Wyoming Game Critical

BigWillie · September 20

3 hours ago, Matt from A700 said:

If you don't count the fact that our defense has been embarrassing the entire Morris tenure, there haven't been too many "humiliating" losses... the Cal tragedy was followed up with the FIU disaster last year, but at least the FIU game nobody was in the stands and the game was on ESPN+. The 2nd half of the SMU game last year resulted in a humbling blowout, but Morris and Co. did follow it up with two wins to end the season.

I assure you no one affiliated with UNT was happy about last Saturday and I believe everyone wants to erase that from their memories, so I think we will come to play. I would really like to see a good bounceback from C. Morris to make me feel better about the rest of the season.

It's always glass half full though. The half empty part is this....combined with the fire they will have from last week and a bad Wyoming team, I can hear yells from Craponi that they have "figured it out".

Edited September 20 by BigWillie

Zeleny' Orel · September 21

5 hours ago, Matt from A700 said:

If you don't count the fact that our defense has been embarrassing the entire Morris tenure, there haven't been too many "humiliating" losses... the Cal tragedy was followed up with the FIU disaster last year, but at least the FIU game nobody was in the stands and the game was on ESPN+. The 2nd half of the SMU game last year resulted in a humbling blowout, but Morris and Co. did follow it up with two wins to end the season.

I assure you no one affiliated with UNT was happy about last Saturday and I believe everyone wants to erase that from their memories, so I think we will come to play. I would really like to see a good bounceback from C. Morris to make me feel better about the rest of the season.

Amen, Brother!

Zeleny' Orel · September 22

On 9/16/2024 at 1:56 PM, Zeleny' Orel said:

It is my opinion that Saturday's game against Wyoming has become extremely critical to not only this season, but the immediate future for UNT football. This is how I see it:

1. Is the coaching staff capable of motivating players after such a humiliating loss? Can they come up with a game plan that will work against Wyoming? YES

2. Do we have players who possess the character to give their best effort every game and especially after such a big loss? YES

3. Will our fans show up to support the team after such a disastrous game against Texas Tech or will the attendance be minimal with only die hard fans attending? GOOD ATTENDANCE

4. Will the Athletic Department continue emphasizing attendance in unique ways even if we lose the game? TO BE DETERMINED

I think we are at a crossroads. Another loss against a "name" school, especially at home, would spiral us downward in many areas despite a having a 2-2 record. The team would lose confidence in the coaches, recruiting and transfer portal prospects would look at us more negatively, fan support would diminish again, and the athletic department would have an even more difficult time selling our football program to prospective fans and donors. Also future conference opportunities would be damaged. There is a lot riding on this game.

We MUST win on Saturday! GMG

Revisiting these points after win over Wyoming, increasing our record to 3-1. Let's keep the momentum going with a win against Tulsa...our first conference game! The AD needs to keep up the emphasis on attendance with another round of unique ideas.

GMG!

meaniegreenie · September 22

On 9/16/2024 at 2:07 PM, El Paso Eagle said:

Not to dampen the enthusiasm, but if it's possible, this team (Wyoming) is probably worse on offense than we are on defense.

Through 3 games
Points per game - 11.3
Passing yards per game - 115
Rushing yards per game - 87

So please, if we do not hold them to less than 225 yards and 14 points, don't start with the "oh, the defense is stepping up" or "wow, Morris and Caponi might be turning it around".

Well, they got 244yds, but 38 of those came on a late 3rd/early 4th qtr 53 yd drive that started at their 13 when we were up 41-17 (15 of the yards were due to a face mask penalty). We ended the drive by stopping them on a 4th and 3. They exceeded their passing avg. with 175yds but we held them to 69 on the ground.

Given that and holding them to 10 pts, I think the D met your requirements. More importantly, it appears that Caponi may have actually adjusted his approach. That may be the biggest positive of the night.

A few times, we were helped by them shooting themselves in the foot (dropped passes, etc.), but some of that is just football.