StealthEagle84

I have to tip my hat this man. He had every reason in the world to check out once he lost the starting job in week 2. He was the anointed starter the moment he said he was coming to Denton and naturally didn't look sharp in his first game in nearly 4 years. He knows he won't be playing football ever again after this season. It would have been easy for him to put his dauber in the dirt and not give a damn. There a lot of other kids out there that would have done just that, quit. But Alec stuck with it, stayed in tune, and led us to one of our biggest victories in many years. When we needed him most, after squandering the lead and going down 23-20, he looked sharp and decisive, leading us on the go ahead drive. Given his situation, it shows a lot of character to stick it through. Now I hope he can do it two more times this season (UTEP + bowl game).

"Are you saying Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"

UNT - 31 USM - 27 We'll generate a few scores off of turnovers and make one or two big stops inside the red zone (i.e. Army game). At the end of the day, our defense will have to find a way to win the game.

Dallas News article. http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/smumustangs/2016/10/26/smu-unt-pull-pair-college-footballs-biggest-upsets-common-denominator

I feel like we're on the right side of ledger in regards to being in the best division, at least historically. I know Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky have been solid the last several years but outside of Marshall, there isn't a whole lot of history in the East. Southern Miss, LaTech, and Rice (going further back) have had successful programs for extended periods of time with UTEP and UAB having a few solid stretches here and there. We are set up better than ever before in terms of bringing regional rivals and teams with good name recognition to Denton year in and year out.

Looks like its going to be cold and windy Saturday. High of 54 degrees with winds of 20-30 mph (according to The Weather Channel). I'm afraid the elements will not be in our favor. I don't care what you say, going into that when you've practiced in weather right 90 degrees all week will be tough. No excuses though. Go Mean Green!

Vegas has us down at -17, the same as the Middle Tennessee game. My biggest concern is their defense, which ranks second in the nation in rushing yards per game and this is against similar competition to us. We have to establish the run or else we become one dimensional and we saw how that looked vs. MTSU.

So Golic lost a bet and he paid up this morning by having to eat some Hell Burgers from Roosters Roadhouse. Good to see Denton getting some national pub. I've never eaten there before but it looks like I may to try it out this weekend when I'm up for the game.

I read this article and couldn't help but think about our program. For too long, we had this same mentality, this same kind of stigma. To quote Coach Koetter: "I feel like sometimes we find too many ways to lose a game instead of creating ways to win a game," Koetter said, emphasizing that the change starts at the top with him. "Until we change that, we’re going to have nights like [Sunday]. We’re just missing something, I feel like -- and as my title suggests, it’s my job to speak up...... The best teams that I’ve been on beat with one heart and they count on the guy next to them to do their job every time and they win and lose together," Koetter said. "And maybe our fans have cheered for a team like that at one point; hopefully all of our players have played on a team [like that]. I know when I’ve been on teams like that, you can feel it and, man, you want to grab it and hold onto its tail because it’s elusive." For too long, this was us, coming up with excuses and finding ways not win football games. I can confidently say that we have that one man that is convicted to win. This was evident from our win this past Saturday. I couldn't help think, "here we go again" when we gave up the tying touchdown and two point conversion. Hell, I was even gut-wrenchingly nervous when we scored our first TD in overtime, worried that we'd miss the tying extra point to lose the game because well, that's we do. Or should I say, that's what we did. But Coach Littrell has brought of sense of competitiveness, drive, and determination to win that has been missing for far too long. He knows no other way than to go balls to the wall and win. He bet his entire coaching career on this job. If isn't successful here, he most likely will never get a chance to be an FBS head coach again. But I am confident to say he will turn this program around. Not only because he is determined to win but because he has made these players believe that they can. http://www.espn.com/blog/tampa-bay-buccaneers/post/_/id/14384/dirk-koetter-bucs-finding-too-many-ways-to-lose-a-game

It's nice to hear him say #NewDenton. To me, it confirms that the kids have really bought into to this coaching staff and into ushering in a new era of football at UNT. This kid has a good head on his shoulders. He's hungry, wants to compete, and wants to win football games. I have no doubt we will get a lot out of this kid.

You can slice it and dice it however you want, all day long, but at the end of the day turnovers are what did us in Saturday. That and giving up a freakin' touchdown on 3rd down and forever. Make note that we scored a TD on the next possession. Had we held them there and went on to score like we did, it would have been 17-14 at halftime with the momentum in our corner. That makes for a completely different story in the second half. And maybe we can blame Morris' turnovers on the fact that he hasn't played a real game in roughly four years. Who knows? Only time will tell. But now to my point........ Coming into this season, we all knew this year was setting up to be another rough go. While there were some positives from Saturday's game, it's obvious we have a lot work on. With that said, now we know where we're at. We have our starting block on which we stand. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not worried so much about where we're at right now but more so on the trajectory from here on out. I will base the success of this season on how we play the next chunk of games and especially how we play the final three or four games. I want to see us get better from one week to the next. So now we know where we stand and we can sit back and watch how we improve from here.

It has been a painfully long 327 days since we suffered what could be the most embarrassing loss in program history vs. Portland St. last year. Through the storm of this offseason, we have replaced both our head coach and the athletic director. My question is, do the new hires and the changes we've made bring a different sense of confidence in the direction of our program than previous hires, i.e. Dickey, Dodge, and McCarney(man)? As the season is about to begin, it's always easy to be optimistic, but will it be different this time? Did we finally get it right? And most importantly, will this hire finally bring about the success on the field that we've thirsted for for the past decade?

What I see is a disciplined football player that not only knows his assignment but executes it. He's not always looking to make the play (i.e. make the tackle) but knows his what his role is on the play and makes it happen so someone else can make the play.

Bet the over all day and again tomorrow. We gave up over 500 ypg last year and over 41 pts per game while SMU gave up the same amount of yards and nearly 46 pts per game. With our new uptempo offense and lack of quality depth on defense, I see a lot of points on the board. I think we'll have to score at least 5 touchdowns to have a shot at winning.

Meanwhile,the Sun Belt has the following games available on ESPN3 for week one. Its very concerning if the Sun Belt has better TV exposure than CUSA. Montana St. @ Idaho Ball St. @ Georgia St. Boise St. @ La-La Savannah St. @ Georgia Southern Austin Peay @ Troy Southern @ La-Monroe

Here is C-USA Week 1 line up. Most games not being televised are C-USA teams vs. FCS schools. But of course our game is one not being televised.

Is "Mean Green Stadium" the preferred nomenclature? If I paid $20M, I would want my name plastered everywhere, not just on the side of the stadium. "Across this line, you do not......"

Interesting that Rivals has Cade listed as a dual-threat QB. Nonetheless, I have faith in this staff being able to land a competent quarterback. Sounds like Mason Fine has been a good find so far. From those that have seen Mason live, what are your thoughts on him so far? https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/176822

On top of our game, this is has to be the best opening weekend I can remember in terms of quality matchups. Check out other games in action opening weekend. Kansas St. @ Stanford Georgia Tech @ Boston College Oklahoma @ Houston Missouri @ West Virginia UCLA @ Texas A&M LSU @ Wisconsin Georgia vs. North Carolina USC vs. Alabama Clemson @ Auburn Arizona vs. BYU Notre Dame @ Texas (Sunday) Ole Miss vs. Florida State (Monday)

Can someone get a hold of USA Today and get them an updated picture...........

So said Baylor........ While I don't know that this warrants a kid getting kicked off the team, he needs to be punished in some fashion. Gone are the days of the off the field issues being handled by the legal system. The expectation has been set that schools (and professional teams) handle these issues independently, as the legal system has been exposed (in some cases) of letting guys off the hook. And please don't get me wrong, this is nowhere on par with happened in Waco. Nonetheless, Littrell and the administration need to take their own action here, regardless of what the legal system does.

Sounds like a good motivational piece, especially given our first opponent. I truly feel by the end of this season, this coaching staff will provide optimism moving forward.

I agree with that sentiment. However, I assume he's looking for a place that can win a national championship and prepare him for a possible career in the NFL and not looking for a G5 school simply looking to become bowl eligible. Furthermore, I doubt he'll want to walk into the middle of a complete rebuilding project. At this point, I would focus our attention on righting the ship this season and let the recruiting fall in line thereafter.

Thank you. It's one thing when you're throwing up points every time you touch the ball. But it goes the complete opposite direction when you don't do that and your defense can't play. I anticipate our defense being being better this year but the fact of the matter is, things are likely not to change overnight. Also, it appears there is a pretty solid correlation between TOP and W-L and that the Baylors, Oregons, and UNCs of the world are the exception, not the norm.

He is not coming to North Texas guys. This is was one the most highly rated, highly recruited quarterbacks coming out of high school and showed he can perform at a high level against some of the best competition in college football. He will have his pick of just about any of the top tier P5 schools around the country in need of a QB.