hand, if the economy can stay strong and expansion seems inevitable then we need to be ready with a larger facility. The Big XII is likely the only conference that will expand. I believe that 12 is the ideal number for a conference and they're the only P-5 conference with less than 12 members. So, even if we are able to sustain the impetus that we have started, we have a narrow window for a chance to move up. As much as I would like to see stadium expansion, I don't believe that we need it unless we can move up to a P-5. That chance is so fragile that only our president and AD can possibly know if expansion is necessary. Even a better G-5 conference (AAC, MWC) would not require any major expansion or remodeling.

Phil Steele might be giving us some love now but he sure didn't in his magazine. Had us picked third in our division behind UAB and LaTech.

Your remembrance of Cole Hedlund was correct except that Zach Williams handled kickoffs. Hedlund's 51-yarder was a thing of beauty and a joy to behold.

I hope that there aren't many depending on that. I'm predicting somewhere between 30,000 and a sellout.

Yes, you can. I've been bringing my own for the last two years. I got two for my wife and me from Academy. They're a little heavy but very comfortable.

I agree that Abner deserves recognition but not King. Abner took about ten times the abuse that Leon King took because he was the star and thus had far more playing time and there was far more incentive to do him bodily harm. Abner was elected to the old AFL Hall of Fame and is in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. He is also in the North Texas Sports Hall of Fame. It also seems to me that Abner Haynes has maintained a much closer contact with our university. I do appreciate what Leon King went through as well but I think that we're comparing apples and oranges as far as the level of involvement.

I kinda feel the same way. I don't like the gray; especially with the kelly green. It might look okay with a forest or hunter green. Then again, I don't even care for the black but at least I don't equate that to losing.

UNT 38 SMU 28 We still have primarily a junior team but a lot of experience playing together.

Yeah, but how many extra generators would be required?

Reclaiming one of the premier corners in CUSA, Mr. Nate Brooks. I believe that he's recovered physically and mentally and ready to be a force again in this defense.

All of that plus the fact that Rutherford did graduate. Somewhere there's a video of Coach Filani congratulating him.

Put me down for 11-3, Chuck. I've got a good supply of green KoolAid. I believe that we lose to Arkansas, FAU and Minnesota in the First Responder Bowl. I see us beating FAU at home during the regular season but losing to them in the championship game. Don't forget that FAU must replace both coordinators as well as their quarterback. That could take a few games to get adjusted. But, I believe that by the time they meet Marshall they'll have the kinks out. They still have the best running back in the conference.

He was an all-state WR in high school so I have little doubt that he's talented. What I am concerned about is his size. He's listed as a tight end at 215 pounds. Unless he's a receiving tight end only (which I'd highly doubt) he needs to get his weight up to 235-250 for FBS competition. At 6'3", I believe that he can do that since he has a year to prepare after transferring from UTSA. What's with you Deep? When you lived in the Golden Triangle you could never help us get talent from there. Now that you've moved to the Hill Country we have/will have three on the roster from Jefferson County.

Someone clue me in. Where is Russell Hall?

There will be some significant losses the year Mason graduates but we also have some highly regarded replacements, particularly at quarterback. Heck, maybe Seth might want to stick around a little longer.

I'm pretty shocked that the DMN paid any attention to our program regardless of who is coaching.

Totally agree; and the quality keeps coming. I'm really looking forward to the next one which I believe will be from Peggs/Locust Grove, Oklahoma.

I don't know how we can expect offensive linemen to hold blocks for five or six seconds so why are they being blamed for all of the sacks? Some of the sacks were caused by more rushers than blockers. I admit that Wilson was good at picking up the sixth rusher a lot. And a good offensive line is often an extremely great need in an offense. But, with their weaknesses we were still one of the best offenses in the nation. On the other hand, our defense was not good often. We gave up 35 rushing touchdowns...the most in conference USA. Don't forget, that included UTEP and Rice. We also tied with two others for the worst by giving up 24 passing touchdowns. I understand the sacks and the concern for Mason Fine's safety but the defense was our Achilles' heel last year. We can't expect to be a highly-rated team by giving up 35 points per game and since we gave up a lot more TDs on the ground than in the air I believe that the defensive line needs the most improvement. Fortunately, if English can return to form, and a jewel or two can be found among the new faces, this problem could go away fast.