Distancing ourselves from Army rivalry is still a head scratcher to me...

drex · May 10, 2018

What ever your views on leaving the Army series, I find it amusing that we are knocking Liberty for not being a recognizable name team. LIberty fans are probably saying the same thing..'get us an opponent with name recognition.' As to a religious element in scheduling Liberty, I think you are reading far too much into the AD's motives. It's a done deal and now we just need to hope (and pray?) that we don't get beat by Liberty.

UNTFan23 · May 10, 2018

55 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Actually, we do know, because it has been specifically said, multiple times by Littrell & Baker.

Littrell & his staff did not like the Army matchup because it was hard on his team. It took them out of their rhythm, because each season, for a full week, they had to put the breaks on normal practices & practice for triple option... then you have that blocking scheme & dirty play getting our guys hurt... He wanted out of the series. Wren delivered with a VERY WINNABLE replacement. Some people don't like it because of Liberty's religious alignment. Who cares? It's a football game!

That's it. End of story.

I will reaffirm that Littrell and staff wanted out of the series as the practice changes plus the travel were very disruptive. Anyone remember how flat we looked after the Army game against UTSA in 2016? I do.

MeanGreenTexan · May 10, 2018

11 minutes ago, drex said:

What ever your views on leaving the Army series, I find it amusing that we are knocking Liberty for not being a recognizable name team. LIberty fans are probably saying the same thing..'get us an opponent with name recognition.' As to a religious element in scheduling Liberty, I think you are reading far too much into the AD's motives. It's a done deal and now we just need to hope (and pray?) that we don't get beat by Liberty.

Just take a gander here:
http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/2335/year/2017

If we're a serious team, which I believe we are, do you think Liberty is a team that's going to beat us?

We essentially have 2 FCS games this season. This game will count as an FBS game since Liberty is in transition... but they're still very much on the FCS level talent/ability-wise.

Wins, wins, wins... doesn't matter who/where we get them from... just win games. Hello Boise model!

PS. I know what some of you are thinking...
We are a LOOOOOOOONG way away from Portland State. Do not bring up Portland State.

Salsa_Verde · May 10, 2018

Politics and religion aside...Liberty is a winnable game, but they do not have the same name recognition nationally as Army does, that’s obvious. The most intriguing thing to me about Liberty is the amount of money they are spending on athletics. Their facilities are pretty damn good. They may be a power down the line so maybe it’s a good thing North Texas plays them while they are still building everything up.

untjim1995 · May 10, 2018

2 hours ago, UNTFan23 said:

I will reaffirm that Littrell and staff wanted out of the series as the practice changes plus the travel were very disruptive. Anyone remember how flat we looked after the Army game against UTSA in 2016? I do.

It didn't help that UTSA was mega hyped for their Super Bowl game in the world's largest KFC, either...

Harry · May 10, 2018

2 hours ago, UNTFan23 said:

I will reaffirm that Littrell and staff wanted out of the series as the practice changes plus the travel were very disruptive. Anyone remember how flat we looked after the Army game against UTSA in 2016? I do.

Fair enough but I see no reason why there should be any issue getting up for sack in ANY situation. They are the closest thing to a rival this program has ever had sans SMU. To quote @SilverEagle that is a “culture” or mindset issue that has to be addressed if it indeed exists.

SilverEagle · May 10, 2018

6 minutes ago, Harry said:

Fair enough but I see no reason why there should be any issue getting up for sack in ANY situation. They are the closest thing to a rival this program has ever had sans SMU. To quote @SilverEagle that is a “culture” or mindset issue that has to be addressed if it indeed exists.

If we are going to keep our program developing we need a RIVALRY. One that gets the attention of both the students and the alumni......and interested people in the community.

GreyEagle can best address what our mindset was when we were in our last rivalry relationship with East Texas Texas State (A&M Commerce) back in the 40's. I don't know if we hated/disliked one another intensely , but there was a lot of back-and-forth and prank-playing going on between the two schools.

At this point I couldn't clearly identify who I dislike most, ......SMU or UTSA. To me, UTSA is more of our true rival. And only because SMU is just not interested,.....and it takes two to tango. However, UTSA definitely wants to tango.

Having said that, I believe that establishing a rivalry with La Tech would be to our benefit. This one might not be as intense, but it could develop into a big game between two well respected programs that look forward to the game every year. In other words, a friendly rivalry.

MeanGreenTexan · May 10, 2018

4 minutes ago, SilverEagle said:

If we are going to keep our program developing we need a RIVALRY. One that gets the attention of both the students and the alumni......and interested people in the community.

GreyEagle can best address what our mindset was when we were in our last rivalry relationship with East Texas Texas State (A&M Commerce) back in the 40's. I don't know if we hated/disliked one another intensely , but there was a lot of back-and-forth and prank-playing going on between the two schools.

At this point I couldn't clearly identify who I dislike most, ......SMU or UTSA. To me, UTSA is more of our true rival. And only because SMU is just not interested,.....and it takes two to tango. However, UTSA definitely wants to tango.

Having said that, I believe that establishing a rivalry with La Tech would be to our benefit. This one might not be as intense, but it could develop into a big game between two well respected programs that look forward to the game every year. In other words, a friendly rivalry.

raw

Pavlovs Eagle · May 11, 2018

On 5/9/2018 at 2:34 PM, letsgiveacheer said:

But we should not despair, great restaurants abound in Lynchburg. I hear McDonalds has a new cooked to order quarter pounder that I can't wait to try!

So you're saying its not worth the $450 + 2 hotel nights to fly there for the football game? I would get to mark LYH off my airports I've flown to list...

On travel games I expect to win, I think I may go to El Paso for that game vs Lynchburg.

GTWT · May 11, 2018

If playing winnable games is the most important criterion let's just drop back to the Southland. Better still the Lone Star Conference would provide a great opportunity to go undefeated.

SilverEagle · May 11, 2018

8 minutes ago, GTWT said:

If playing winnable games is the most important criterion let's just drop back to the Southland. Better still the Lone Star Conference would provide a great opportunity to go undefeated.

Not with the recruits we'd be getting.

letsgiveacheer · May 11, 2018

15 hours ago, Pavlovs Eagle said:

So you're saying its not worth the $450 + 2 hotel nights to fly there for the football game? I would get to mark LYH off my airports I've flown to list...

On travel games I expect to win, I think I may go to El Paso for that game vs Lynchburg.

Joking aside, Lynchburg is a nice looking town on the James River. History buffs in particular will enjoy coming to both Virginia games. Near Lynchburg are Appomattox, Lexington, the D-Day Memorial and more.

But I have to agree, the airfare to LYH is killer. You might as well go to Paris for that kind of money!

Edited May 11, 2018 by letsgiveacheer

HoustonEagle · May 13, 2018

If you ever want to get Littrell fired up at the coaches caravan, ask him about the Army series.

FirefightnRick · May 13, 2018

On 5/10/2018 at 11:04 AM, Salsa_Verde said:

Politics and religion aside...Liberty is a winnable game, but they do not have the same name recognition nationally as Army does, that’s obvious. The most intriguing thing to me about Liberty is the amount of money they are spending on athletics. Their facilities are pretty damn good. They may be a power down the line so maybe it’s a good thing North Texas plays them while they are still building everything up.

And they're sponsoring Hendricks Motorsport's #24 Chevrolet,....which wiped out with about 12 laps to Go in NASCAR's K.C. Masterpiece 400 in Kansas last night.

IMG_5880.PNG.1dc45f8ff1931788eb190fdf9fea4143.PNG

Rick

GTWT · May 13, 2018

I hate that my university is associating in any way, shape, or form with Liberty. Schedule TCU, BYU, or SMU all you want. Those schools are religious but they're not embracing and advancing pseudoscience.

Salsa_Verde · May 13, 2018

I know I’m in the minority but I would like to see Army rejoin C-USA. I think it would add more prestige to the conference. I don’t think Army has any interest in doing so but who knows after the next round of realignment.

GTWT · May 13, 2018

"”This is a school you flunk out of when you get the answers right.

—Bill Maher

southsideguy · May 14, 2018

They preseason report on Liberty is concerning, They can pass and last year we could not cover the pass.

MeanGreenTexan · May 14, 2018

11 hours ago, southsideguy said:

They preseason report on Liberty is concerning, They can pass and last year we could not cover the pass.

The preseason report on Austin Westlake must also be concerning? Coach Dodge really has those guys winging it all over the field.

EDIT: Sarcastic Point being: Liberty, like Austin Westlake, is on a different level than us. Their vaunted passing attack may frighten FCS schools (obviously not too much if St. Francis (PA)... who went 5-6 last season... holds Liberty to 7pts), but should be no problem for an FBS school.

Edited May 14, 2018 by MeanGreenTexan

oldguystudent · May 14, 2018

57 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

The preseason report on Austin Westlake must also be concerning? Coach Dodge really has those guys winging it all over the field.

EDIT: Sarcastic Point being: Liberty, like Austin Westlake, is on a different level than us. Their vaunted passing attack may frighten FCS schools (obviously not too much if St. Francis (PA)... who went 5-6 last season... holds Liberty to 7pts), but should be no problem for an FBS school.

I dunno, man. Westlake has a "football plan."

Wag Tag · May 14, 2018

Are there schools we could 1-1 with that may help down the road on realignment? What about some MWC schools, UNM, CSU, SDST. AAC what about Tulsa, Tulane or Memphis?. Playing schools in these conferences on a regular basis may help down the road!

MGNation92 · May 14, 2018

1 hour ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

The preseason report on Austin Westlake must also be concerning? Coach Dodge really has those guys winging it all over the field.

EDIT: Sarcastic Point being: Liberty, like Austin Westlake, is on a different level than us. Their vaunted passing attack may frighten FCS schools (obviously not too much if St. Francis (PA)... who went 5-6 last season... holds Liberty to 7pts), but should be no problem for an FBS school.

Well the issue all year(FCS/FBS/DII didn't make a difference) was that Reffett's defense puts corners on an island more often than not and our blitzes weren't getting home.

If we can rush the passer more effectively our pass defense will improve significantly. When you give the QB 10 seconds in the pocket, no corner is going to be able to sustain coverage for that long.

MeanGreenTexan · May 14, 2018

2 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

Are there schools we could 1-1 with that may help down the road on realignment? What about some MWC schools, UNM, CSU, SDST. AAC what about Tulsa, Tulane or Memphis?. Playing schools in these conferences on a regular basis may help down the road!

Done!

Hunter Green · May 14, 2018

Harry, you rascal! You started this just to give us something to talk about. Talk all you want. It's a done deal. Let's move on.

KingDL1 · May 18, 2018

On 5/10/2018 at 8:32 AM, UNTFan23 said:

I will reaffirm that Littrell and staff wanted out of the series as the practice changes plus the travel were very disruptive. Anyone remember how flat we looked after the Army game against UTSA in 2016? I do.

That is so sad. I threw up a little in my mouth.

Are you employed by the school to tow the company line? Or just in line to brown nose?

Seriously though. There is no excuse not to be up for UTSA period end of story! Hello!

For those that don't have selective company memories, this team has a track record of being flat after a really meaningful win. New York is not really much further to travel than South Florida. New York at least is not as hot and the area is gorgeous. Plenty of teams travel further. Now we have to build schedules based on style of play seems like a slippery slope, who knows what style of play a team might employ a few years down the line.