Perspective

Mean Green 93-98 · September 5, 2022

21 hours ago, PlummMeanGreen said:

TOO EARLY TO TALK UTSA BUT…

I watched the UTSA/UH game today. I’ll watch it again.

•••First of all, UTSA is no SMU. They’re not.
•••Secondly, I still think UNT will match up very well with UTSA with our running game just as we did last November.
••• Our offensive line matched up very well last season & this season our present younger offensive line backups will be mature by the time we take the trip to SA. That will help our coaches keep ‘em’ fresh throughout the game.

•••We’ve beaten UTSA (what is it)—4 or 5 times in a row now? We seem to have their number & did with last season’s team just like UAB seems to have our number.
•••We played in front of a loud Sun Bowl crowd with an on the road win. Granted, UTEP is no SMU, either, but winning on the road in our past has many times been a challenge.

IMPORTANT QUESTION:
Is it just me or does Coach Traillor(?) look like a smart aleck to any of you fellow Nestors? 😳 (Maybe he’s not).

GMG!

If UTSA plays anything like they did Saturday, and we play like anything we did Saturday, they will absolutely destroy us.

wardly · September 5, 2022

4 hours ago, rcade said:

The top teams in the AAC are leaving, except for one school I won't mention whose fans love our message board.

I understand, but we are in bottom 1/3 of those left.

southsideguy · September 6, 2022

Maybe SMUT will get invited to the PAC12,

keith · September 6, 2022

Did anyone have SMU penciled in as a W this year? Probably not, so basically, we are right where everyone thought we would be (or maybe better) after two games and yet many are ready to burn everything to the ground. Yep, the final score sucked, but I'm not sure that tells the full story. Against SMU, we continue to get burned deep, gave up more explosive plays than we made and did not take advantage of opportunities when we had them. However, we did move the ball in a balanced way (422 yards). 220 passing and 202 rushing and had a 100+ rusher against them. We won the time of possession 33:53 to 26:07, but some of that is due to giving up the back-breaking 1 play drives on defense. We lost the turnover battle 3-2 and had a field goal blocked. I know everyone likes to blame the coaches for everything and SL is the captain of the ship, but at some point the players need to be held accountable too. Multiple times they were put in position to succeed and they simply did not. Either we committed an ill-timed penalty, missed an assignment or they got out-played by a superior/faster athlete. When this happens against a team that already has better talent than you (at least on paper), a game can get away from you fast. This game is history. Fix the mistakes and move on.

GMG!

southsideguy · September 6, 2022

Do you mean make adjustments?

NorthTexasWeLove · September 6, 2022

1 minute ago, keith said:

Did anyone have SMU penciled in as a W this year? Probably not, so basically, we are right where everyone thought we would be (or maybe better) after two games and yet many are ready to burn everything to the ground. Yep, the final score sucked, but I'm not sure that tells the full story. Against SMU, we continue to get burned deep, gave up more explosive plays than we made and did not take advantage of opportunities when we had them. However, we did move the ball in a balanced way (422 yards). 220 passing and 202 rushing and had a 100+ rusher against them. We won the time of possession 33:53 to 26:07, but some of that is due to giving up the back-breaking 1 play drives on defense. We lost the turnover battle 3-2 and had a field goal blocked. I know everyone likes to blame the coaches for everything and SL is the captain of the ship, but at some point the players need to be held accountable too. Multiple times they were put in position to succeed and they simply did not. Either we committed an ill-timed penalty, missed an assignment or they got out-played by a superior/faster athlete. When this happens against a team that already has better talent than you (at least on paper), a game can get away from you fast. This game is history. Fix the mistakes and move on.

GMG!

I'm sorry, I'm not going to hold D2 and FCS transfers accountable. I'm not going to hold other players accountable for being on our field with Missouri State, us and SHSU offers. I hope they're enjoying their time here and the experiences they are gaining. That's all I have to say to them. That's my accountability barometer to many of our players

Cr1028 · September 6, 2022

On 9/6/2022 at 9:11 AM, keith said:

Multiple times they were put in position to succeed and they simply did not. Either we committed an ill-timed penalty, missed an assignment or they got out-played by a superior/faster athlete.

The Rod Burns fumble hurt, a lot.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Cr1028
Thanks Adler

southsideguy · September 6, 2022

1 hour ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

.

I am not sure who the receiver was on the play around the 20 who got open was behind the secondary but had to come back to catch the ball. If was hit in stride he was gone.

SMU qb seemed to throw some balls that hung up in the air for what seemed a long time. I kept thinking we have time to get that but we were no where to be found.

Cr1028 · September 6, 2022

A recap on offense with emphasis on Aune’s play:

Drive 1. One first down and a punt from our own 42. Aune 2 of 3 for 9 yards.

Drive 2. Two first downs and get to the SMU 36 (would’ve been the 3rd first down) when Rod Burns is stripped. Aune 3 of 4 for 25 yards.

Drive 3. Four first downs and get to SMU 12. Drive ends on blocked Mooney field goal. Aune 2 of 3 for 26 yards.

Drive 4. One first down and a Mooney field goal after the muffed direct snap. Aune 0 for 0.

Drive 5. No first downs, gets to 4th and 1 when Gabe Blair commits false start and we move to 4th and 6 and are forced to punt. Aune 1 of 2 for 8 yards.

Drive 6. Two first downs, Adaway goes beast mode for the 35 yard TD. Aune 2 of 4 for 41 yards.

Drive 7. No first downs and forced to punt. Aune 0 for 2.

Drive 8. Run out half. Aune 0 for 0.

Aune first half 10 of 18 for 109 yards 0 TDs 0 INTs

Drive 9. No first downs and forced to punt. Aune 0 for 0.

Drive 10. 4 first downs. Drive ends at the 3 with a juggled ball being intercepted. Aune 4 of 7 for 77 yards and an INT.

Drive 11. No first downs, punt. Aune 0 for 2.

Drive 12. No for first downs. Aune 0 for 2 with an INT. Aune done for the night.

Defensive drives:

Drive 1. 3 and out

Drive 2. 13 plays for 82 yards with 5 first downs ends in a touchdown

Drive 3. 5 plays for 64 yards with two first downs ends in a touchdown.

Drive 4. 2 plays for 13 yards, no first downs and KD causes Siggers to fumble

Drive 5. 1 play for 51 yards and a touchdown

Drive 6. 12 plays for 52 yards with 3 first downs ends in a field goal.

Drive 7. 1 play for 75 yards and a touchdown

Drive 8. 3 plays for 7 yards and a punt.

End of half 31-10 SMU.

2nd half we force 2 punts, allow 2 6-play 50 yard plus touchdown drives and a field goal.

It is easy to point at the quarterback but I think many are looking at the wrong boogie man in this game.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Cr1028

meangreanmick · September 6, 2022

1 hour ago, Cr1028 said:

A recap on offense with emphasis on Aune’s play:

Drive 1. One first down and a punt from our own 42. Aune 2 of 3 for 9 yards.

Drive 2. Two first downs and get to the SMU 36 (would’ve been the 3rd first down) when Rod Burns is stripped. Aune 3 of 4 for 25 yards.

Drive 3. Four first downs and get to SMU 12. Drive ends on blocked Mooney field goal. Aune 2 of 3 for 26 yards.

Drive 4. One first down and a Mooney field goal after the muffed direct snap. Aune 0 for 0.

Drive 5. No first downs, gets to 4th and 1 when Gabe Blair commits false start and we move to 4th and 6 and are forced to punt. Aune 1 of 2 for 8 yards.

Drive 6. Two first downs, Adaway goes beast mode for the 35 yard TD. Aune 2 of 4 for 41 yards.

Drive 7. No first downs and forced to punt. Aune 0 for 2.

Drive 8. Run out half. Aune 0 for 0.

Aune first half 10 of 18 for 109 yards 0 TDs 0 INTs

Drive 9. No first downs and forced to punt. Aune 0 for 0.

Drive 10. 4 first downs. Drive ends at the 3 with a juggled ball being intercepted. Aune 4 of 7 for 77 yards and an INT.

Drive 11. No first downs, punt. Aune 0 for 2.

Drive 12. No for first downs. Aune 0 for 2 with an INT. Aune done for the night.

Defensive drives:

Drive 1. 3 and out

Drive 2. 13 plays for 82 yards with 5 first downs ends in a touchdown

Drive 3. 5 plays for 64 yards with two first downs ends in a touchdown.

Drive 4. 2 plays for 13 yards, no first downs and KD causes Siggers to fumble

Drive 5. 1 play for 51 yards and a touchdown

Drive 6. 12 plays for 52 yards with 3 first downs ends in a field goal.

Drive 7. 1 play for 75 yards and a touchdown

Drive 8. 3 plays for 7 yards and a punt.

End of half 31-10 SMU.

2nd half we force 2 punts, allow 2 6-play 50 yard plus touchdown drives and a field goal.

It is easy to point at the quarterback but I think many are looking at the wrong boogie man in this game.

Aune isn’t the only issue, not by a long shot. But a good QB (not even great) covers up a lot of issues. We aren’t much different of a team talent wise ow vs when we had Fine.

For Aune, besides just the bad stats, he just can’t make the defense be honest. They don’t have to respect anything down field. When the receiver got 6 years behind the defense, he completed it but should have been 6 points. Instead, receiver had to come back and get the ball and was tackled on the spot. The defenses know they can press forward and if someone happens to get open downfield, they won’t really have to pay for it. That makes everything harder for our offense. And of our offense struggles, that puts the defense in bad spots and on the field longer, exposing them more. It also allows the other teams offense play loose, because we put now stress on them by scoring points ourselves.

UNTLifer · September 6, 2022

15 minutes ago, meangreanmick said:

Aune isn’t the only issue, not by a long shot. But a good QB (not even great) covers up a lot of issues. We aren’t much different of a team talent wise ow vs when we had Fine.

For Aune, besides just the bad stats, he just can’t make the defense be honest. They don’t have to respect anything down field. When the receiver got 6 years behind the defense, he completed it but should have been 6 points. Instead, receiver had to come back and get the ball and was tackled on the spot. The defenses know they can press forward and if someone happens to get open downfield, they won’t really have to pay for it. That makes everything harder for our offense. And of our offense struggles, that puts the defense in bad spots and on the field longer, exposing them more. It also allows the other teams offense play loose, because we put now stress on them by scoring points ourselves.

Spot on. I think smuT's safeties played 8 yards off the ball all night long. Even with the zone read, the DE always keyed on our RB because Aune so rarely keeps it. He has to keep it every so often just to keep the DE honest.

Cr1028 · September 6, 2022

3 hours ago, meangreanmick said:

Aune isn’t the only issue, not by a long shot. But a good QB (not even great) covers up a lot of issues. We aren’t much different of a team talent wise now vs when we had Fine.

You do realize that Fine lost 2 out of 3 to SMU.

In 2017 when we won 9 games we were down 38-10 four minutes into the 3rd quarter against SMU. Why didn’t our great, not just good, quarterback cover up the issues then when he had 3 NFL receivers and a NFL running back?

In 2019, we were down 28-14 at the half and did not score a touchdown again until 1:54 left in the 4th quarter while SMU scored 3 more TDs. Great, not good, quarterback wasn’t able to cover up the issues against SMU that time either.

The only time Mason beat SMU he was nearly perfect. That is the only way our quarterback is going to cover up for deficiencies elsewhere in the team. That game Mason went 40 of 50 for 444 yards, an 80 percent completion percentage, and 3 touchdowns. You cannot ask for that performance out of any qb on this current roster.

NorthTexasWeLove · September 6, 2022

3 hours ago, meangreanmick said:

Aune isn’t the only issue, not by a long shot. But a good QB (not even great) covers up a lot of issues. We aren’t much different of a team talent wise ow vs when we had Fine.

For Aune, besides just the bad stats, he just can’t make the defense be honest. They don’t have to respect anything down field. When the receiver got 6 years behind the defense, he completed it but should have been 6 points. Instead, receiver had to come back and get the ball and was tackled on the spot. The defenses know they can press forward and if someone happens to get open downfield, they won’t really have to pay for it. That makes everything harder for our offense. And of our offense struggles, that puts the defense in bad spots and on the field longer, exposing them more. It also allows the other teams offense play loose, because we put now stress on them by scoring points ourselves.

18 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

You do realize that Fine lost 2 out of 3 to SMU.

In 2017 when we won 9 games we were down 38-10 four minutes into the 3rd quarter against SMU. Why didn’t our great, not just good, quarterback cover up the issues then when he had 3 NFL receivers and a NFL running back?

In 2019, we were down 28-14 at the half and did not score a touchdown again until 1:54 left in the 4th quarter while SMU scored 3 more TDs. Great, not good, quarterback wasn’t able to cover up the issues against SMU that time either.

The only time Mason beat SMU he was nearly perfect. That is the only way our quarterback is going to cover up for deficiencies elsewhere in the team. That game Mason went 40 of 50 for 444 yards, an 80 percent completion percentage, and 3 touchdowns. You cannot ask for that performance out of any qb on this current roster.

Our HUGE problem vs SMU since Littrell has been here is the big play vs our defense. Every year there is seemingly 2 or 3 1-2 play drives that breaks the game wide open. Now, granted, 10 points won't and shouldn't ever win you a game. But our inability to bottle up and then rally to their playmakers is our main issue.

Cr1028 · September 6, 2022

9 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Our HUGE problem vs SMU since Littrell has been here is the big play vs our defense. Every year there is seemingly 2 or 3 1-2 play drives that breaks the game wide open. Now, granted, 10 points won't and shouldn't ever win you a game. But our inability to bottle up and then rally to their playmakers is our main issue.

100%

Early in the second quarter Adaway scored on a fantastic 35 yard run to bring the lead down to 14 points at 24-10. The very next SMU play from scrimmage was a 75 yard touchdown pass. Kind of deflating when it goes down like that.

GMG_Dallas · September 7, 2022

5 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

It is easy to point at the quarterback but I think many are looking at the wrong boogie man in this game.

When you look at it by drive, you're not painting the big picture... which is 6.4 yards per attempt and 48.2% completion percentage. Not only is he not attempting many deep balls, he's also not completing his passes at an accurate rate in the short to mid game.

I'm going to provide Aune's national rank for yards per attempt and completion percentage for 2020 to 2022 (so far). These numbers are per Sports Reference (https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/).

2022: 58 attempts; completion percentage - 103 out of 120 (51.7%; yards per attempt - 68 out of 120 (7.3/attempt).

2021: 295 attempts; completion percentage - 105 out of 105 (51.2%); yards per attempt - 93 out of 105 (6.7/attempt).

2020: 185 attempts; completion percentage - 96 out of 105 (54.6%); yards per attempt - 15 out of 105 (8.9/attempt).

*just putting it out there since he's on the roster* Gunnell 2020 (covid year, only 4 games): 93 attempts; completion percentage 13 out of 105 (68.8%); yards per attempt - 80 out of 105 (6.7/attempt).

Gunnell 2019: 155 attempts; completion percentage 20 out of 102 (65.2%); yards per attempt 35 out of 102 (8.0/attempt).

You'll notice the number of total quarterbacks is off some years. I'm not 100% sure why but I'll try to find out. Regardless, I think it paints the whole picture so we can stop saying "I think people are looking at the wrong boogie man." A football team goes as the quarterback goes. All teams have fumbles, interceptions, special teams gaffes, etc... even if we wouldn't have won THIS game regardless of how good he played, the fact of the matter is he just isn't consistently good enough to create explosive plays throughout a game. He seldom tests the defense deep and he's not accurate even passing short. We can stop sugar coating his performance by pointing the finger at the skill players for the strip and one of the interceptions. Watching the game, he's lucky he didn't have 5+ interceptions.

Cr1028 · September 7, 2022

15 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

When you look at it by drive, you're not painting the big picture... which is 6.4 yards per attempt and 48.2% completion percentage. Not only is he not attempting many deep balls, he's also not completing his passes at an accurate rate in the short to mid game.

I'm going to provide Aune's national rank for yards per attempt and completion percentage for 2020 to 2022 (so far). These numbers are per Sports Reference (https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/).

2022: 58 attempts; completion percentage - 103 out of 120 (51.7%; yards per attempt - 68 out of 120 (7.3/attempt).

2021: 295 attempts; completion percentage - 105 out of 105 (51.2%); yards per attempt - 93 out of 105 (6.7/attempt).

2020: 185 attempts; completion percentage - 96 out of 105 (54.6%); yards per attempt - 15 out of 105 (8.9/attempt).

*just putting it out there since he's on the roster* Gunnell 2020 (covid year, only 4 games): 93 attempts; completion percentage 13 out of 105 (68.8%); yards per attempt - 80 out of 105 (6.7/attempt).

Gunnell 2019: 155 attempts; completion percentage 20 out of 102 (65.2%); yards per attempt 35 out of 102 (8.0/attempt).

You'll notice the number of total quarterbacks is off some years. I'm not 100% sure why but I'll try to find out. Regardless, I think it paints the whole picture so we can stop saying "I think people are looking at the wrong boogie man." A football team goes as the quarterback goes. All teams have fumbles, interceptions, special teams gaffes, etc... even if we wouldn't have won THIS game regardless of how good he played, the fact of the matter is he just isn't consistently good enough to create explosive plays throughout a game. He seldom tests the defense deep and he's not accurate even passing short. We can stop sugar coating his performance by pointing the finger at the skill players for the strip and one of the interceptions. Watching the game, he's lucky he didn't have 5+ interceptions.

You and I will never agree on this. The defense giving up explosive after explosive is why we lost the SMU game plus boneheaded penalties and that awful direct snap for a 15 yard loss. Throwing the season down the drain when we still have the entire conference slate left just because we got our asses handed to us by a team full of P5 players is not something I’m willing to do. The coaches know who they think gives them the best chance to win now and they are going to ride that until something changes. You are where I was in 2015. Play Demarcus Smith, play Demarcus Smith, over and over until Mac got fired and Chico played him. When we lose a conference game this season directly because of Aune’s play, I may jump to your side. Until then, I’m going with the eye test and what I saw of Gunnell was a quarterback in complete distress. At least Aune can escape the pocket at times, Gunnell looked like a baby giraffe being encircled by wolves.

MeanGreenTexan · September 7, 2022

1 hour ago, Cr1028 said:

100%

Early in the second quarter Adaway scored on a fantastic 35 yard run to bring the lead down to 14 points at 24-10. The very next SMU play from scrimmage was a 75 yard touchdown pass. Kind of deflating when it goes down like that.

What’s the old saying?

“One step forward, and 2 sledgehammers to the testicles”, or something like that… it’s the UNT football way.

GMG_Dallas · September 7, 2022

10 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

You and I will never agree on this. The defense giving up explosive after explosive is why we lost the SMU game plus boneheaded penalties and that awful direct snap for a 15 yard loss. Throwing the season down the drain when we still have the entire conference slate left just because we got our asses handed to us by a team full of P5 players is not something I’m willing to do. The coaches know who they think gives them the best chance to win now and they are going to ride that until something changes. You are where I was in 2015. Play Demarcus Smith, play Demarcus Smith, over and over until Mac got fired and Chico played him. When we lose a conference game this season directly because of Aune’s play, I may jump to your side. Until then, I’m going with the eye test and what I saw of Gunnell was a quarterback in complete distress. At least Aune can escape the pocket at times, Gunnell looked like a baby giraffe being encircled by wolves.

Gunnell can escape the pocket. He's got P5 game experience where this displayed. And SMU has a team full of P5 players? We have quite a few on offense, including Gunnell, but we're not putting them in a position to succeed.

Edited September 7, 2022 by GMG_Dallas

keith · September 7, 2022

We've had some great QBs in our history with solid completion percentages. According to the record book 3 of the top 6 seasons in terms of the QB completion percentage resulted in a combined record of 5-31.

#1 2009 season Riley Dodge .676 (record 2-10)

#5 2007 season Daniel Meager .633 (record 2-10)

#6 2008 season Giovanni Vizza .626 (record 1-11)

GMG_Dallas · September 7, 2022

41 minutes ago, keith said:

We've had some great QBs in our history with solid completion percentages. According to the record book 3 of the top 6 seasons in terms of the QB completion percentage resulted in a combined record of 5-31.

#1 2009 season Riley Dodge .676 (record 2-10)

#5 2007 season Daniel Meager .633 (record 2-10)

#6 2008 season Giovanni Vizza .626 (record 1-11)

Y'all gotta stop looking at UNT's history as an indicator of what does or doesn't work. Implying accuracy doesn't generally lead to success because Dodge couldn't figure out college coaching is ridiculous. Look at football across the board, quarterback accuracy and yards per attempt are two of the most important QB stats.

keith · September 7, 2022

3 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

Y'all gotta stop looking at UNT's history as an indicator of what does or doesn't work. Implying accuracy doesn't generally lead to success because Dodge couldn't figure out college coaching is ridiculous. Look at football across the board, quarterback accuracy and yards per attempt are two of the most important QB stats.

Aune is #2 in yards per attempt (career) and has the #1 season (2020) in yards per attempt in Mean Green lore (only going back to the 2000 season). So I guess he has half of the equation.

GMG_Dallas · September 7, 2022

14 minutes ago, keith said:

Aune is #2 in yards per attempt (career) and has the #1 season (2020) in yards per attempt in Mean Green lore (only going back to the 2000 season). So I guess he has half of the equation.

Half the equation clearly doesn't cut it. And like I said, have to stop looking at UNT history as an indicator of what is or isn't good. I don't think Aune would start at any other respectable program.

untjim1995 · September 7, 2022

6 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

Half the equation clearly doesn't cut it. And like I said, have to stop looking at UNT history as an indicator of what is or isn't good. I don't think Aune would start at any other respectable program.

Tell me you’re a newer fan without telling me you’re a newer fan.

In college football, more than any other sport in any level, history is THE biggest indicator of where you are and will be as a program. You cannot change that unless you can fix the culture that enables the historical losing and even worse, APATHY, that runs throughout the entire school and city towards UNT football.

NorthTexasWeLove · September 7, 2022

22 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

Tell me you’re a newer fan without telling me you’re a newer fan.

In college football, more than any other sport in any level, history is THE biggest indicator of where you are and will be as a program. You cannot change that unless you can fix the culture that enables the historical losing and even worse, APATHY, that runs throughout the entire school and city towards UNT football.

Only thing the guy was saying is 6 yards per attempt is dog shit regardless of who you're comparing it to. And, he's right, it is.

GMG_Dallas · September 7, 2022

22 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

Tell me you’re a newer fan without telling me you’re a newer fan.

In college football, more than any other sport in any level, history is THE biggest indicator of where you are and will be as a program. You cannot change that unless you can fix the culture that enables the historical losing and even worse, APATHY, that runs throughout the entire school and city towards UNT football.

You're misunderstanding my entire statement. You don't evaluate a quarterback based on where he stands in UNT's history. You've got to put him on the college football field as it stands. I'm not talking about UNT sports and the lack of support, I'm saying ranking Aune in our history of quarterbacks at UNT is irrelevant to the current field today and what we need to be successful today.