Mike Jackson

I am going to look on the bright side. If Troy’s offense runs up and down the field on us like Troy’s fans expect, do we make any changes to the defensive staff? With the Dec 16 play date a lot of good defensive coaches and recruiters are locked up in Bowl game preparation. If this is a close game I hope it is a shootout. The offensive needs to live up to its reputation and I think we learn very little by this defense shutting down Troy. Because we should have the athletes to do that if they are disciplined and get to their assignments in a logical defensive game plan/scheme.

I get this but should it be about the quality of the teams and no the pocket books of the fans? I think the last round of Conference realignment our the wheels in motion for destruction of the FBS as we know it today. The greedy programs at the top in quest for more money will make moves to get larger shares of the pie. However those moves will accelerate the shrinking of the pie they are cutting up. When you leave half of your teams out in the cold (post season AND regular season) you are not going to bring more students into FBS fandom through devotion to their school because there is no hope. Even the mediocre P5 teams get the shaft for no other reason than greed. School like Indiana, Purdue, Rutgers, Kansas State, Iowa State, Cal, Washington State, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Virginia should regularly be hosting be hosting blue blood out of Conference programs like Florida, Texas, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Clemson, Florida State, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Michigan. Then over the years we could stop talking about stupid “eyeball tests” and look at regular season inter-conference game data and say well the numbers that show (with home and home scheduling to eliminate advantages) this x conference has been the best. Bowl games don’t really matter now cause top players are going sit out of them more and more going forward.

Exactly and this is why I am not passionate about the debate surrounding NCAA players getting paid. They have ruined so many things about FBS and made things academically harder with conferences with more taxing travel for road games. And it was all in the pursuit of money.

I am not a fan of the SEC invitational they have set up. The original purpose of the bowl games were to reward the teams with a nice trip and see a good out of conference opponent that otherwise they would never play. With that in mind I have never understood the knee jerk reaction to eliminate most of the bowl season from determining the national championship. Also the current system has 2 problems. 1. The top ranked team doesn't really get a reward for being rank number 1 at the end of the regular season 2. G5 teams (and some P5 teams that aren't ranked at the beginning of the year) have virtually no shot at the playoff. For instance Mississippi State could have had the exact same resume as Alabama did this year and they would not be in the playoff over Ohio State. I have always thought a bowl game win should be a prerequisite for getting to a playoff or a championship game. So here is what I propose; return to the old bowl system with some tweaks and have a 4 team playoff of bowl winners. Top ranked team gets to chose their bowl and select any opponent they want ranked 6-10. Rose Bowl returns to Pac 10 champ vs Big 10 champ (which the winner of most years is guaranteed a birth in the playoff by their ranking going into the game)* A breakdown is below how it would have worked out this year. I believe it would be awesome to see UCF get a shot at Clemson. We would finally get to see the best the G5 has to offer in a given year and the best the P5 has to offer in a given year on a "neutral field" with something meaningful on the line. And the number 1 team deserves "cake walk game" into the playoff in my opinion. *The Big 10 and Pac 12 may or may not like this but I threw this rule in because the Rose Bowl was the last holdout of the old system before the BCS. Take a look and let me know what you think. Rose Bowl Ohio State vs USC Big 10 Champ vs Pac 12 Champ Cotton Bowl Oklahoma vs Alabama Big 12 Champ vs at Large (in top 12) Sugar Bowl Georgia vs TCU SEC Champ vs at Large (in top 12) Orange Bowl Clemson vs UCF ACC Champ vs at Large (in top 12) Fiesta Bowl Wisconsin vs Miami Top 12 at Top 10 at Large Peach Bowl Auburn vs Penn State Top 12 at Top 10 at Large

But most parents of recruits were alive before 1995 when we were FCS I-AA. Plus the program was mediocre at that level. Also anyone under 30 wasn’t alive when “State” was dropped from the name but I here members of the media in their 30s call us State. And a New Orleans Bowl victory over a FBS program younger and less well known than ours does little to Change that negative perception. You need to beat ranked/well known programs and finish consecutive seasons with 9 wins or more to do that. That tenth win is the most important thing now. If we lose to a Sun Belt team casual fans willl say “same ole North Texas”. I don’t like it either but it is true.

I think everyone is misunderstanding my point. Playing and competing well with good ang more highly regarded program opponent is better than beating a team that people still mistake for a FCS team. That is just the fact. UNT still has negative perception carried over from when NTSU dropped down to FCS (I-AA). I am not suggesting that people shouldn’t go to our bowl game against a Sun Belt opponent. But for people who can afford the trip (I am not one of those people) I am sure it is slightly discouraging. They probably have seen Sun Belt teams in person for years in Denton and on the road. I will always support this university, financially and otherwise. But supporting doesn’t mean withholding criticism of some of their decisions. With the beat down yesterday and a fan base historically does not travel well after disappointment, selecting the best Bowl game to help our program’s positive visibility becomes more complicated. But I don’t like the give up or the “enjoyable trip is more important” point of view.

The maximum capacity of FAU’s stadium is slightly under 30k. If that is accurate what I saw on TV looked closer to 10k than 14k+. It is especially disappointing cause if rolls were reversed Apogee might be sold out. Also if we had a head coach with NFL and powerhouse P5 head coaching experience coaching a team loaded with speed that would push the average season attendance above 26,500.

While I don’t particularly want hear “Ra Ra team” after getting drug around the stadium by a program established in 2001 our criticism should be tempered. But this “accepting” attitude needs to go away. Yes this program is ahead of schedule and the staff has done a good job. Please focus on what the word ‘good’ because it isn’t great. Let continue to aspire to be great. And getting beat down by an upstart program by a brand new coach isn’t a stepping stone to greatness it is a setback. I didn’t expect us to win today I just wanted them to earn some respect by keeping the game within 2 touchdowns with less that 8:00 left in game. All the causal fans with connections to UNT have another example of why they can ignore UNT teams with a good record and feel like they aren’t missing anything. With all that said I don’t what I would tweet as AD under these circumstances. Probably nothing at all until I could just congratulate the team on earning a spot in whatever bowl we get.

Never once did I suggest that we dismissed a P5 match up. Apparently you don’t see a difference in G5 programs so I am assuming that you believe scheduling and conference alignment at the G5 level are meaningless. I am not stomping my feet. No single game change the course of a program, big games at best or worse stepping stones and stumbling blocks in programs growth. I don’t get your point of pissing on people who aspire for this program to make every possible move to important its prominence. If you play a team people know* (regardless of their record) and win it matters more to fans and recruits than beating a team they don’t know. Very tired of this old Denton mentality. Supporting the program doesn’t mean you can urge them to make better decisions even when it come to “small” things. Not wanting the best for this program even if the difference between the options are relatively small is a loser mentality. Bowl scheduling to me is no difference than scheduling an out of Conference home game home to bump attendance. If you want the biggest crowd possible in a winniable game you schedule a known program that has a positive reputation. No Sun Belt team fits that description and that is why only South Alabama from the Sun Belt is on our out of Conference schedule. That isn’t till 2024. Also if we get the opportunity and the program is rolling I am sure we would jump at the opportunity to replace them on our schedule with Hawaii, Houston, San Diego State, BYU or anyone of a dozen middling P5 teams.

This is a stupid comment. It was never about “above or below” it was about what would help the program more PR wise. Using that mentality we should have never left the Sun Belt. So if want to go party it up in NO celebrating something that is new for this program and won’t mean anything when season tickets go on sale next year go right ahead.

Yep, cause all know the party outside the stadium is more important that what is going on inside the stadium during the game. Green Mojitos for everyone

Just an example of me Not talking out of my rear end.

They are flushing all the PR momentum from this year down the drain with this performance so far. Everyone who follows North Texas passively will look and say “same ole North Texas”. Come on just compete keep it respectable please.

Very simple Troy or Arkansas State < MWC that is 0.500 or better. Doesn’t look like it will matter though. It looks like we will be thoroughly dominated today so far. PR momentum from this year reduced to zero. Everyone who only passively follows North Texas will say “same ole North Texas”. I did not expect us to win but I didn’t expect to make FAU look like a P5 team.

Bingo, the New Orleans is not “beneath us” is just doesn’t propel our image forward like games against more highly regarded football programs would G5 or P5. Facts are Troy before 1990 played Divison II (not division I-AA/FCS). For me it all about what is going to help the Mean Green’s popularity which in turn can help it be the dominant G5 program in the state of Texas second maybe only to Houston. We should want our alumni to go anywhere in the country and not have to “introduce” UNT as a university on par with any other large public state university. UNT is the flagship campus of a university system. Therefore if we choose to compete on the FBS level everything we do should aspire to reflect that status playing Troy in a Bowl game does not push us forward towards that. Great trip, nice party and hopefully a win which are never meaningless but so is beating a FCS team for homecoming. They are alike because both of them only minimally propel your program forward. We should want more from a bowl game.

Conventionally teams from a conference get to choose there bowl game from the tie-ins in order of how they finished the season. So to me the only Bowl game they should flatly turn down would be the Armed Forces Bowl. The New Orleans Bowl from the list of Bowl tie-ins would be my next to last choice. http://www.sunherald.com/sports/college/conference-usa/article187357953.html Frenso State, South Florida, Temple, and Florida State* are listed as possible opponents for CUSA teams here. If all these matchups happen and we get Troy that is bad and not remotely "second prize" in my opinion. And if we beat FAU getting Troy is a slap in the face.

Exactly and this figurative recruit's reaction is the same reaction I will get next year trying to get alumni who actually like football to a game next year. Why some people can't see this I will never know. If were siting here 10-1 as CUSA Champions then going 11-1 for the season would be more important than the opponent maybe. If any CUSA team that finished below us end up in a Bowl Game scheduled Dec 20th or later against a higher profile opponent that is very #OldDenton mentality. This would be something I would expect from RV.

I don't consider the New Orleans Bowl "second prize" in the list of CUSA Bowl tie-ins first of all. Second of all, the Sun Belt has the reputation as being on average the worst G5 conference (by perception). North Texas's biggest problem since the program returned to FBS level play has been perception. Assuming we are not CUSA Champions beating Troy means nothing. (Not all these teams are available this year I am just listing them example). Beating San Diego State, Hawaii, Boise State, Memphis, Houston, USF, or UCF in a bowl game raises our profile. Yes, I understand it is minimal but minimal is greater than zero. Perception wise for recruits when it comes purely to football we should be a better program than any Sun Belt program. I would love for coaches to be able to tell recruits the schools I listed that we beat one of them in a bowl. We should be aspiring to get on this list https://247sports.com/Article/What-are-the-best-Group-of-5-jobs-in-football--51407646 Beating Troy (especially in a Bowl game) doesn't help you get there unless they are undefeated with the schedule they played this year.

It is not bitching but acting like playing Troy is the same as playing a MWC team or having a game on in primetime is the same. No offense to anyone’s wives but going to a New Orleans Bowl is not going to get them in Apogee next year. We left the Sun Belt for a reason now you want to sell us playing them in a Bowl is cool? Sorry that is just stupid and if they are actually choosing this game over a game against a more well know opponent closer to Christmas and New Year’s Day it is stupid, for 2 major reasons. 1. Fewer post finals practices 2. Beating the Sun Belt is something we ‘should’ so program doesn’t get a profile bump by winning. If were guaranteed to be CUSA champions then it wouldn’t matter. I am all about anything that will make more local college football fans and recruits take notice. Beating Troy or any other Sun Belt team won’t do that. Of the list presented earlier of potential CUSA bowl match ups, several of them are better that the New Orleans Bowl.

Nah, he is just going to setup a Dallas Cowboys power structure model. He is going to hire all the coordinators first then install a “head coach”.

I wonder did FSU try to match A&M ‘s offer? Numbers I saw just looked like a 2 million dollar gap. Would he have left if FSU went up to 6.8 per year or more?

I didn’t think he would leave FSU

N So essentially going out of town to watch North Texas play an opponent Wren Baker could get to come to Denton anytime? I am all for the players having a good time. But I doubt they would be particularly excited about playing Troy. Not all G5 programs are equal. If all G5 are equal why did we celebrate getting into CUSA? Why do we debate about moving to the MWC if given an opportunity? We need to play a program that is well known and Troy is not that. People aren’t making trips to see a Troy vs North Texas they are going to party in the French Quarter a game against Troy is secondary in the experience for most I would assume.

Playing a Sun Belt team “looking at the bright side” is very Old Denton. This is an extra regular season game that if they were scheduled to come to Apogee would not bump attendance in any way unless it was mid season with both of us having 1 loss or less. Just ask a casual CFB fan not connected to CUSA or North Texas. Offer them a free ticket to a hypothetical game in Apogee against Troy next year and see what they say. This game is NOT going to bring any casuals. Worse yet it fosters more of the Frat Hill game party mentality cause I bet you more than a few will make the Bowl trip to New Orleans and not even watch the game. I am sick of that mentality and all the old heads trying to look on the bright side of this. And this recruiting against Troy really? Unless they are interested in getting away from Texas or they have other factors which are purely geographical we should not be losing recriuts to Troy, Arkansas St or any of the out of state Sun Belt programs. A few outliers like a particular academic program or just wanting to be at a smaller school could be factors but should be generally rare occurrences. It very simple if you wouldn’t be excited to see an opponent in Apogee in the regular season stop trying to sell seeing them in whatever bowl you can come up with.

My biggest gripe with the playing Sun Belt teams is that we could get almost any one of them to Apogee in an out of Conference game especially if we agree for it to be a home and home series. Now that bowls don’t mean as much as they once did because there are so many of them and there is a playoff, it all about match ups, practice time and payouts. And as a fan the only tangible thing I can enjoy is the match up. I have seen North Texas vs Troy 3 or 4 times already. We did not really establish a rivalry so this is a stale match up. If we had not played Army just a week ago, I would much rather play them again and see it in person again than to watch Troy vs North again on TV.