Thoughts on Tonight's Game

Side Show Joe · October 4, 2020

1. Southern Miss isn't that good: We made them look good, but I'd be surprised if they finish ahead of UAB, LA Tech, or even UTSA in the western division standings .

2. Littrell got schooled in every possible way: We just lost to a USM team that had multiple players including key starters quit their team. Their coach even left their team following week 1 of the season. Also, their interim coach was their OC, and he is about the same age as our starting QB. You can't make this crap up.

3. Our RB's did well tonight: Patrick Cobbs is a heck of an RB coach. That is about the only positive I can point to offensively.

4. Bean should have been given a shot at some point in the game: Aune put it on the ground twice tonight and missed open receivers down field. Would Bean really have been any worse?

5. Our team is soft: On one play our RB was fighting to get a first down and linemen were just standing there looking at him. Are they not coached to move the pile?

6. Littrell is overpaid: Seth is the highest paid coach in C-USA, and I seriously doubt this team will even finish in the middle of the pack.

7. I'm going to have plenty of leg room next week for Charlotte: And not because of social distancing.

TruthWins · October 4, 2020

1 hour ago, Side Show Joe said:

1. Southern Miss isn't that good: We made them look good, but I'd be surprised if they finish ahead of UAB, LA Tech, or even UTSA in the western division standings .

2. Littrell got schooled in every possible way: We just lost to a USM team that had multiple players including key starters quit their team. Their coach even left their team following week 1 of the season. Also, their interim coach was their OC, and he is about the same age as our starting QB. You can't make this crap up.

3. Our RB's did well tonight: Patrick Cobbs is a heck of an RB coach. That is about the only positive I can point to offensively.

4. Bean should have been given a shot at some point in the game: Aune put it on the ground twice tonight and missed open receivers down field. Would Bean really have been any worse?

5. Our team is soft: On one play our RB was fighting to get a first down and linemen were just standing there looking at him. Are they not coached to move the pile?

6. Littrell is overpaid: Seth is the highest paid coach in C-USA, and I seriously doubt this team will even finish in the middle of the pack.

7. I'm going to have plenty of leg room next week for Charlotte: And not because of social distancing.

Aune will be fine, when throwing the deep ball that often there’s going to be more misses than hits. Once he gets settled in in the qb1 spot there will be more reps with the starting wr’s and the timing will get better. It truly is a 50/50 ball and the hardest ball to complete.

peanuts104 · October 4, 2020

1 hour ago, ADLER said:

Southern Miss is a bad football team. Not meaning to be insulting, but even their most ardent fans will tell you that they are a long way from being competitive.

They kicked our asses tonight, and made it look easy.

We kicked our own asses, especially on the 14 point swing on special teams.

peanuts104 · October 4, 2020

1 minute ago, TruthWins said:

Aune will be fine, when throwing the deep ball that often there’s going to be more misses than hits. Once he gets settled in in the qb1 spot there will be more reps with the starting wr’s and the timing will get better. It truly is a 50/50 ball and the hardest ball to complete.

I saw Bean hitting those deep throws more often in his limited play. I wanted Aune to start after his performance in the last two games but I wanted Bean to get a chance after Aune overthrew at least 5 guys that were wide open.

BillySee58 · October 4, 2020

1 hour ago, Side Show Joe said:

3. Our RB's did well tonight: Patrick Cobbs is a heck of an RB coach. That is about the only positive I can point to offensively.

Running back is one of the position groups we definitely have the least to worry about, but I’m not super impressed outside of Adaway and Siggers when he shows those flashes of last year. Torrey continues to get the yards that are blocked, and not doing a whole lot to get more than that. He was averaging 3.4 yards/carry before the 34-yard TD run where he was basically untouched right through the middle.

We have to start busting more runs for chunk-yardage plays. 53 runs against SMU and our longest was only 10 yards. Tonight we ran for just 3.8 yards/carry. Too often we’re putting ourselves in 3rd and long early in the games because we’re getting 2 and 3 yard runs on 1st and 2nd down. Whether it’s the playcalling and timing of the runs, the blocking, or the RBs, we have to start popping more 10+ yard runs, especially early in the game.

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4. Bean should have been given a shot at some point in the game: Aune put it on the ground twice tonight and missed open receivers down field. Would Bean really have been any worse?

When would it have benefited us to switch to Bean? After that second fumble? Because from there on out we went:

- 80-yard TD Drive

- 45-yard Drive in 44 seconds to get a field-goal attempt before halftime

- 3 TD Drives out of 4 complete drives in the second half

Aune’s performance was far from great, but I think tonight was a good example of why we need to stop with the rotating. He had some bad throws, he had some dropped passes, but even his misses were where only our guy could get it. Threw the ball 47 times with no picks tonight, while Bean has 5 picks in 64 career attempts. If we’re pulling our QB over this caliber play, we’ll just be switching back and forth all season.

Edited October 4, 2020 by BillySee58

NorthTexan95 · October 4, 2020

5 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

Aune’s performance was far from great, but I think tonight was a good example of why we need to stop with the rotating. He had some bad throws, he had some dropped passes, but even his misses were where only our guy could get it. Threw the ball 47 times with no picks tonight, while Bean has 5 picks in 64 career attempts. If we’re pulling our QB over this caliber play, we’ll just be switching back and forth all season.

This is what I was thinking. Aune needed a complete game and needs a few more games to see work into form. We just saw inaccurate passes at all levels: short, medium, and deep. He has a long ways to go.

RBP79 · October 4, 2020

UNC-Charlotte looked good playing FAU yesterday...1 -4 looks like a reality.

emmitt01 · October 4, 2020

Had a chance to have a pretty long convo with Mr Kuehne last night during the game. Here is what he told me.

He watched all of Fall practice and Bean had days where he looked like an NFL prospect, and days where he couldn’t hit the ocean.

He said what many of us said last season, Mason was left in far too often when reps could have been given to Bean or Aune to develop them.

Also said that Kason Martin had the best camp of any of the QB’s.

(My observations here) Aune wasn’t just off on a couple of deep balls. He under-threw several WIDE open receivers, put the ball on the turf twice, and I saw (at least) two occasions where he had open field in front of him and chose to throw into the sideline instead. “He’s been out of football for a while”, “he’s rusty, “he needs reps” or however you want to phrase the excuses...he’s not the answer.

This defense isn’t going to stop many people. We insist on a 3 man front and teams are running at will...when they’re not converting third downs through the air with ease. Keeping Aune in there to “grow” isn’t going to lead to a turnaround or salvage this season.

If we’re going to go through “growing pains” or “rebuilding” give the reins either to the kid who actually is a threat to do something dynamic (Bean), or the kid that showed the highest ceiling (Martin).

And did I mention that Kyle Trask, the quarterback for the #3 Florida Gators, didn’t start for his high school team and will make his NINTH appearance as a starting quarterback since the 9th grade next Saturday?

Edited October 4, 2020 by emmitt01

Green Crazy · October 4, 2020

58 minutes ago, emmitt01 said:

Had a chance to have a pretty long convo with Mr Kuehne last night during the game. Here is what he told me.

He watched all of Fall practice and Bean had days where he looked like an NFL prospect, and days where he couldn’t hit the ocean.

He said what many of us said last season, Mason was left in far too often when reps could have been given to Bean or Aune to develop them.

Also said that Kason Martin had the best camp of any of the QB’s.

(My observations here) Aune wasn’t just off on a couple of deep balls. He under-threw several WIDE open receivers, put the ball on the turf twice, and I saw (at least) two occasions where he had open field in front of him and chose to throw into the sideline instead. “He’s been out of football for a while”, “he’s rusty, “he needs reps” or however you want to phrase the excuses...he’s not the answer.

This defense isn’t going to stop many people. We insist on a 3 man front and teams are running at will...when they’re not converting third downs through the air with ease. Keeping Aune in there to “grow” isn’t going to lead to a turnaround or salvage this season.

If we’re going to go through “growing pains” or “rebuilding” give the reins either to the kid who actually is a threat to do something dynamic (Bean), or the kid that showed the highest ceiling (Martin).

And did I mention that Kyle Trask, the quarterback for the #3 Florida Gators, didn’t start for his high school team and will make his NINTH appearance as a starting quarterback since the 9th grade next Saturday?

You'd have a better time convincing me on Martin than Bean at this point. Bean looked liked he had checked out last night on the sideline, almost pouting. And against smu he missed an easy 7 yard crossing pattern that would have got a first down and basically had to be consoled by a team mate because he got so down on himself. It was part frustration, which I get, but there was also some sort of depression/sadness for lack of better words and that's what worried me. You have to be mentally stronger than that.

This is also a knee-jerk reaction from me I've only seen two instances. Just saying the smu thing was something I can't remember seeing before at this level.

Edited October 4, 2020 by Green Crazy

NorthTexasWeLove · October 4, 2020

Bean is not the answer. He is Dajon Williams 2.0. Good athlete that has shown the inability to break down defenses with his arm. Aune looks serviceable. He went for 340 while completing 60%. That's a stat line that I'm not sure Bean could provide. And sure, Aune missed some throws that I'm sure he wishes he could have back. Our problem is ST and D and starting way too slow on O.

Cooley · October 4, 2020

17 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Bean is not the answer. He is Dajon Williams 2.0. Good athlete that has shown the inability to break down defenses with his arm. Aune looks serviceable. He went for 340 while completing 60%. That's a stat line that I'm not sure Bean could provide. And sure, Aune missed some throws that I'm sure he wishes he could have back. Our problem is ST and D and starting way too slow on O.

Aune is not the answer either. Too bad Bean sits after his mistakes and doesn't play anymore. The defense was bad with all starters. This is a bottom 10 sqad.

BillySee58 · October 4, 2020

2 hours ago, emmitt01 said:

Had a chance to have a pretty long convo with Mr Kuehne last night during the game. Here is what he told me.

He watched all of Fall practice and Bean had days where he looked like an NFL prospect, and days where he couldn’t hit the ocean.

With Bean, obviously he’s a young QB so he will have highs and lows. But the issue to me is his lack of arm strength. Whether he is having an accurate or inaccurate day, that arm strength is what it is for now and it looked like he didn’t even trust it against SMU.

Like I’ve said before, he has thrown the ball 45 times against FBS competition and he’s averaging just 4.5 yards per attempt and 4 INTs. People are bitching about Aune’s game last night and he was at 7.2 yards/attempt on 47 attempts yesterday, with no INTs. And with 3 deep balls that you would expect our receivers to come down with 1 of the 3, if not more (Darden, White, and Ogunmakin).

I’m not convinced Aune is the answer, but I do feel pretty confidently from what I’ve seen that he’s the best we have, at least out of eligible QBs.

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If we’re going to go through “growing pains” or “rebuilding” give the reins either to the kid who actually is a threat to do something dynamic (Bean), or the kid that showed the highest ceiling (Martin).

A lot of people picked sides before the season as to which QB they wanted, and it has showed throughout the season. I thought Aune was our best QB, I still think he is, but I’m definitely not married to the idea of him needing to be our QB.

But, I ask this for you and others who want Bean, if Bean had completed 60% of his passes and thrown for 339 yards and 2 TDs with no INTs in a game like Aune just did, made and missed the exact same throws, would you be as unimpressed with him as you are with Aune? I feel like people who want Bean would be even more sold on him than they are now if he had Aune’s production. As someone who wanted Aune, I can say I’d be feeling very good about Bean if he put up numbers like that, and I wouldn’t be calling for him to be pulled after a performance like that, even if there were missed throws in there.

untcampbell · October 4, 2020

I wasn’t the only one in my area that felt like the receivers let Aune down in the 1Q on at least three throws.

Bean’s body language on the sideline was discouraging. He was alone at the far end of the sideline most of the game. Usually there is a wing man to let the player vent, but he looked isolated.

Aune’s stats, without the three special teams mistakes, might have been enough to win the game. We likely might have had a different perception of his performance.

GMG

emmitt01 · October 4, 2020

42 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

With Bean, obviously he’s a young QB so he will have highs and lows. But the issue to me is his lack of arm strength. Whether he is having an accurate or inaccurate day, that arm strength is what it is for now and it looked like he didn’t even trust it against SMU.

Like I’ve said before, he has thrown the ball 45 times against FBS competition and he’s averaging just 4.5 yards per attempt and 4 INTs. People are bitching about Aune’s game last night and he was at 7.2 yards/attempt on 47 attempts yesterday, with no INTs. And with 3 deep balls that you would expect our receivers to come down with 1 of the 3, if not more (Darden, White, and Ogunmakin).

I’m not convinced Aune is the answer, but I do feel pretty confidently from what I’ve seen that he’s the best we have, at least out of eligible QBs.

A lot of people picked sides before the season as to which QB they wanted, and it has showed throughout the season. I thought Aune was our best QB, I still think he is, but I’m definitely not married to the idea of him needing to be our QB.

But, I ask this for you and others who want Bean, if Bean had completed 60% of his passes and thrown for 339 yards and 2 TDs with no INTs in a game like Aune just did, made and missed the exact same throws, would you be as unimpressed with him as you are with Aune? I feel like people who want Bean would be even more sold on him than they are now if he had Aune’s production. As someone who wanted Aune, I can say I’d be feeling very good about Bean if he put up numbers like that, and I wouldn’t be calling for him to be pulled after a performance like that, even if there were missed throws in there.

To answer my your question, yes I would feel the same about Bean. And it’s because we are three games into a season and, apparently, trying to find a full-time starter to get all the reps. If Bean had skipped several off the turf, showed indecision and thrown the ball away because he (appeared to be) scared, and fumbled TWICE, yes I would be saying we need to keep seeing what out other options look like. Especially when we are not just decent QB play away from being competitive.

Edited October 4, 2020 by emmitt01

BillySee58 · October 4, 2020

5 minutes ago, emmitt01 said:

To answer my your question, yes I would feel the same about Bean. And it’s because we are three games into a season and, apparently, trying to find a full-time starter to get all the reps. If Bean had skipped several off the turf, showed indecision and thrown the ball away because he (appeared to be) scared, and fumbled TWICE, yes I would be saying we need to keep seeing what out other options look like. Especially when we are not just decent QB play away from being competitive.

Littrell said he wanted a starting QB to roll with by conference play, so I think the switching is likely over unless the QB play is what is losing the game. He was obviously hoping for more non-conference reps to work with. And like you said, we need more than that to be competitive.

But I think the things you’re harping on Aune for, we saw Bean do last week too. Bean skipped the ball on an open slant route then started having a fit of frustration on the field, he fumbled pulling the ball from the RB last week too, and he showed fear in throwing the ball downfield. There is definitely an argument to be had that he hasn’t had enough opportunity, but I don’t see evidence in the results that indicate Bean is someone capable of materially improved QB play from Aune. But I think if we’re gonna pull our QBs over this level of play, I don’t see Bean being able to hold onto the job very long at all either.

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · October 4, 2020

All of this leads to coaching and how prepared they are. The mentality in the program is deteriorating fast, and something has to change or we won’t win a game. No discipline on any side, and it looks like they don’t even practice tackling but practice celebrating.

This new wave of coaches clearly wasn’t a hit, and yeah I know they didn’t have a lot of time to get ready for this season, but that’s no excuse for being on Instagram live 5 minutes before the game, and making mistakes that shouldn’t be made at the D1 FBS level.

Just disappointed in the level of readiness after a whole week more to prepare against a terrible USM team.

UNT 90 Grad · October 4, 2020

3 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

Littrell said he wanted a starting QB to roll with by conference play, so I think the switching is likely over unless the QB play is what is losing the game. He was obviously hoping for more non-conference reps to work with. And like you said, we need more than that to be competitive.

This might be what he’s thinking, but that’s not what he’s saying. No big surprise. He doesn’t like to share anything that could possibly be used by opponents for a competitive advantage. He’s already said he doesn’t know who he’ll start next week yet.

BillySee58 · October 4, 2020

14 minutes ago, UNT 90 Grad said:

This might be what he’s thinking, but that’s not what he’s saying. No big surprise. He doesn’t like to share anything that could possibly be used by opponents for a competitive advantage. He’s already said he doesn’t know who he’ll start next week yet.

He said it going into the Houston game. But obviously he seems really sold on this idea that not naming a starter gives us some type of advantage.

greenminer · October 5, 2020

The players need to learn to fight when things don't go their way. We've had several seasons since Dickey left where expectations were sky-high and [I feel] like some of the players throw in the towel or lose a ton of focus simply because the championship 9+ win season is lost. you're 1-3, so what?!!! Get off your ass, put down the social media and get to work!

In that regard, the players in our program need to learn to handle success. Goes back to @SilverEagle and how he talks about the culture in Denton.

Edited October 5, 2020 by greenminer

MGNation92 · October 5, 2020

Aune needs to be under center barring complete disaster. The idea of Bean and his speed are intriguing but ultimately more gimmicky than a centerpiece of the offense, unless he turns out to be Cam Newton, which I highly doubt.

This offense is built on pocket passing and accuracy(which Aune needs to improve for sure). It was that way under Mason, and when done properly can obviously be successful.

Let Aune get in game reps, improve, take his licks, and be a polished starter for the next two years. If he gets beat in camp so be it, but at this point Bean is too much of a liability and lacks the arm strength to really drive the ball down the field when it matters. Aune can run a bit too. He doesn't have game breaking speed, but I'd say he's as mobile as Mason, which was good enough.

SilverEagle · October 5, 2020

11 hours ago, greenminer said:

The players need to learn to fight when things don't go their way. We've had several seasons since Dickey left where expectations were sky-high and [I feel] like some of the players throw in the towel or lose a ton of focus simply because the championship 9+ win season is lost. you're 1-3, so what?!!! Get off your ass, put down the social media and get to work!

In that regard, the players in our program need to learn to handle success. Goes back to @SilverEagle and how he talks about the culture in Denton.

Well, I see them (the defense) striking out from frustration, but that draws them a 15 yrd penalty. If they are so angry and frustrated they need to use that anger to stuff the run, wrap up their tackles (stop playing bumper body), and take the QB down more than once a game.

The last time we had a coach that could get the community really excited and change the "culture" was Hayden Fry. BUT he was not only the coach, he was also the AD.........and he NEVER mumbled or looked sullen.