stebo

Without a doubt, Woody was better statistically as well. Usually when you have a running QB, he isn't accurate in the passing game... Woody can do BOTH

Exactly. Playing it "safe" - sucks big time, more like playing "scared"

They also cut 4 of their 5 last draft picks while keeping Cobbs, it must be like coming out of a fuzzy dream for Patrick. A couple of months ago he was on his way to the CFL; now he is playing for the World Champions. Wowsers

Yeah, it slipped away... I think it was 21-10 at the half.

La Tech seems to have gotten better... they are actually playing with Nebraska. Then again, those guys always seem to play to win in these money games - nobody has let them know that they are supposed to just: show up, play the game like an NFL preseason game (trying to rotate and play as many players as possible), collect the check, and go home to get ready for conference play with your handy notes in your fanny pack.

Well, we have a chance to beat the line still. The line ended up at 41 today, right now we are 42 down. A field goal would beat the line... in fact, if we had hit that 27 yarder earlier, we would be beating the line.

Nope, it couldn't have been anything too serious - he was right back in the next series. It is very normal to give a player fluids by IV. Dickey made a conscience decision to rotate them and that is why they chose to put the IV in him (if that is what happened)... if this game meant anything, there would be no IV getting stuck in his arm during the middle of the game - they would just have the kid drink some freaking Gatorade. Good news though, I think we have found a QB in this game. Wilson looks spectacular.

Gotta make it "fair" - kind of like t-ball when you don't count the runs, just make sure that every kid gets to play.

Completely agree - right after we scored, I JOKINGLY said to my g/f - watch, Dickey will put Phillips back in just to be "fair"... I had no idea that he would actually go through with such an asinine idea. I am completely baffled.

Wilson marches down the field 80 yards for a TD against UT... and what does Dickey do??????? Pulls him out and puts Phillips back in. Is this a new strategy that I am not aware of? Do we now just try to make it "fair" and make sure that everyone gets equal playing time? I am registering complaint #1 of the year. BTW - I was all for Phillips getting that start, in fact - I was for anyone but Meager getting the start... but Wilson looked fantastic in there and we reward him by yanking him right out of the game.

College Football - NATIONAL COVERAGE 11 a.m. Idaho at Michigan State CST 11 a.m. North Texas at Texas FSN (HDTV) 11 a.m. Vanderbilt at Michigan ESPN 11 a.m. Grambling vs. Hampton ESPN2 2:30 p.m. TBA ABC 2:30 p.m. Marshall at West Virginia CST 2:30 p.m. La. Tech at Nebraska FSN (HDTV) 2:30 p.m. Akron at Penn State ESPN2 ______________________________________________ Looks like we can watch our game and a couple of our opponents today. I am going to say that La Tech give Nebraska a good game... and that Akron makes it interesting for Penn State.

Dude, if you pull in 20K - on a WEEKNIGHT - on a holiday weekend where people are going out of town - on the first weekend of DOVE season in the SOUTH - then you are having a GREAT NIGHT... If you do it against a team like FIU, you are having a FANTASTIC night. Congrats on the attendance. Congrats on the win (the curse is broke, eh?), and good luck this season...

I am sad that he "backed into" the spot - but I am happy that he is starting. I think that Johnny Quinn will be catching a lot of passes with one arm tied behnid his back (literally)... In my opinion, Phillips is very much like Scott Hall - maybe not the fastest player on the field, maybe not the best QB for every IA program; but a great fit for the Dickey system. I bet that we do well with him behind center - granted the Center can actually hike hi the ball by Saturday without dropping it on the turf.

What channel? NT broadcast or UT broadcast?

I am just curious as to how many fans as going to stay home this time (and watch it on TV) instead of paying an outrageous sum of money to watch us lose? Did you go in the past? What is changing your mind for this year? Since I posed the question, I will be the first to answer it. I will be forced to stay home and watch the game from home (maybe a bar)... I just had back surgery and honestly don't think I can make the walk back and forth to the stadium - along with standing in the lines, etc.... Would I have gone without the surgery? I don't think so. While Jamario gives me a little bit of hope for a respectable loss - the fact that it is TUESDAY and we do not have a starting QB is enough to tell me that this could be a massacre. Pay to watch my Beloved Mean Green get massascred? I don't think so... who knows, I might show up - I always say that I am not going and then end up going anyways. We will see. Everyone else staying home - why?

Well, the cat is finally out of the bag. 4 years ago, FFRick and I were looking for a crow to shoot so that I would have something to eat in New Orleans to pay up on a so-called bet. Along came this beautiful red hawk, and being an amateur at the art of shooting - I thought the dang thing was a crow! I shot at it as Rick screamed at me - "NO STEBO - THAT IS NOT A CROW!!!!"; but it was too late... I clipped it on the side and Rick and I have been nursing it back to health ever since. When the squirell thing came up two years ago, we thought it would be funny if Darrell (that is what we call our Red Hawk) - were to get that squirrel out of the way for us. We were both too old for college proanks but we could try to get Darrell to do our deed for us. We have trained him with everything from mice to Rick's son Connor (that was a fun day for Connor!!!) - and finally - the day came - we released Darrell into the wild of the trees of UNT two weeks ago and D has done us proud. If you are nice, we will bring Darrell out to the games this year... maybe he can fly Connor around the stadium at halftime.

Galojay, Your announcement to the NCAA will be after your announcement to the general public. I am going to guess that you all will announce sometime this fall that you will intend to move up and then wait until the deadline of June 1, 2007 to officially submit your application with the NCAA. This will give you two advantages: first, your coaches will be recruiting high school players that want to play IA ball - so they can offer them that... the whole "building something special" pitch. In addition, you will have the whole Spring to bring in transfers before it is official. As long as they transfer in before you submit your application, they won't have to sit out a year. Your first year will be transitional and you will probably get quite a few Sun Belt teams on your schedule. Probably Middle to get the turnstiles moving and get those numbers up along with Troy... names that local folks can recognize. Anyways, I hope it works out for you guys; it would be a great move for your program and for the Belt as a whole.

Thanks Ken, sorry for the typos - was just punching away at it... For those of you that haven't really followed WKU's stadium project, they are currently going through a $37.5 million dollar renovation and expansion project that is adding enough seats to put them at about 25K, adding a West side to their stadium (they only had an East side before) - adding an athletic center much like ours in the endzone, and cleaning up the old stands in the process. They have removed the track and moved it across the street - added Field Turf and believe it or not, they just added lights to their stadium about 9 years ago so that they could host night games. The bulldozers are working right now - construction is underway... I feel that (like Troy), they will make an immediate impact on the Belt race. They are guaranteed membership into the football conference because they are already members for all other sports. They simply need to make the announcement now. Their President is moving it forward this month and will probably announce for their transition years to be 2007 and 2008; making them a member in 2009. Seems like a long ways off; but it will be here before we know it. WKU recently won the IAA National Championship - I think it was in 2003 or 2004. They struggled with crowds even though they had success on the field. Last year they averaged about 12K so they have a little ways to go in terms of support; but we have all been there and their 12K a year is still better than half of the MAC teams. Adding the new stands and cleaning up the old ones will posture them for better crowds... and as soon as they can get MTSU back on the schedule, they will be just fine. They seem to sell out every single time that the Blue Raiders come to town... it is just that MTSU hasn't made a trip there since moving up to IA. Here is a link about their $37.5 Stadium Renovation Project... Hell of an undertaking for a team that wouldn't plan on moving up to IA football... They will be makig that announcement as soon as the public seminars are completed, I totally am sold on that: http://www.wkusports.com/news.cgi?article=4566

I have been closely watching the WKU situation and I think you are hitting it on all cylinders. Couple of thoughts... no matter how much your coaches will reason with your administration (and with your fans) - they won't be able to resist the big money games the first couple of years. Nobody will expect you to be any good, so they will take their punishment and the check at the same time. It is a smart move... here is why - once you announce that you are moving up, every IA player unhappy at his current school that is looking to transfer for immediate eligibility will come knocking on your door knowing that they will have a IA schedule/bowl game the next year. Troy stockpiled transfers under the 4 year plan and fielded a hell of a team that knocked off some big names. They have made a name for themselves, revitalized their school (actually SAVED their school), and brought pride back to Troy. Marshall did the same thing. Boise did the same thing. Hell, even FAU did it, they had a hell of a final season in IAA with all the transfers; knocking us off at home and Hawaii off on the road. I have been waiting for your stadium to actually start the renovation process before I believed it would happen... but - like Troy, there is no way that your administration would be putting that kind of money into renovating/expanding your stadium just to fit more people in for IAA games - those games are simply too hard to sell to the fans. I am sure that you know that it is impossible to buy quality visiting teams to come to a IAA stadium or even schedule a home and home with them - the only reason you are expanding/renovating is to move up to IA. Now, I think the wheels got kicked into motion by trying to woo the MAC but cooler heads have come out and your admin can see that the Belt will be a nice starting point. If the MUTS had agreed to go MAC, you probably would have made the announcement already - the Belt is a harder sell to the whole support group. But listen to WW when he comes to town... he will sell it like it has never been sold before. If you want to see what membership in the Belt can do for your school, look no further then North Texas. Like you, we are in the shadows of the bigger in state schools and fight for every penny that we get. We have been able to take out little athletic program from a $7 million dollar a year budgeted program to a $12 million dollar a year program. We have built an entire Athletic Complex (about a $27 million project) and we have increased our coachs' salaries across the board about 40%. The Belt might not get mad respect - but teams can build in it. We get a piece of the BCA pie monetarily, we have our own little bowl game in a fun destination city, and we are the consumate underdogs of th football world... but we are all building facilities... all of us. North Texas has done things that we only dreamed of before the Belt came along... little things like Jumbotrons and Field Turf - believe it or not, those were things we couldn't raise money for, now we are paying cash for them. Is it ideal? No. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Is it a good place to get a football team up and running? Perfect fit. You will have a chance to come in and compete right off the bat. You will build a fan base and an atmosphere around your games that do not exist at the IAA level (trust me, I have watched NT move from IAA to IA and would never wish IAA on my worst enemy)... I know sometimes it seems like it is better to be a big fish in a small pool rather then a doormat in IA; but with the Belt - you can kind of do both. You can have your cake and eat it, too... and you can laugh all the way to the bank. Play good, attract big crowds, and either the Belt will grow with you and become the next CUSA or you will move on to a bigger and better conference. Who knows, we might be there with you or we might be waving goodbye to you guys on our way out... but the Belt is absolutely a great place to start and build a IA program.

I know, I know - it is just frustrating. I miss our field generals of the past. Suffering from "good old day" syndrome this morning. tU is looking like a slaughter to me now. If the world is spinning from him getting hit by our defense, he probably isn't built for IA football. A hit from the UT D will be twice as hard and possibly harm the guy for life. Some people just don't have the body strength to handle the game at this level. I would be one of those - I think that DM has shown that he is possibly one of those as well. This is not the first, second, or even third time with this guy - it is alwasy something with him. Do you not see that?

It is ALWAYS something with DM, since High School this guy has been injury/sick prone. I know there are a lot of Meager fans on here but come on guys, you have to admit - he is always either hurt or sick. If Scott Hall, Andrew Smith, Mitch Maher, or Scott Davis had been suffering from "headaches and nausea" - the coach wouldn't know about it, the press definitely wouldn't know about it, and our OPPONENT wouldn't know about it a week before kickoff - those LEADERS would be out there fighting through their illnesses with their team. Suck it up Danny boy, you either got it or you don't. Johnny Quinn had major freaking surgery on his hand and is begging to play in the opener against UT (a no win situation)... you are in a 3 way battle for th QB spot that was YOURS to lose; and you are sitting out of practice because you have an upset stomach and a headache. Take some Pepto, pop a pain pill, and get out there - we have to be ready for the HORNS and more importantly - SMU. We need you to have the game day experience and we can't get that if you are crying about yet another ailment this year. BTW - I read that these are "possibly" symptoms of yet ANOTHER mild concussion that DM got in practice last week. What is that, like 5 mild concussions for him now in the last 12 months? Some bodies were just not built for IA football.

Adler, The WKU to the MAC is about like our NT to the CUSA.. they want it, a lot of the MAC wants it but it just didn't quite work out. So they are settling for thr Belt it looks like. They are now involving WW in their talks and will ask the SBC to help them make the transition the same way that we did with FIU and FAU. You have to look at FAU and FIU (as a WKU fan) and be kicknig yourself in the ass that you waited this long. Sure, the Belt is a fancy turd - but it is better then no turd at all. They have gone through with their stadium renovations now and are ready to move up to IA. I feel that they will be looking at the MAC and CUSA as soon as possible, but so is the rest of the Belt. Until then - we will have a balanced schedule every year of 4 home and 4 away game in conference play and 4 OOC games. BTW - Some rumours said that if MTSU would have gone with WKU then they would have gotten a MAC bid... Kind of like a package deal. But MTSU balked at that and stayed loyal to the Belt; much like NT did when the WAC came calling. I feel like our schools are very solid in making the Belt work until a true move "UP" comes along - lateral moves just aren't worth it...

Post from Hilltopper Board: Email from WKU prez to faculty and staff on Football (Main Board) posted by Prime Rate , 08-25-2006, 03:50, from 65.80.33.198 Fellow Faculty and Staff: As I indicated in our opening Convocation, we will discuss throughout our University family, the matter of division I-A football over the next several weeks. This has been a matter that has received considerable attention on our campus for the last few years. The time has come to engage our campus in a thoughtful, thorough, and objective dialogue. I will be collecting as much information as possible in order to make an informed recommendation to our Board of Regents. In this regard, we will use the following schedule as a means to bring as much insight and discussion among key groups in our University family as possible. August 15 Meet with football coaches. August 16 Meet with football team. August 17 Notify Patty Viverito, the Commissioner of the Gateway Conference, that discussions are under way. August 18 Meet with Wright Waters, Commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference, to seek insight and inform that discussions are under way. August 18 Meet with Hilltoppper Athletic Foundation Board of Directors/W-Club Board. August 29 Meet with University Athletics Committee. September 13 Meet with WKU Touchdown Club. September 13 Conduct faculty/staff forum. September 19 Conduct forum for HAF members. September 20 Conduct forum for students. September 21 Conduct forum for WKU alumni. September 21 Discuss with University Senate at the first Senate meeting in FY 06-07. October 2 Board Committee meetings. I look forward to discussing this matter with all interested parties over the next several weeks. Thank you. Gary Ransdell

Happy B-Day "D" - I am almost there myself. Hopefully by the time I hit that age we will have a game plan against a team like UT! Seriously, happy birthday - may your birthday reward be a Kinky Friedman landslide!

No problem Rick. I am very proud of the Eagle beig our mascot. I proudly hold up my Talon at kick off an during the song... but when it comes to team names, our teams are called the Mean Green. Actuallu if you ready the sentence, it is not totally incorrect. Our students are all represented by the Eagle... and the sentence just said that members of the teams are Eagles or Mean Green Eagles... this could be said of any student or athlete, and we should be very proud of that heritage. But our team name is the Mean Green - all 16 sports; male and female. We should also be proud of that. Just like the Austin radio guys pointed out, it is very original and unique! While there are 97 other colleges at different levels (from NAIA to IA)that use the Eagle as some sort of moniker or team name (some are War Eagles, etc..) - we are the ONLY Mean Green out there. Wear it and wear it proud