Is your feeling for the season confirmed or changed after an 18 point win vs UTEP??

UNTcrazy727 · August 29, 2022

39 minutes ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

UTEP is much better than Rice, FIU, UNLV BUT not as good as they were last year.

I have a feeling this won't be true by the end of the year. I think there's a good chance UTEP ends up with a losing record.

SilverEagle · August 29, 2022

As someone has already said, we beat a bowl team and not some cupcake in our first outing. We beat a bowl team rather convincedly. They have the same coach as last year, so UTEP didn't have any coaching adjustments to make. UTEP played in front of a large home crowd.

We had to travel a long distance. We had to deal with a one-hour game delay, and a large home crowd.
That has the potential to throw any team off. After watching spring practice and a couple of fall scrimmages, I had a lot better feeling about our defense and how it was going to perform.

Our team went out there and played like "someone's" back is to the wall. It was a very pleasant surprise.....but not a huge surprise.

Jonnyeagle · August 29, 2022

i sometimes don't understand the skepticism some - not all - of our fans have after huge wins like this past one against UTEP. Like @SilverEagle stated, this was on the road, sold out hostile environment, the very first game of the season on the road and a conference game to boot? Against a bowl team. To quoth Dan McCarney, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

TripleGrad · August 29, 2022

I expect "normal" for UNT. 6-6 and a loss in the WhoCares Bowl on Dec 13 at 2 PM. This game doesn't change that.

I'd love to be wrong, but 33 years of fandom tells me to temper expectations.

bstnsportsfan3 · August 29, 2022

4 hours ago, cousin oliver said:

I’m honestly pleasantly surprised. Most saw us in a dogfight against UTEP and we actually dominated them. I suppose that Wren is starting to work out the language for the extension based on what he has seen of Littrell thus far. Remember Littrell Is in the last year of his contract and it will hurt us badly in recruiting if we do not at least provide him a small 2-3 year extension. As comparison the UTSA coach has a 10-year contract to sell recruits.

First off, this is incorrect. He is under contract through 2023, not 2022. That has been reported many times. Second, a win over UTEP is not grounds for an extension.

bstnsportsfan3 · August 29, 2022

And i do feel better about this team then i did a week ago but had UTEP as one of my 7 wins on the year so haven't changed much feeling wise

C Rod · August 29, 2022

Confirmed. Just as they did at the tail-end of last season, Coach and Co. are playing to our strengths and running the football. And not in a predictable, "3 yards and a cloud of dust", old-school rushing attack. Coach Bloesch presented multiple looks from multiple backs, mixed in RPOs, and kept the defense guessing with quick-read, short throws to crossing WRs, RBs in the flats, and TEs over the middle.

With Coach Cobbs developing a deep stable of quality RBs, I think this new run-dominant identity could be a game changer now and in the years ahead. There is something very satisfying about watching the defense suck wind in the 2nd half as we keep trotting out fresh running backs to pound the rock.

rws69 · August 29, 2022

The win in El Paso was encouraging enough to hold my expectations for a winning season.

Concerns include continuing injuries (especially among receivers) and dumb penalties. Depth will remain an issue against teams in the AAC such as SMU and Memphis.

On the plus side, Littrell has delegated all game coaching to his coordinators. We had good consistency on offense with greater reliance on the tight end and plenty of fresh legs at running back. The defense forced UTEP into six fourth down situations and held on four of those. The second half shutout was especially encouraging.

In addition to UTEP, we should win against Texas Southern, LaTech, FIU, Rice, and UNLV, with all except UNLV at home. Most would expect road losses against WKU, UAB, UTSA, and Memphis. So that's six and four plus a bowl game. A win at home against SMU and/or FAU gets us to 7-5 or 8-4 plus a bowl game. I predicted 7-6 and hope we beat that.

Edited August 29, 2022 by rws69

UNTcrazy727 · August 29, 2022

16 minutes ago, rws69 said:

The win in El Paso was encouraging enough to hold my expectations for a winning season.

Concerns include continuing injuries (especially among receivers) and dumb penalties. Depth will remain an issue against teams in the AAC such as SMU and Memphis.

On the plus side, Littrell has delegated all game coaching to his coordinators. We had good consistency on offense with greater reliance on the tight end and plenty of fresh legs at running back. The defense forced UTEP into six fourth down situations and held on four of those. The second half shutout was especially encouraging.

In addition to UTEP, we should win against Texas Southern, LaTech, FIU, Rice, and UNLV, with all except UNLV at home. Most would expect road losses against WKU, UAB, UTSA, and Memphis. So that's six and four plus a bowl game. A win at home against SMU and/or FAU gets us to 7-5 or 8-4 plus a bowl game. I predicted 7-6 and hope we beat that.

A lot of people are expecting WKU to take a big step back this year. They lost a ton of production from last season. I have it marked as a likely win.

rws69 · August 29, 2022

13 minutes ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

A lot of people are expecting WKU to take a big step back this year. They lost a ton of production from last season. I have it marked as a likely win.

I agree that WKU is a tough read right now. We'll know more by the time that game is played two months from today. Let's hope it merits better TV than Stadium as currently scheduled.

WanderingEagle · August 29, 2022

Not a bit. Seth is 5-0 vs Dimel and the players I expected to show up (Roberts/RBs/KD) did. Show me that you can even put up a fight on Saturday because we've lost by 20+ in four of the last 5 meetings with SMU.

97and03 · August 29, 2022

3 hours ago, rws69 said:

I agree that WKU is a tough read right now. We'll know more by the time that game is played two months from today. Let's hope it merits better TV than Stadium as currently scheduled.

First game of the year and all that, but they didn’t exactly impress against FCS.