StealthEagle84

@emmitt01, this kind of my point. We've hired the first one. Now, when a new coach is looking for a head coaching job, UNT has become a desirable destination. They will be coming into a situation where they can sustain or enhance rather than rebuild.

Now that everyone has had some time to take a deep breath and hopefully relax after Saturday's loss, I hope everyone can put into perspective the state of our football program. Don't get me wrong, I took the losses to LaTech and UAB just as hard as anyone. But I'm also a realist. Furthermore, I truly appreciate that the this fan base is genuinely upset that we are not going to win our division this season and have a shot at the conference title. With that being said, what a time it is to be a part of the Mean Green Nation. In just three seasons, Coach Littrell has taken a one win team, won 9 games last season and is on pace to meet or exceed that total again this year. We beat SMU and Arkansas by a combined 50 points, have set record crowds at home this year (twice), and have the #1 recruiting class in the conference. Yes, those losses hurt. But think how far we've come in such a short time. We made a great hire in Seth Littrell and we all know he's probably off to bigger and better things in the near future. But we can't make it as a continual winner until we hire the first one. We've done that. Let's relish a little in our new found success but not settle. And by reading this board, we won't settle. GO MEAN GREEN!!!!

.......... turnovers make the difference. The two fumbles at the end of the first half killed us tonight.

Yes, it appears beIN will have the game Saturday night.

Our offense is our best defense. We need to control the clock. Our run game, or lack thereof, worries me some a bit. But if we can control the time of possession, say 35 minutes or better, I think we'll be in good shape.

MONEYLINE!!!!!

All of the top 3 worst teams are C-USA and two in our division. Yikes. Rice and UTEP should be easy wins but I'd prefer stiffer competition. Plus you add in Liberty (#7 worst) and IWU and we may have the easiest schedule in the country. I expect nothing less than 9 wins this season. We should win 10.

He'd better off staying here than taking that job. I, on the hand, have become a huge Texas Tech fan this season. I need to see pretty boy keep his job. With another season like last year, Seth Littrell checks a lot of boxes on their list.

"So those that need to make ends meet will have to make some cuts. And those cuts will probably come from programs that aren’t revenue drivers like football and men’s basketball. We’ll be passed out in the floor from shock if coach salaries decrease accordingly to help schools pay the new tax. Instead, we’re bracing for future stories about athletic department cuts to other sports, especially at schools without large donor and alumni bases." https://www.yahoo.com/sports/new-tax-law-will-cost-college-athletic-departments-lots-money-185631171.html

Dick's Sporting Goods has UNT quarter zip pull overs on sale for 40% off with the GIVE20 code with free shipping. Good deal for a good looking pull over. https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/f/ncaa-promo-quarter-zips?irgwc=1&camp=AFF:mediapartner:ONLINE_TRACKING_LINK::36345:wuc05zW9XQAA0X33PrzER1EzUkmUGdQJUT0XwQ0:315573#bazaarRating:&facet:ads_f55224_ntk_cs%3A"North+Texas+Mean+Green"&productBeginIndex:0&orderBy:5&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&facetCategoryId:&fPrevCatId:&

I am encouraged by the overall stats on the offensive side of the ball. However, most concerning are the third down conversions, on both sides of the ball. We better find a way to start stopping our opponents on third down. Otherwise, teams that are physically better than us will simply play clock control and keep our offense on the sidelines. Team Stats - Through games 09/24/2017 Stat Rank Value Total Offense 16 503.5 Rushing Offense 27 226.0 Passing Offense 39 277.5 Team Passing Efficiency 26 156.78 Scoring Offense T-32 37.8 Total Defense 79 397.3 Rushing Defense 46 124.3 Passing Yards Allowed 106 273.0 Team Passing Efficiency Defense 96 140.43 Scoring Defense 110 35.5 Turnover Margin T-74 -0.25 3rd Down Conversion Pct T-100 0.333 4th Down Conversion Pct T-85 0.429 3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense 120 0.493 4th Down Conversion Pct Defense 103 0.700 Red Zone Offense T-58 0.857 Red Zone Defense T-77 0.846 Net Punting 108 34.86 Punt Returns T-90 4.00 Kickoff Returns 60 21.36 First Downs Offense T-21 98 First Downs Defense T-76 79 Fewest Penalties Per Game T-85 7.25 Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game T-88 62.50 Time of Possession 61 30:25

@BTG_Fan1 You are absolutely correct, we need W's, period. Guaranteed, Todd Dodge would have found a way to lose tonight.

UTSA is pretty talented, especially in the trenches. Our coaches better figure out how to keep our defense off of the field and not get killed in time of possession.

Seems like a good get by the coaching staff. The only thing that really concerns me is amount of wrist bands on this kid. I'm not sure who he's trying to impress but it reminds me a little of these guys.

Looks like Conference USA has 6 bowl game tie-ins. An interesting side not is that the Frisco Bowl has a slot reserved for an at-large bid. 2017 bowl game tie-ins and schedule Date Bowl Conference tie-ins Dec.16 New Orleans Sun Belt/Conference USA Dec.16 Cure American/Sun Belt Dec.16 Las Vegas Mountain West/Pac-12 Dec.16 New Mexico Conference USA/Mountain West Dec.16 Camellia MAC/Sun Belt Dec. 19 Boca Raton American/Conference USA Dec. 20 Frisco American/At-large Dec. 21 St. Petersburg American/Conference USA Dec. 22 Bahamas Conference USA/MAC Dec. 22 Potato MAC/Mountain West Dec. 23 Birmingham SEC/American Dec. 23 Armed Forces Army/Big Ten Dec. 23 Dollar General MAC/Sun Belt Dec. 24 Hawaii American/Mountain West Dec. 26 Quick Lane Big Ten/ACC or Notre Dame Dec. 26 Heart of Dallas Big 12/Conference USA Dec. 26 Cactus Big 12/Pac-12 Dec. 27 Independence SEC/ACC or Notre Dame Dec. 27 Pinstripe Big Ten/ACC or Notre Dame Dec. 27 Texas Big 12/SEC Dec. 28 Military ACC or Notre Dame/American Dec. 28 Camping World Big 12/ACC or Notre Dame Dec. 28 Alamo Big 12/Pac-12 Dec. 29 Belk SEC/ACC or Notre Dame Dec. 29 Sun Pac-12/ACC or Notre Dame Dec. 29 Music City SEC/Big Ten/ACC/Notre Dame Dec. 29 Cotton At-large/At-large Dec. 30 Arizona Mountain West/Sun Belt Dec. 30 TaxSlayer SEC/ACC/Big Ten/Notre Dame Dec. 30 Liberty Big 12/SEC Dec. 30 Fiesta At-large/At-large Dec. 30 Orange ACC/Big Ten/SEC/Notre Dame Jan. 1 Outback Big Ten/SEC Jan. 1 Peach At-large/At-large Jan. 1 Citrus SEC/ACC/Big Ten/Notre Dame Jan. 1 Rose Playoff semifinal Jan. 1 Sugar Playoff semifinal Jan. 8 Playoff National Championship Semifinal winners TBA Foster Farms Big Ten/Pac-12 TBA Holiday Big Ten/Pac-12 http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/5/29/15709664/bowl-tie-ins-conferences-2017-season?yptr=yahoo

Hey, we could take this guy back if you wanted.

I based my comment from one coach in particular who spent several hours in the film room with Harrell and came away very impressed. Said coach (now in the college ranks) spoke very highly of Coach Harrell's in depth knowledge and understanding of the game. He was very successful as a player and like many coaches kids, he has a good feel for the game. Don't knock the guy because of who his daddy is and give him a chance. I'm confident he won't disappoint.

I agree he is having some growing pains but there is no doubt he could be a star coach in the making. I have talked to several high school coaches who have spoken very highly of him. While we didn't throw up great numbers last season, keep in mind it was the first season with limited talent in a brand new system. But Harrell has been around the game long enough at all levels to truly understand the game. I have no doubt he will become a solid coach.

Good write up on Coach Harrell. I hope we can keep him as long as possible. But if / when he leaves Denton, its a good sign of success. http://247sports.com/Article/Graham-Harrell-is-living-his-coaching-dream-at-UNT-as-offensive--52871798

While I agree with the concerns regarding Fine's overall talent and ceiling level, you can't disregard the intangibles he brings to the table. He may not be the most talented (there's a reason we were the only D-1 school to offer him) but he is a leader who understands the game of football. From listening to him speak, he has an insanely square head on his shoulders and is focused one thing and one thing only, winning football games. There was a certain #11 that played quarterback here a few years back that wasn't the most talented either but possessed the right leadership skills for the position. Fine might not be the most talented but he is by far better than what we've had in many years.

Not good news out of Lafayette. "Louisiana-Lafayette has suspended 13 players for a violation of team rules. According to the school’s police department, that violation of team rules is because the players allegedly robbed a dorm room. Per a release from the department, the players allegedly took $2,400 worth of items from a person’s dorm room April 5. The players were identified via video surveillance, according to the Daily Advertiser. All are charged with conspiracy to commit felony theft and turned themselves in to the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center. The suspended players are tight end Matthew Barnes, defensive end Joe Dillon, defensive back Robert Hunt, offensive lineman Denarius Howard, defensive end Jarvis Jeffries, defensive end LaDarrius Kidd, linebacker Terik Miller, defensive back Damar’ren Mitchell, running back Trey Ragas, defensive back Simeon Thomas, defensive back Levarious Varnado, offensive lineman D’Aquin Withrow and running back Jordan Wright. Wright was the team’s fourth-leading rusher with 192 yards in 2016. Mitchell had 52 tackles while Dillon had 51 tackles and led the team with seven sacks. Thomas had 40 tackles and Howard had 32. The football team’s release said it wouldn’t discuss the incident out of respect “for the judicial process.” https://sports.yahoo.com/news/13-louisiana-lafayette-players-suspended-conspiracy-commit-theft-charges-151119903.html

Looks like he was committed to Arkansas St. and GMac brought him along. And according to 247Sports, he had an offer from Iowa State. I'll take it. http://247sports.com/Recruitment/Mark-Tikhonenko-98997/RecruitInterests

http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/collegesports/2017/03/20/unt-coach-seth-littrell-transformed-moment-truth-bowl-eligible-mean-green-team

This strategy works for lower levels of football but works less and less as you move up the 'talent' ladder. In other words, the math works when your punter can only hang one 25-30 yards from scrimmage or your kicker can only boot one downfield 40 yards. Furthermore, as players get bigger and faster (older), they can cover more ground at a faster and faster rate. So yes, this works when your kicker has a small leg and your cover guys can't get downfield quickly. But at higher levels, this works less and less as kickers progressively get stronger legs and players can cover downfield at a faster rate. As the kicking game gets more specialized, teams can flip the field more easily, making this model obsolete.

I just saw that several scouts have Trubisky as the #1 QB on the board for the NFL draft. I was curious if Littrell was the one who recruited him to UNC? Either way, it is encouraging that Littrell tutored such a highly rated quarterback.