mccox2

TEXAS

I will be in attendance. I also have two additional tickets as my other two partners-in-crime are not able to make it. If anyone is interested in those tickets please reach out to me. It is in the B-204 region row 1 seat 2 and 3. Sadly, I will be in seat 1 so you will have to sit next to me (in theory). My goal is to make it to EVERY home game this year and support my alma mater and damn it I am sticking to it. Even as this year's team drives me crazy and up a wall... I want to hopefully witness a second half fight and see what this team is made of with a strong finish. If not, then at least I gave it my all as a fan. I agree with the majority of everyone on this board on expectations, letdowns, coaching, schemes, decision-makings, executions (or lack of), and accountability. I am also frustrated, disappointed, and thinking "WTF" on some of the decision-makings and performances that occurred on the field. My mind is as boggled as everyone else in the Mean Green nation as this was "not how it was suppose to be". On the other side of the coin, this team also gave me a lot to cheer about these past three years before this season began. Those guys, especially the seniors, deserve my support and effort to cheer them on to the end of the season as a "thank you". I will choose to live in the present today, solo, on a lawn chair, beer in hand, under a tree, and facing Apogee stadium in orange parking happily debating to myself on which team will show up today versus Middle Tennessee. A piece of humble pie will remind me to appreciate today as there is no better place than now compared to the experience I witnessed the hours before, during, and after Portland State. That in itself is something to appreciate and be happy about on where we are at now. I am in no way minimizing or erasing this year's expectations or my mixed feelings toward how I thought this year should have gone but I need to find a positive somewhere. Have a great Saturday Mean Green nation! Go Mean Green!!!

Mean Green: 55 ACU: 10 31 - 0 halftime. I think our defense will create some turnovers early on and shut them out for a half. We will have some explosive plays on offense and will take advantage of the early turnovers. I do want to see more execution in the red zone on offense and close out our drives. I want to see the physicality of our defense especially with our linebackers and see our corners lock it down. I even want to see our kicker get a couple kicks in just to give me a peace of mind. Looking forward to watching all of this at Apogee on Saturday.

I was at the game last night and will make the drive next weekend to Denton (from Austin). I was happy sitting in the patch of green in a sea of orange and proud of the fan support sticking with the Mean Green throughout the second half. The energy was great at first as the defense was getting after it but the offense provided no help or relief for the defense throughout the game. Our fan's reaction to our offense's lack of production was a familar sight. I'm looking to see how the Mean Green responds at home and what adjustments they attempt to make on the offensive side of the ball. Looking forward to be home again and show my support.

I am very aware of Dajon's capabilities and McNulty's below subpar performance against Idaho. Dajon has a lot of upside and I have NO doubt that he will be a gamer once the coaching staff feels like he is ready to perform and manage a game in a hostile environment such as this. He is gonna have to sooner or later. In a sense, they're all inexperienced when put into a game of this magnitude. The reason why we, the fans, are having quarterback disagreements is because each quarterback brings something valuable to the table. All that we have to go on is what we have seen, the statistics that each player have produced through their collegiate career, and the coach's assessments. I'm excited, like all of you, on figuring out who the sure starter is going to be. Everyone also have valid points on justifying why quarterback x, y, or z should start. August can't get here soon enough.

Fair enough. Either way it'll be a win-win. Whoever is on the field by the Texas game will give UNT the best chance to win.

The post-spring's depth chart is public that was handed to Brett Vito who included it in his article not too long ago. Here is the link: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/files/2014/04/SpringDepthChart1.pdf I consider McNulty the starter since he is above Greer even though there is an "or". Greer didn't outplay McNulty in the spring game but had a good performance. McNulty does have an edge with his experience at the D1 level, knowledge of the offense, and has had more reps in practice. As I stated earlier, it is McNulty's job to lose in August when practices resume and competition continues.Whoever comes out as the starter will be well-deserved but at this moment I'm going with McNulty until his name is behind Greer or Dajon on the depth chart regardless of "or".

I agree that we do have to make plays and take risks down the field in order to have a chance to beat Texas. Dajon played well against Idaho (1-11 overall last year) during clean up time after Thompson gave Idaho a clinic. ONE game against Idaho didn't tell me a whole lot except that he does have potential. The game and UT's defense will be 3-4x faster than the snaps and throws he made against Idaho. I'm not taking anything away from him and I think he'll be really effective down the road but those same play making abilities can also add up to quick turnovers by trying to do too much and take us out of the game early. That would be playing right in Coach Strong's defense starting an inexperienced quarterback who is trying to make plays against a disciplined defense. As I stated, McNulty earned the starting QB position but if he can't generate anything on offense early, then I'm all about putting Dajon in to try to create a spark. I don't want UNT to play conservatively either but in a sense it is a chess match and there is more complexity with the game calling (reference to Georgia's game where the run opened up some golden passing opportunities on 1st and 2nd down that should have been converted but passes were dropped and/or throws were not accurate) that can enable the offense to take those risks at the right time.

When it comes to UT's situation, if Ash is not game ready by then, our biggest concern is stopping the run, forcing their QB to throw the ball, but keeping him contained and not having him make plays with his feet. Easier said than done I understand that. Our defense needs to attack early and not let their QB develop any kind of rhythm. Capitalize on specials will also work in our favor. I think this is our best case scenario to have a chance to compete with Texas in this game. We just need Texas to shoot themselves in the foot a couple of times and not shoot ourselves.

McNulty is not an inexperienced freshman quarterback or a JC transfer. A lot of growth and maturation has come between his freshman year and now. He knows and understands the offense. He can also use his legs if needed. Here is a link to his biography: http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/andrew_mcnulty_847328.html He's undersized but out of the group of quarterbacks that we have right now, I believe his body of work gives us the best chance to win at this moment. I am not against putting him on a short leash if he can't facilitate a spark in the offense. Give him a chance. He's done his time backing up Thompson. It's obviously his position to lose. I trust that he will protect his position, prepare as the starter, and compete for his starting job again once they start back up in August. The coaches assessed his competencies and can TRUST him as a starter so I too will TRUST these coaches with that decision unless proven otherwise.

Its not bad but the shirt could be better. The message needs to be more direct. I personally like the message to aim for the jugular which is what I would want to wear for a UTSA game. I'd still buy it for support. Rivalries have to start somewhere and we are overdue for one. I would love UNT to own SMU across the board in competition.

I like the fact that he plays hard until the whistle blows and that he has a little edge to his playing style. The fact that he played different positions on the o-line will make him more versatile if adjustments need to be made due to another o-line injury. That would be interesting to test him on the d-line and how he responds to those positions but I am pleased with him as part of the o-line.

There shouldn't be any ill will with either party. It was a promotion for him to take the next step operating a division one football team as a head coach. Todd Dodge KNEW that D1 wasn't going to be a 5A challenge. It just goes to show the HUGE experience disparity transitioning from high school football to college football as a head coach. If you put Todd Dodge's body of work next to Coach Mac's resume then I think it would hit home on Dodge's place in college football as a head coach to begin with. I think UNT fans were split about the hire from the get-go but it did create a lot of buzz. I never agreed with the hire to begin with but I do respect Todd Dodge for trying to revive UNT and wish him nothing but the best to him and his family. If anything, this should have been a learning experience for him from a business standpoint of college football and APPRECIATE that he was given the chance to be a HEAD coach at the DIVISION ONE level when so many assistant coaches (and former head coaches) with plenty of college football pedigree/experience interview and are turned down year after year. I hope that time has healed enough for him and he will be willing to accommodate UNT coaches as well as his players accordingly. He is a good man, and like many of us, can't blame him for snatching an opportunity of a lifetime to be a head coach for a division one football program.

UT's offense are going to have to find a sure identity that can only be figured out by the "real speed of the game". UT has play makers in Brown (RB), Ash (QB), Shipley (WR), and Johnson (WR). Their question mark is their offensive line. Their still huge and athletic. Ash is not Manning. Though he has experience, missing reps in practice and spring game to a new offense can translate to errors in "real speed". He's also concussion prone with a questionable offensive line. He might be hesitant to run and will either take the sack or force a throw. Blitz packages will keep him uncomfortable and may throw his timing off with his receivers. Passing game might revolve around Shipley and Johnson. I'm not saying this is automatic, but it might be part of the growing pains of working out the kinks on their end. Swoopes has legs but is inexperienced and has been an inaccurate passer from time to time. Inaccuracy/Inexperience can lead to interceptions,overthrows, delay of games, busted plays, maybe forced fumbles if his awareness lags when running. UT's running game will be their strength. If they can establish a running game then it'll open their passing game. This is NOT going to be an easy offense to stop but it IS doable if our defense stays discipline, plays with an aggressive tone, wins the field position battle, and force turnovers early. I like UNT's secondary and linebackers. UNT's d-line will be interesting. Our defense (espeically D-Line) has always been undersized with SEC and Big 12 play so this is nothing new. Its who can play cohesive as a team every play, capitalize on mistakes, and protect the football will make the difference. I feel like that is to UNT's advantage. UNT has question marks at QB position and other starters filling in big key roles. UNT's best bet will be game management with field position and protecting the football (zero turnovers... maybe one turnover because realistically it'll happen with the hard hitting and the speed of the game). UT's defense is going to be good. That's Charlie Strong's strength. Their going to be fast, physical, and aggressive. Luckily our o-line is experienced but still be undersized and not as athletic as UT's BUT UNT will be more cohesive which should translate to minimized communication errors at the line, discipline in their assignments, and executing off the ball quicker. Overall, Coach Mac has been in the business long enough. He knows UNT is undersized, inferior athletically, and still lack some depth in key positions. He knows he is going to win this game through UNT's defense and UT's offensive struggles. Coach Mac has a defensive mindset so he's thinking field position, forcing turnovers, and not giving up the big play. I do feel like UNT is more cohesive as a unit (coaching staff and players) compared to UT but that is only because of the coaching transition at UT with a new scheme. We just need our offense to give our defense a rest, make smart plays, protect field position, and protect the football. If we can establish a running game with our different backs, it'll take one misread or lack of defensive communication for UNT to break a big gain and change the momentum of the game. This will be an excellent game to watch. I honestly think UNT CAN upset UT at home. Over the past couple years (since 2011), UNT has played top competition against Top 25 teams in Alabama, LSU, and Georgia along with competing with good teams such as Houston and Kansas State. UT is NOT LSU, Alabama, or Georgia nor do they have the confidence and cohesiveness as those teams. In conclusion, get ready for August 30th. This is Coach Mac's 4th season since taking over a debilitated UNT squad and making a winner out of them. He's been an underdog at Iowa State and been successful in the Big 12 so this is nothing new to him. He can obviously coach and he is well aware just like we are that UNT CAN pull this off. I will be drinking with my UNT Mean Green family in Austin with a biased mind set as a real UNT fan whose been a believer since the worst of seasons because that is what real fans do. GMG! 1 - 0!

Great article. I love hearing Coach Mac talk. He is one of the most positive individuals inside and outside of football but at the same time a realist. I am looking forward to seeing this team continue to build confidence, depth, and consistency along with the addition of increased fan support. Increased traffic and tail gaiters in Denton for UNT football? Yes please. GMG!