Loss at SMU

emmitt01 · August 24, 2015

My lord, are we gonna get scared of Portland State next?!

We will have more fans in the stands.

We will be louder.

We will be more physical (hard to fight in an ascot)

We will hit harder.

They're gonna be running on emotion...but they know in their hearts we are better, we just need to break their will.

Let's get this curb stomping over with so we can stop posting such silliness. Lose to SMU? I've seen it all now.

GMG24 · August 24, 2015

If we lose to SMU, heads need to roll and there needs to be serious consequences.
I don't care how much "talent" they had, they were one of the worst FBS teams in recent memory last season and if we lose to them, we have had a serious regression. If we lose to SMU, especially in that it is the game Mac focuses on MOST, it will be unacceptable and we will likely be in for a 2-10 type season. Losing to SMU is absolutely a worst case scenario. Even with Morris, SMU is still a 4-8 team this year and personally I'm not really sold on him yet. Big talk kinda guy...I'm not impressed with SMU's skill positions.
I think we win, and win easily again.

big talk??? Come on, the dude can flat out coach. And he unlike others brought in some great assistant coaches. I'm with Houston, I don't believe this is a guarantee win. And it only looks worse for the future with the classes he's put together so far.

Coach Mac usually rises to the occasion in these rivalry games--that has been his MO, both at ISU and last year when we annihilated SMU. It may be close, but we will win this game.

UTSA??

SilverEagle · August 24, 2015

I believe the game will be harder than most people think. To get a better idea of how tough the game will be, everyone should watch the Baylor/Smu game. Baylor will definitely win, but pay attention to if SMU fights to the very end or not.

BillySee58 · August 24, 2015

Did you play college ball? If you're talking about high school ball, you do realize that most of us here played, right?

No I didn't. I'm not saying who has or hasn't played, or who I've played more than, I'm just saying that if you've physically felt the process of preparing and going through a season on a competitive enough level you know the feeling of what that first game of live action does for you from a playing-speed standpoint. I don't see that factor being taken into account much so either people haven't experienced it or don't remember it. Either way it's something to consider that I don't see being considered much.

GrandGreen · August 24, 2015

There is not a guaranteed win on the schedule. I think NT will be substantially better this year, but they were very bad last year. NT was fortunate to play probably the worst fb div. 1 team in the nation (SMU) and the absolutely worst div. 1 team in Nicholls, plus the two bad Florida teams at home.

I think SMU will definitely challenge NT this year, as will Portland State if NT has not significantly improved.

SMU will have a lot of advantages this year, the biggest being having already played a game. I don't remember the odds quoted, but teams playing their first game against game tested squads have a major disadvantage. Assuming Baylor crushes SMU, there is also a bounce back factor that betters' love. It certainly did not help SMU last year, but an embarrassing loss may provide extra motivation to the ponies. In addition, it is a SMU home game and it will be a big game for their program if they admit it or not.

MeanGreenTexan · August 25, 2015

big talk??? Come on, the dude can flat out coach. And he unlike others brought in some great assistant coaches. I'm with Houston, I don't believe this is a guarantee win. And it only looks worse for the future with the classes he's put together so far.

Are you talking about Morris?
We know he can coach at the H.S. level. We know he can position-coach & coordinate. Heck, Dodge could do all of that. Do we really know if he can 'flat out? coach? Also, weren't most of his assistant coaches high-school coaches he poached from local schools?

I'm with Emmitt. This is a guarantee win.

Chill y'all.

UNT90 · August 25, 2015

This game will be decided by 3 points or less.

DallasGreen · August 25, 2015

This game will be decided by 3 points or less.
ABSOLUTELY, and it will be most physical game we play all year

Army of Dad · August 25, 2015

ABSOLUTELY, and it will be most physical game we play all year

I would tend to think that Iowa or the other TU will be more physical.

Edited August 25, 2015 by Army of Dad
fixed the quote

DallasGreen · August 25, 2015

I would tend to think that Iowa or the other TU will be more physical.

I think both will view us as a cupcake, and treat the game as an afterthought. Sandwiched between BU & TCU THIS IS A MUST WIN FOR SMU!

4MYMGE · August 25, 2015

Why is it so easy to look at an opposing team and say "oh...they will be better" and then talk about our own team as if they will not be better? Our guys have been telling us all spring and all summer that they believe in themselves and they have worked hard to make this year better. I believe that bad taste that has been in their mouth will be "spit out" on Sept. 12. Let's Go Mean Green!

GMG24 · August 25, 2015

Are you talking about Morris?We know he can coach at the H.S. level. We know he can position-coach & coordinate. Heck, Dodge could do all of that. Do we really know if he can 'flat out? coach? Also, weren't most of his assistant coaches high-school coaches he poached from local schools?

I'm with Emmitt. This is a guarantee win.

Chill y'all.

um, dodge HS yes, position? Where? Coordinate?? Dodge brought all HS coaches with him and a few position coaches from college. Morris brought experienced D coordinator a top recruiting specialist and several quality position coaches. Did he hire a few big name HS coaches sure, that's purely a Recruiting ploy, but Claude can coach too. Please I love UNT as much as the next guy but you can't compare Morris and Dodge stints. Dodge had little college experience and it showed, could dodge be successful, you bet, but he needed much more support than he brought in.

GM1998 · August 25, 2015

SMU was awful last year. It would be hubris to think it will be an easy day, but there is no way they have made up that much ground. SMU will never see us as a legit rival. We are the poor public school kids. They don't even consider us. I will love to see us beat them, but a rivalry has to be on both sides.

As far as the UTSA rival debate all I can say is this: UTSA was playing flag football 5 years ago. We have been playing football for over 100 years. It is shameful that our team has failed to rise to the occasion and beat these guys. Coach Mac said you cannot just pour some concrete and think your recruiting problems will go away. He would normally be correct, but UTSA doesn't have the on-campus facilities like UNT and they seem to get talent. Talent enough to beat us! I am not sure who our rival is at this point. In lieu of establishing a rival, I just don't want another year of lopsided losses to powerhouses like LA Tech, Rice, and UAB. UAB dropped their program, and then reinstated it. Perhaps we will have their number in 2016! Death to the Blazers!!!!

UNT90 · August 25, 2015

Does SMU have a legit D1 QB? If so, that could be big trouble for UNT.

trud1966 · August 25, 2015

SMU doesn't "scare" me. But, it's the continual attitude of "oh we got this" that's concerning. 2013, both losses to Tulane and UTSA , to me seemed VERY evident of the definition over confidence and not taking an opponent seriously. 2014 saw a drop in our talent, but still there were several games that we thought were "in the bag"

SMU Is VERY WINNABLE with the right preparation, game plan and coaching and execution. . If the team shows up thinking SMU is a joke and slacking off, then it'll be pretty embarrassing. Been recent years that SMU wasn't stellar but stepped up and scared TCU for parts of a game.

Prepare like its a BOWL game.

Ben Gooding · August 25, 2015

We should never lose this game as far as I'm concerned. We definitely shouldn't lose to them this year. If we somehow manage to piss this game away, hang on fellas, gonna be a long ride.

GMG

malonish · August 25, 2015

EVERYBODY PANIC

MeanGreenTexan · August 25, 2015

um, dodge HS yes, position? Where? Coordinate?? Dodge brought all HS coaches with him and a few position coaches from college. Morris brought experienced D coordinator a top recruiting specialist and several quality position coaches. Did he hire a few big name HS coaches sure, that's purely a Recruiting ploy, but Claude can coach too. Please I love UNT as much as the next guy but you can't compare Morris and Dodge stints. Dodge had little college experience and it showed, could dodge be successful, you bet, but he needed much more support than he brought in.

QB coach @ Pitt.
Dodge never coordinated... but I bet he could. Same as I bet Morris can be a FBS head coach. But there's no guarantee. There are alot of awesome coordinators that move up to HC jobs and tank. Let's hope that happens at SMU.

There is a huge mindframe change that needs to occur for every single SMU player. Morris may be a fantastic coach, but 9 months is likely not enough time to both coach those dudes' skills up PLUS change their mindsets into win mode. He may get his guys to buy-in and finish the season strong, we'll see.

Next year, we may be in trouble. The AAC may be in trouble later this season. September 12th, we're gonna be fine.

GMG24 · August 25, 2015

QB coach @ Pitt.Dodge never coordinated... but I bet he could. Same as I bet Morris can be a FBS head coach. But there's no guarantee. There are alot of awesome coordinators that move up to HC jobs and tank. Let's hope that happens at SMU.
There is a huge mindframe change that needs to occur for every single SMU player. Morris may be a fantastic coach, but 9 months is likely not enough time to both coach those dudes' skills up PLUS change their mindsets into win mode. He may get his guys to buy-in and finish the season strong, we'll see.
Next year, we may be in trouble. The AAC may be in trouble later this season. September 12th, we're gonna be fine.

I don't think we will have to much of a problem on Sept 12 so long as we take care of the ball on offense, and keep it in front of us on defense. I really do think Morris will be just fine, even though I don't want him to be, for the simple fact that I disdain SMU. He's got it all, he won't be at SMU long though. There will be a Big12, Pac18 (joking), or ACC spot come up and he will jump at the chance to be an HC in that conference.

FirefightnRick · August 25, 2015

I do think it will be a lot tougher than last season just by virtue of it being a road game. Mac historically has not fared well in those.

Going for his 19th road win?

Is that right?

Rick

Edited August 25, 2015 by FirefightnRick

untjim1995 · August 25, 2015

big talk??? Come on, the dude can flat out coach. And he unlike others brought in some great assistant coaches. I'm with Houston, I don't believe this is a guarantee win. And it only looks worse for the future with the classes he's put together so far.
UTSA??

I see your Chad Morriss and I raise you a Phil Bennett...one was a great OC at a P5 giant, the other was a great DC at a P5 giant.

Phil Bennett never had a winning season at SMU and left after winning only 1 game, against us in Dodge's first year, in 2007. Maybe Chad Morriss will be different and turn them into something similar to what June Jones got them up to in Years 2-5, but in June Jones' first year, he went 1-11, beating FCS Texas State as his only win.

If he turns them into a winner by Year 3, he will be coaching in the P5s somewhere, guaranteed...If not, he will probably get canned by the end of his 4th year.

Cr1028 · August 25, 2015

Assuming Baylor crushes SMU, there is also a bounce back factor that betters' love. It certainly did not help SMU last year, but an embarrassing loss may provide extra motivation to the ponies. In addition, it is a SMU home game and it will be a big game for their program if they admit it or not.

These points cannot be understated. The combination of a bounce-back factor, new stadium, and new coach, had us neck and neck with a team that would go on to win 13 games in 2011 with a Heisman candidate at the helm.

Do not underestimate the optimism a new coach gives a squad. That first game SMU's kids are going to be pumped. Last season we created 5 turnovers, forced 2 turnovers on downs, and made them punt 6 times. They will play smarter and not commit as many turnovers under Morris.

Our offense gained a whopping 353 yards last year against them as they averaged giving up 499.4 yards per game. Only 3 teams they faced out of 12 gained less than 400 yards against them, USF-378, NT-353, and UCONN-316(UC lost). Our average starting field position was our own 44 yard line. I doubt very seriously we will average 56 yards to the goal line in this year's game.

Whether folks around here want to admit it or not, many things went our way last year that won't this year. This year's game cannot and should not be marked down as a surefire win because if we do win this one, it will be because we earned it and not because Smug laid down and let us kick it.

um, dodge HS yes, position? Where? Coordinate?? Dodge brought all HS coaches with him and a few position coaches from college. Morris brought experienced D coordinator a top recruiting specialist and several quality position coaches. Did he hire a few big name HS coaches sure, that's purely a Recruiting ploy, but Claude can coach too. Please I love UNT as much as the next guy but you can't compare Morris and Dodge stints. Dodge had little college experience and it showed, could dodge be successful, you bet, but he needed much more support than he brought in.

Agreed. Dodge had only be OC at NT for 2 years back in the early-mid 90s. He had been out of college fb for over a decade when he stepped into our job.

Chad Morris is stepping straight from a top-level 10-win FBS program into a head coaching gig as Malzahn did.

Edited August 25, 2015 by Cr1028

Ben Gooding · August 25, 2015

Going for his 19th road win?

Is that right?

Rick

Somebody fact check this!?!?!!!

If this is accurate.....brrruuuuhhhhhh

TheFranchise · August 25, 2015

These points cannot be understated. The combination of a bounce-back factor, new stadium, and new coach, had us neck and neck with a team that would go on to win 13 games in 2011 with a Heisman candidate at the helm.
Do not underestimate the optimism a new coach gives a squad. That first game SMU's kids are going to be pumped. Last season we created 5 turnovers, forced 2 turnovers on downs, and made them punt 6 times. They will play smarter and not commit as many turnovers under Morris.
Our offense gained a whopping 353 yards last year against them as they averaged giving up 499.4 yards per game. Only 3 teams they faced out of 12 gained less than 400 yards against them, USF-378, NT-353, and UCONN-316(UC lost). Our average starting field position was our own 44 yard line. I doubt very seriously we will average 56 yards to the goal line in this year's game.
Whether folks around here want to admit it or not, many things went our way last year that won't this year. This year's game cannot and should not be marked down as a surefire win because if we do win this one, it will be because we earned it and not because Smug laid down and let us kick it.
Agreed. Dodge had only be OC at NT for 2 years back in the early-mid 90s. He had been out of college fb for over a decade when he stepped into our job.
Chad Morris is stepping straight from a top-level 10-win FBS program into a head coaching gig as Malzahn did.

Alright, not trying to be a jerk here, but fill me in on something. Our defense played a great game against SMU last season (and we all agree that last season's was not one of our best defensive units) and therefore gave our offense an easier time moving down the field.

But why is that a knock on our team as a whole this year? I'm not saying we're going to beat the Ponies soundly, by any means. I am confident about the game, though because as a whole unit, we really kicked them around last season.

I mean honestly, whether the offense has to go 30 yards on a drive to get to the end zone or 98, the point is they made the drive and got into the end zone. You can't penalize the offense just because the defense gave them less field to work with. I mean after all, that's the JOB of the defense.

But I think we will all agree on this . . . Go Mean Green and let's go curb stomp some Ponies on September 12!!!!

Cr1028 · August 25, 2015

Somebody fact check this!?!?!!!
If this is accurate.....brrruuuuhhhhhh

I will look into his career but at NT he has exactly 5 road wins and 20 road losses. He has 6 road wins if you count the HOD win. More than half (or half if you count HOD) of those road wins came during the 2013 season.

Alright, not trying to be a jerk here, but fill me in on something. Our defense played a great game against SMU last season (and we all agree that last season's was not one of our best defensive units) and therefore gave our offense an easier time moving down the field.
But why is that a knock on our team as a whole this year? I'm not saying we're going to beat the Ponies soundly, by any means. I am confident about the game, though because as a whole unit, we really kicked them around last season.
I mean honestly, whether the offense has to go 30 yards on a drive to get to the end zone or 98, the point is they made the drive and got into the end zone. You can't penalize the offense just because the defense gave them less field to work with. I mean after all, that's the JOB of the defense.
But I think we will all agree on this . . . Go Mean Green and let's go curb stomp some Ponies on September 12!!!!

The point is they couldn't score touchdowns, even with such a short field. We had many sub-30 yard drives that stall so we kicked a FG. We can't kick 67 yard field goals all game. Moore is very good but not that good.

Edited August 25, 2015 by Cr1028