How to get excited for 2022?

GrandGreen · January 5, 2022

1 hour ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

How to get excited for 2022 is pretty easy. Show up at the Super Pit tonight, and if you can't be there, tune in on CBS Sports. This is a game with HEAVY implications, and the winner sits squarely in the frontrunner's seat in C-USA. How can you not be excited about that?

As for football, with each passing day that drags on, I'm getting less & less excited. Yes, the schedule should be easier, but for y'all who believe that NT is going to beat SMU just because Sonny left, you must not know Rhett Lashlee and his backstory. SMU hired him for the seamless transition he'll bring. Meanwhile, our HC couldn't get a team ready to play if his hair was on fire (it'll still be the same-ol' same-ol' emotionless, distant, repetitive guy). The players are going to have to dig deep again & do it themselves.
I'm also starting to doubt Bloesch will relinquish his OC role for the good of the team, and any good QB coach won't consider NT because they don't want to be JUST a QB's coach. Be ready for another underwhelming hire as Joseph's replacement. Sorry y'all. If Littrell could pull a rabbit out of the hat here, I'd be thrilled.
For me, the only good things going are the players, Bennett, Bloesch, & Cobbs.

Tomorrow?

UNTLifer · January 5, 2022

1 minute ago, GrandGreen said:

Tomorrow?

Line starts today!

CaribbeanGreen · January 5, 2022

Adaway. Ragsdale. Johnson. Adeyi. Jackson. Behind an experienced line with Mose coming back. LOADED run game.

Healthy Bush and Shorter with Burns, Brown, Lyles, McMillin, Ward all one year better. Roberts and Gumms at TE.

The defense - with KD back, Gaddie back, the twins one year better, Rod Brown a year better, year two under Bermuda Bennett.

This thing looks solid as hell on paper. Thereś just this one little position to worry about..... get that even a little bit right, and the skyś the limit.... #GMG

MeanGreenTexan · January 5, 2022

16 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

Tomorrow?

Uh... No! I mean TONIGHT! Tailgate all night long, then go to the game on Thursday. Get Excited!!!1!

Or, just show up to the game tomorrow.

I'm all kinds of mixed up on what day it is.

untjim1995 · January 5, 2022

I figure we have home games next year against SMU, Texas Southern, Louisiana Tech, Rice, Florida International, and probably someone like Old Dominion or Charlotte. I see us winning 5 of those (not SMU). Then, games at UNLV, Memphis, UTSA, UTEP, UAB, and another CUSA East team. I see us winning 2 of those.

That's 7 games, right there. We have won 7 or more games in a season in Denton as a FBS program since 1979 exactly 6 times. Out of 31 FBS (I-A) seasons since Hayden Fry left Denton. If I see us at 7+ wins, that's enough to be excited about!!

Of course, that gets SL his extension for another 3 or4 years, so...

meaniegreenie · January 5, 2022

3 hours ago, CaribbeanGreen said:

Adaway. Ragsdale. Johnson. Adeyi. Jackson. Behind an experienced line with Mose coming back. LOADED run game.

All trying to run against an 8 man front if we don't get a QB.

TIgreen01 · January 5, 2022

4 hours ago, UNT Texas Hooligan said:

I was entirely ready to believe in Littrell again until the bowl game where he did what he always does and chokes in big moments. Especially against a team with a similar record that we should have beaten. What tells me that this upcoming year will be any different than the previous 5 years (aka 5 bowl losses)? He has still yet to prove he can develop a QB not named Mason Fine, he has hardly shown the ability to make competent hires other than a few coaches like Bennett (Passwaters came with Bennett) and Cobbs outside of the all-star assistants he had when he was first hired on here, and we are still waiting on those "#1 in C-USA" recruiting classes to prove to be true so excuse some of us if we aren't rolling out the red carpet on Year 7 of Littrell.

Are you saying that Littrell threw those two 2nd quarter interceptions that killed us? I don't like calling out players, but our QB picked a bad time to have one of his worst games. Of course, some of that is on the coaches, but that first int was a sailed pass over the middle, and the second one never should have been thrown.

I'm not entirely sold on Littrell returning, but I do recognize the upswing that this team was on and is likely to continue. I'll hold my breath until signing day is over and we see what staff changes are made. Our QB room needs to improve for us to have a shot at 7+ wins next year.

TripleGrad · January 5, 2022

I feel like more North Texas folks need to watch the SEC Shorts series with Hope and Georgia.

Know your enemy, folks. . .

UNT Texas Hooligan · January 5, 2022

56 minutes ago, TIgreen01 said:

Are you saying that Littrell threw those two 2nd quarter interceptions that killed us? I don't like calling out players, but our QB picked a bad time to have one of his worst games. Of course, some of that is on the coaches, but that first int was a sailed pass over the middle, and the second one never should have been thrown.

I'm not entirely sold on Littrell returning, but I do recognize the upswing that this team was on and is likely to continue. I'll hold my breath until signing day is over and we see what staff changes are made. Our QB room needs to improve for us to have a shot at 7+ wins next year.

Ok, so Aune had a bad game against Miami. What's the excuse for the 4 other bowl losses? At what point does the blame fall on Littrell and the coaches? Bowl loss number 7? Number 9? Number 13?

Your second point is what worries me. We're waiting for the QB room to improve but we have seen nothing like that since Fine graduated. The question was how can get get excited about 2022, and frankly for a multitude of reasons listed above, I can't because I've done that multiple off-season's only to be let down and blown out in bowl games.

TIgreen01 · January 6, 2022

3 hours ago, UNT Texas Hooligan said:

Ok, so Aune had a bad game against Miami. What's the excuse for the 4 other bowl losses? At what point does the blame fall on Littrell and the coaches? Bowl loss number 7? Number 9? Number 13?

Your second point is what worries me. We're waiting for the QB room to improve but we have seen nothing like that since Fine graduated. The question was how can get get excited about 2022, and frankly for a multitude of reasons listed above, I can't because I've done that multiple off-season's only to be let down and blown out in bowl games.

I’m right there with you…but I did answer the question. You need to wait until signing day is over and this class is complete, and see what we do on the coaching staff. We’ve already let the QB coach go and we see coaching turnover every year. I’ll wait to decide to get excited or not after those things are settled.

For the record, excited to me means not expecting just 7 wins. It’s 9+ and conference championship aspirations. I think the team as currently constructed will get to 6 or 7 wins. That’s not going to get me hooked. I want to see marked improvement at QB, receiver and secondary.

Mike Jackson · January 6, 2022

5 hours ago, UNT Texas Hooligan said:

Ok, so Aune had a bad game against Miami. What's the excuse for the 4 other bowl losses? At what point does the blame fall on Littrell and the coaches? Bowl loss number 7? Number 9? Number 13?

Your second point is what worries me. We're waiting for the QB room to improve but we have seen nothing like that since Fine graduated. The question was how can get get excited about 2022, and frankly for a multitude of reasons listed above, I can't because I've done that multiple off-season's only to be let down and blown out in bowl games.

To get all the facts straight 2020 & 2021 teams really didn’t deserve a bowl game. This 2021 team had a losing record against FBS teams. Aune isn’t good. Some of those short passes that were inaccurate were perplexingly bad. If you don’t know how to scout, recruit, sign and develop good QB and you are a head coach with an offensive background, you just not a good head coach 🤷🏽‍♂️ He is mediocre coach that might be good at a program that needs him just to continue the momentum his predecessor created. This is year 7 not 3, 4, of 5 any hope of seeing 8 or more wins is borderline delusion. I don’t care that much about the bowl games Seth has a losing record against FBS teams so there is no reason to expect him to win a bowl game.

ttunt1970 · January 6, 2022

7 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

I figure we have home games next year against SMU, Texas Southern, Louisiana Tech, Rice, Florida International, and probably someone like Old Dominion or Charlotte. I see us winning 5 of those (not SMU). Then, games at UNLV, Memphis, UTSA, UTEP, UAB, and another CUSA East team. I see us winning 2 of those.

That's 7 games, right there. We have won 7 or more games in a season in Denton as a FBS program since 1979 exactly 6 times. Out of 31 FBS (I-A) seasons since Hayden Fry left Denton. If I see us at 7+ wins, that's enough to be excited about!!

Of course, that gets SL his extension for another 3 or4 years, so...

Jim we are scheduled to play at Marshall and FIU home in this 2 year cycle, but according to the Sun Belt board and Marshall's board all the newbies are coming on board July2022 (ODU,S. Miss., JMU and Marshall). They are saying it will announce by the end of the month.(JMU has a problem with the CAA not letting their Olympic teams and possibly basketball not being able to play for conference championships in 2022-23. It's going to be an interesting next sox months

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · January 6, 2022

14 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

How to get excited for 2022 is pretty easy. Show up at the Super Pit tonight, and if you can't be there, tune in on CBS Sports. This is a game with HEAVY implications, and the winner sits squarely in the frontrunner's seat in C-USA. How can you not be excited about that?

As for football, with each passing day that drags on, I'm getting less & less excited. Yes, the schedule should be easier, but for y'all who believe that NT is going to beat SMU just because Sonny left, you must not know Rhett Lashlee and his backstory. SMU hired him for the seamless transition he'll bring. Meanwhile, our HC couldn't get a team ready to play if his hair was on fire (it'll still be the same-ol' same-ol' emotionless, distant, repetitive guy). The players are going to have to dig deep again & do it themselves.
I'm also starting to doubt Bloesch will relinquish his OC role for the good of the team, and any good QB coach won't consider NT because they don't want to be JUST a QB's coach. Be ready for another underwhelming hire as Joseph's replacement. Sorry y'all. If Littrell could pull a rabbit out of the hat here, I'd be thrilled.
For me, the only good things going are the players, Bennett, Bloesch, & Cobbs.

I think football should be the 2nd priority here at North Texas, considering McCasland accomplished more in his first year than Litttell in 6.

untjim1995 · January 6, 2022

1 hour ago, ttunt1970 said:

Jim we are scheduled to play at Marshall and FIU home in this 2 year cycle, but according to the Sun Belt board and Marshall's board all the newbies are coming on board July2022 (ODU,S. Miss., JMU and Marshall). They are saying it will announce by the end of the month.(JMU has a problem with the CAA not letting their Olympic teams and possibly basketball not being able to play for conference championships in 2022-23. It's going to be an interesting next sox months

Yeah, I figure those schools, Marshall and USM won’t be on our schedule

cogido · January 6, 2022

21 hours ago, WanderingEagle said:

The same SMU that has beaten us by a combined 73 points the last 3 years?

The worm will turn for North Texas this time.

Cr1028 · January 6, 2022

8 hours ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

I think football should be the 2nd priority here at North Texas, considering McCasland accomplished more in his first year than Litttell in 6.

What? Win the CBI? Go 20-18 overall? Or 8-10 in conference tying for 7th place?

Grant has done phenomenal things but he didn’t accomplish them all in year one. The truth is good enough, no need to embellish it. Talk about what he did in years 3 and 4.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Cr1028

UNT Texas Hooligan · January 6, 2022

11 hours ago, Mike Jackson said:

To get all the facts straight 2020 & 2021 teams really didn’t deserve a bowl game. This 2021 team had a losing record against FBS teams. Aune isn’t good. Some of those short passes that were inaccurate were perplexingly bad. If you don’t know how to scout, recruit, sign and develop good QB and you are a head coach with an offensive background, you just not a good head coach 🤷🏽‍♂️ He is mediocre coach that might be good at a program that needs him just to continue the momentum his predecessor created. This is year 7 not 3, 4, of 5 any hope of seeing 8 or more wins is borderline delusion. I don’t care that much about the bowl games Seth has a losing record against FBS teams so there is no reason to expect him to win a bowl game.

Agreed completely

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · January 6, 2022

9 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

What? Win the CBI? Go 20-18 overall? Or 8-10 in conference tying for 7th place?

Grant has done phenomenal things but he didn’t accomplish them all in year one. The truth is good enough, no need to embellish it. Talk about what he did in years 3 and 4.

He built a legacy in year 1. That team was shredded from Benford and his actions, but they went through a tough schedule and hosted/won a CBI championship on national TV. See with McCasland, he knows how to develop players and get his teams ready from the summer to non conference to conference play. He can develop the Juco recruits into stars, and he got North Texas into the national media for doing something NO NORTH TEXAS PROGRAM HAS DONE.

Cr1028 · January 7, 2022

1 hour ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

He built a legacy in year 1. That team was shredded from Benford and his actions, but they went through a tough schedule and hosted/won a CBI championship on national TV. See with McCasland, he knows how to develop players and get his teams ready from the summer to non conference to conference play. He can develop the Juco recruits into stars, and he got North Texas into the national media for doing something NO NORTH TEXAS PROGRAM HAS DONE.

Show me how McCasland’s accomplishments in year 1 and only in year one are better than all of the accomplishments Littrell has had in 6 years. Obviously when comparing the totality of their tenures McCasland wins all day but you said year one.

In year 1, McCasland took a team with a .267 win percentage and took them to a .526 win percentage.

In year 1, Littrell took a team .083 win percentage and took them to a .385 win percentage.

One doubled their team’s win percentage, the other quadrupled it and that is only year one. McCasland didn’t win a division title in year one, he won a conference title in year 3 but you said year 1.

McCasland is clearly the better coach but your statement that first year McCasland accomplishments exceed anything Seth has done in his entire tenure here is just BS.

MGNation92 · January 7, 2022

12 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

Show me how McCasland’s accomplishments in year 1 and only in year one are better than all of the accomplishments Littrell has had in 6 years. Obviously when comparing the totality of their tenures McCasland wins all day but you said year one.

In year 1, McCasland took a team with a .267 win percentage and took them to a .526 win percentage.

In year 1, Littrell took a team .083 win percentage and took them to a .385 win percentage.

One doubled their team’s win percentage, the other quadrupled it and that is only year one. McCasland didn’t win a division title in year one, he won a conference title in year 3 but you said year 1.

McCasland is clearly the better coach but your statement that first year McCasland accomplishments exceed anything Seth has done in his entire tenure here is just BS.

He won in the postseason in Year 1. CBI is equivalent to a low level bowl game I'd say, although with the amount of basketball teams that can qualify, making a postseason tournament is probably a bigger accomplishment than making a random bowl game on a Tuesday in December.

Something Seth has yet to accomplish in 6 years. If you look at the totality of their careers here it's even more embarrassing

Seth is mediocre. Grant is on the rise and will most likely be poached in the next couple of years while we're buying Seth out to go away.

Cr1028 · January 7, 2022

1 hour ago, MGNation92 said:

He won in the postseason in Year 1. CBI is equivalent to a low level bowl game I'd say, although with the amount of basketball teams that can qualify, making a postseason tournament is probably a bigger accomplishment than making a random bowl game on a Tuesday in December.

Something Seth has yet to accomplish in 6 years. If you look at the totality of their careers here it's even more embarrassing

Seth is mediocre. Grant is on the rise and will most likely be poached in the next couple of years while we're buying Seth out to go away.

A tournament you have to pay to get in. I’m pleased as punch that Grant is our man and hope we can keep him for awhile but he did not do more in one year than Seth did in all of his 6. Yes Grant won in the postseason in year one against the equivalent of Nicholls State but is that better than winning your division? Remember, we paid to enter the CBI with a losing record that year after our first round exit from the CUSA tourney.

GrandGreen · January 7, 2022

52 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

A tournament you have to pay to get in. I’m pleased as punch that Grant is our man and hope we can keep him for awhile but he did not do more in one year than Seth did in all of his 6. Yes Grant won in the postseason in year one against the equivalent of Nicholls State but is that better than winning your division? Remember, we paid to enter the CBI with a losing record that year after our first round exit from the CUSA tourney.

You are very dismissive of the CBI because NT had to pay to be in it. Yet, it can also be argued that it was the starting point to a much improved NT basketball program.

Money well spent it seems to me.

Comparing football and basketball programs is problematic in my view. Basketball can rapidly change because a couple of players can make dramatic changes.

However, anyone that thinks Littrell at this point is anywhere close to having McCasland's coaching ability is not paying attention.

Cr1028 · January 7, 2022

1 hour ago, GrandGreen said:

You are very dismissive of the CBI because NT had to pay to be in it. Yet, it can also be argued that it was the starting point to a much improved NT basketball program.

Money well spent it seems to me.

Comparing football and basketball programs is problematic in my view. Basketball can rapidly change because a couple of players can make dramatic changes.

However, anyone that thinks Littrell at this point is anywhere close to having McCasland's coaching ability is not paying attention.

Obviously I don’t think Littrell has done a better job overall than McCasland. Nobody could make that argument reasonably. @NorthTexasSportsNetwork said McCasland had more accomplishments in year one than Littrell has had in his entire tenure and I said bull.

UNTLifer · January 7, 2022

19 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

Show me how McCasland’s accomplishments in year 1 and only in year one are better than all of the accomplishments Littrell has had in 6 years. Obviously when comparing the totality of their tenures McCasland wins all day but you said year one.

In year 1, McCasland took a team with a .267 win percentage and took them to a .526 win percentage.

In year 1, Littrell took a team .083 win percentage and took them to a .385 win percentage.

One doubled their team’s win percentage, the other quadrupled it and that is only year one. McCasland didn’t win a division title in year one, he won a conference title in year 3 but you said year 1.

McCasland is clearly the better coach but your statement that first year McCasland accomplishments exceed anything Seth has done in his entire tenure here is just BS.

FYI, he never mentioned Littrell.

Cr1028 · January 7, 2022

2 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

FYI, he never mentioned Littrell.

On 1/5/2022 at 11:01 PM, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

I think football should be the 2nd priority here at North Texas, considering McCasland accomplished more in his first year than Litttell in 6.

He did. I gave him a plus one on the idea of his post but the dig at Littrell I feel is inaccurate.