meangreendork

Seems like my worry about Nathan being soured by his old coaching staff on UNT might be unfounded.

No lie, Kerr and College Inn really need help. They needed help when I was a student. And that was in the early 2000s.

The screen looks almost as big as the storage space. Which translates to, "did they just buy a toolbox and slap a TV on it?"

Which isn't a great sign. On the other hand, they may just need a support for their current full-timer(s).

Probably someone that Lance trucked or juked out of his pants.

I love the shoutout to UNT in this - love it.

Didn't seem like anyone would take him, sadly. I guess he wasn't tall enough for WR and not big enough for RB. He's easily fast, quick, and smart enough to do both.

Don't forget the ST coaching and teammates to set up those blocks, too. Those made a huge part of his KR/PR success, guys.

What in good hell is this nonsense?

One of the things that worked at the first game was that our D basically was told "if they look like a ball carrier, hit them. Make them think they don't want the ball next play." Thing about the bowl game was that the up-front blocking kept a lot of that from happening. The penetration wasn't as good this time around and you gotta give Army a lot of credit for unpredictable blocking assignments that come out of just one formation for a whole game. It's what happened during the regular season game. Monken learned 3 things about playing us that game: 1.) Don't pass the ball over our D because they'll punish the receivers and worse yet, cause turnovers they'll score on. 2.) Even with the triple-option sleight of hand just-at-the-snap, if the blocking isn't perfect, our D will get in and behind and stop plays and cause turnovers. 3.) Don't make Bradshaw run too much. His ability to read before the snap for passes and runs gets messed with if he's been pummeled all game. So he had his staff and players aim for a mistake free game, which they played. They went from "we locked the gun on auto, aimed it at our foot and forgot how to take our finger off the trigger" to perfect execution.

I felt like the playcalling was solid but the execution was flawed all game. Aside from a few plays, guys were more or less in the right place, but a minor adjustment on Army's part would gain that crucial yard or two. Which, kudos to Army on that account. They might have a good run next year, though I do wonder what happens once a team fully seals their run game down, considering that Army has less of a passing game than we did even in the Dickey years.

Right with you. With the last HoD Bowl, I wasn't sure Mac could reload what Dodge left behind and with the few great finds Mac made on his own. With Littrell, even if his record is just a bit better at the end of this year vs Mac's first year, I think I've seen signs that say he'll keep the talent coming both on the field and in the coaching staff.

I think the skill was always there, but when you don't see playing time for 4 years, it can make you a little rusty. I think Fine had the advantage of still having the speed of a real game in his head. Still, Morris was on today and the WRs were just a bit off as passes hit them dead-on. Wish he came here earlier, but I'm glad he came here when he did.

Dude shot off like 4 times and still made his blocks.

I think that Army had the better athletes in both games - it's just that this time, Army managed to get out of its way long enough to win. And even then, a bare-bones win. Our guys were aggressive and went for forced turnovers, but the handful of passes Army threw should've become INTs. Army still played a sloppy game with their foul-ups on PATs, but they weren't coughing up the ball on almost every possession like they did in the last half of the regular season game. One last thing - Monken better be able to screen for good players that fit his offensive system and defensive players that can back it in the long run. The triple option isn't invincible and not every team is in a rebuilding phase like ours is.

I love how huge the gap is between 1st and 2nd place.

An alumni with NFL chops, right? Wouldn't be a bad candidate or at least, an advisor.

He outperformed a 5-year Alabama back-up and helped to post wins for a team that had a disastrous season the year prior. As a freshman. I'd say he accomplished something.

During their game with us, it seemed like they got their 3rd, and especially, 4th down conversions almost at will (until the 4th qtr meltdown). That's dangerous because it keeps the defense on the field that much longer, too. But so long as their passing game remains a non-issue, our odds are good. And if our passing game can become a pillar for the offense in support of the run game, our odds are better.

Turning on the fans is asking for trouble. You can say something like, "wish we had more fans with us" but you don't full-on criticize them unless they're being unruly.

Right, Army didn't have a choice but to run. They don't have the talent for a big passing attack and they've committed to the ground game. Navy looks to be able to do both, in addition to a solid defense. It'd be an uphill game. Related, I've seen TCU and UT as possible opponents. I'll take UT of those two.

I've heard Army, I've heard Navy, and UT. Army is a more likely win, but it's a rematch and that doesn't really rank as something bowls want to put together. UT is a long shot win, but a far more likely one than Navy. As far as in-state reputation goes, beating UT would help a great deal, especially with people who aren't as familiar with football as we might be. And Navy? I dread that matchup. They're far stronger than UT. They strolled over SMU.

I read it initially as "maybe someone was eligible and we got pushed out, even with APR."

Or Navy.

1. Constantly churning in new ideas is a great thing, even if they're not immediately used. 2. Oh, they do. Even if it's not the most important thing, the uniforms play a role in the perception of a football program, especially when the difference between programs is marginal. Basically, if you can eke out an advantage over a competitor, you take that advantage.