DRC: Five thoughts on UNT's loss to SMU

Brett Vito · September 8, 2019

DRC: Make no mistake, this one hurt

https://dentonrc.com/sports/thoughts-on-north-texas-loss-to-smu/article_ff79de60-637e-5960-a222-b9c739bf0fc9.html

UNT86 · September 8, 2019

The bigger, stronger, faster team doesn't always win, but that is the way to bet - Coach D. Bates 1978 (he was my freshman football coach)

He also said "You can trick them for a while, but sooner or later you find out who's the biggest, strongest, and fastest"

And finally, Coach Bates gave me the best advice of all. He said "Keep your outside arm and leg free at all times."

Coach Bates was a great philosopher.

FirefightnRick · September 8, 2019

My one thought I woke up with this morning before heading off to work...,

....”Did we really go for a 4th and one and fail from our own 45 with a pass out of the shotgun...while down 14-0,....then later settle for a field goal facing a 4th and 3 down 35-17 late 3rd quarter?”

Rick

Eppie96 · September 8, 2019

4 minutes ago, FirefightnRick said:

My one thought I woke up with this morning before heading off to work...,

....”Did we really go for a 4th and one and fail from our own 45 with a pass out of the shotgun...while down 14-0,....then later settle for a field goal facing a 4th and 3 down 35-17 late 3rd quarter?”

Rick

Agree. Those two plays baffled me as well. Play calling was horrendous.

Wag Tag · September 8, 2019

3 hours ago, Eppie96 said:

Agree. Those two plays baffled me as well. Play calling was horrendous.

Play call is one thing but the strategy behind those calls is more concerning. Clock mgmt at the end of the 2nd q (has this been mentioned before) also confusing!

wardly · September 8, 2019

The bottom line is they got better and we got worse from last year.Props to the Ponies.

Venson · September 8, 2019

My thoughts. I can take a loss, but a complete beat down is unconscionable. Their punter had to be the most rested guy in the stadium. I think he came out twice and one of his punts pinned us on the 1 yard line. Our defense couldn't have stopped my son's high school (Lone Star) who beat my Alma Mater, Denton High School 75-0 on Friday night. For that matter, I don't know if our offense could have moved the ball on them. This was a tough loss to stomach.

wardly · September 8, 2019

Anyone know the attendance?

Salsa_Verde · September 8, 2019

22,766 according to ESPN

Edited September 8, 2019 by Salsa_Verde

wardly · September 8, 2019

That's disappointing, although it was hot as hell.I think its a rivalry game for us but not them.

UNTLifer · September 8, 2019

8 minutes ago, wardly said:

That's disappointing, although it was hot as hell.I think its a rivalry game for us but not them.

They don't attend any of their games.

UNTLifer · September 9, 2019

Some thoughts.

1. What happened to the TE's after week one?

2. How in the world do they completely take Bussey out of the game? No catches is crazy.

3. The announcer mentioned we really needed to run some crossing patterns and rubs to get our WR's open and I would agree.

4. Any time we ran press coverage, Buechele just lofted up a "fade" and let either his WR's to make the play or our DB's to get called for interference. Why did we not go away from the man and run a zone with safety help over the top? The lack of adjustments was mind boggling to say the least.

5. The officials were pretty ticky tack with their calls. I am curious, but I think I only remember one penalty against smuT for an obvious roughing the passer.

6. Harvey got left on an island and drew the ire of the fans, but Jameel Moore was a liability at nickle. I don't really like calling out players but why didn't we try Whitlock or even one of the heralded freshmen like Gaddy?

7. I was excited about the Reeder hire, but last night was a surprise and a concern. Time for him to open up the playbook and get creative. We have the talent to perform much better than last night.

I really hope the coaches make adjustments because that type of loss can be demoralizing. I trust Littrell and staff to make the necessary adjustments.

On to Cal.

RiseUNT · September 9, 2019

6 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

I really hope the coaches make adjustments because that type of loss can be demoralizing. I trust Littrell and staff to make the necessary adjustments.

On to Cal.

I'm sorry but I have zero faith that adjustments will be made or we can win any games with any hype attached to them.

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · September 9, 2019

31 minutes ago, RiseUNT said:

I'm sorry but I have zero faith that adjustments will be made or we can win any games with any hype attached to them.

Why?

RiseUNT · September 9, 2019

24 minutes ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

Why?

In 4 years neither has happened.

Charlie NT 73 · September 9, 2019

Our o-line could not handle their d-line and our d-line could not their o-line.

Before the game I watched the smu o-line warm up and run drills. They were huge and very quick. Multiple quality players.

I knew then we were in for a long night!

Maybe the coaching staff should follow UAB’s and SMU’s lead when recruiting quality grad transfers!

FirefightnRick · September 9, 2019

8 hours ago, wardly said:

The bottom line is they got better and we got worse from last year.

i'm out well done GIF by Captain Obvious

rick

Edited September 9, 2019 by FirefightnRick

ForneyGreen · September 9, 2019

1 hour ago, Charlie NT 73 said:

Our o-line could not handle their d-line and our d-line could not their o-line.

My biggest fear is that, after 2 games of seeing our O-Line and D-Line struggle, we'll just stick with the same schemes and have a very rough season. For whatever reason (recruiting, strength and conditioning), our guys on the lines truly seem smaller and weaker than our opponents. Typically that means you have to modify your scheme to be successful (quick passes and roll-outs, zone coverage - basically use your speed to offset a size/strength deficiency). You can't simply put 30 pounds of muscle on linemen during a football season.

Anyway, I hadn't realized how far behind we were in developing guys on both lines until this year 😞

Edited September 9, 2019 by ForneyGreen

Got5onIt · September 9, 2019

It’s a rivalry game, which can exaggerate the goods and bads. The next couple of weeks will be telling.....

Hunter Green · September 9, 2019

5 hours ago, wardly said:

That's disappointing, although it was hot as hell.I think its a rivalry game for us but not them.

Don't be fooled by their faux disinterest in us. They changed their entire uniform for us and had "Dallas" on the front of their jersey. It's a rivalry for them as well.

wardly · September 9, 2019

8 hours ago, Hunter Green said:

Don't be fooled by their faux disinterest in us. They changed their entire uniform for us and had "Dallas" on the front of their jersey. It's a rivalry for them as well.

Lack of attendance doesn't support that.

Hunter Green · September 9, 2019

25 minutes ago, wardly said:

Lack of attendance doesn't support that.

That's true for all their games. How do you explain the uniform change? I doubt we'll see that again this season. That was just for us.

Edited September 9, 2019 by Hunter Green

greenminer · September 9, 2019

1 hour ago, Hunter Green said:

That's true for all their games. How do you explain the uniform change? I doubt we'll see that again this season. That was just for us.

So if some administrative heads get in a room and decide to make a change for UNT, that’s a rivalry? I think there’s more to it than that.

meangreenlax · September 9, 2019

17 hours ago, wardly said:

That's disappointing, although it was hot as hell.I think its a rivalry game for us but not them.

12 hours ago, Hunter Green said:

Don't be fooled by their faux disinterest in us. They changed their entire uniform for us and had "Dallas" on the front of their jersey. It's a rivalry for them as well.

3 hours ago, Hunter Green said:

That's true for all their games. How do you explain the uniform change? I doubt we'll see that again this season. That was just for us.

Sitting on the home side of the field amongst the hooting thrice divorced ambulance chasers/SMU fans, it felt like a rivalry. They do not like us, and we don’t like them.

When TCU kicks them to the curb and discontinues that series, they’ll come to their senses. They might never admit it, however.

Hunter Green · September 9, 2019

2 hours ago, greenminer said:

So if some administrative heads get in a room and decide to make a change for UNT, that’s a rivalry? I think there’s more to it than that.

Absolutely!