EM thanks the UNT fans

[Tommy Gadberry]

 

Edited Saturday at 01:54 PM by Tommy Gadberry

[3_n_out]

I preferred the win instead of coming up short. We had plenty of those already. 

[cousin oliver]

While I appreciate the sentiment a win against a team from a lessor conference would have been preferred.  We were the only AAC team to lose a bowl or one of not many it seems.  That is not something to be especially proud of.

[DeepGreen]

"Came up a little short....."

That's what she said.

[rcade]

53 minutes ago, cousin oliver said:

We were the only AAC team to lose a bowl or one of not many it seems.

The American won six bowls and lost two -- us and Tulane (against Florida).

Edited Saturday at 04:01 PM by rcade

[ADLER]

American Athletic Conference (8 teams)

Record: 6-2

• No. 25 Memphis 42, West Virginia 37 (Frisco Bowl)
• Florida 33, Tulane 8 (Gasparilla Bowl) 
• UTSA 44, Coastal Carolina 15
• South Florida 41, San Jose State 39 (5OT) (Hawai'i Bowl) 
• Navy 21, Oklahoma 20 (Armed Forces Bowl)
• East Carolina 26, NC State 21 (Military Bowl)
• No. 22 Army 27, Louisiana Tech 6 (Independence Bowl)
• Texas State 30, North Texas 28 (First Responder Bowl) 

[MeanGreenTexan]

18 minutes ago, rcade said:

The American won six bowls and lost two -- us and Tulane against Florida.

This is not a flex, or a valid excuse.

Who honestly thought Tulane was gonna beat a FL team that found their mojo late in the year & beat 2 ranked teams & their bitter in-state rivals in their last 3 games?

Meanwhile, we’re stuck in neutral, losing to a SBC team.  Nowhere better than we were on Jan 1, 2022 (admittedly, part of that is due to what pay-for-play & unlimited transfers has contributed).

[GMG_Dallas]

40 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

This is not a flex, or a valid excuse.

Who honestly thought Tulane was gonna beat a FL team that found their mojo late in the year & beat 2 ranked teams & their bitter in-state rivals in their last 3 games?

Meanwhile, we’re stuck in neutral, losing to a SBC team.  Nowhere better than we were on Jan 1, 2022 (admittedly, part of that is due to what pay-for-play & unlimited transfers has contributed).

Tulane and UNT were the only AAC schools to lose their starting QBs for the bowl. That's the difference. Mestemaker played a great game. I think a *healthy* Chandler Morris wins the game. That's just me. Mestemaker made great plays for sure but there were also several deep misses early on. Before the Coleman TD, he was 3/8. He found his groove then sputtered some then picked things up again. I hope he stays and I'd love to watch him start next season.

On the flip side, we played a 25 year old QB who started all year for Texas State (edit). There's no substitute for experience and continuity.

I don't think this loss indicates in any way we're stuck in neutral. I think it shows how well this staff identifies and develops offensive talent. To compete in your bowl, you either need a senior QB, a loyal QB, or to get very lucky like we did with Mestemaker. 

Edited Saturday at 04:55 PM by GMG_Dallas

[MCMLXXX]

4 hours ago, GMG_Dallas said:

I don't think this loss indicates in any way we're stuck in neutral. I think it shows how well this staff identifies and develops offensive talent. To compete in your bowl, you either need a senior QB, a loyal QB, or to get very lucky like we did with Mestemaker. 

I agree. The key to success next year will be substantial defensive improvement.

Edited Saturday at 08:59 PM by MCMLXXX

[cousin oliver]

9 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

Tulane and UNT were the only AAC schools to lose their starting QBs for the bowl. That's the difference. Mestemaker played a great game. I think a *healthy* Chandler Morris wins the game. That's just me. Mestemaker made great plays for sure but there were also several deep misses early on. Before the Coleman TD, he was 3/8. He found his groove then sputtered some then picked things up again. I hope he stays and I'd love to watch him start next season.

On the flip side, we played a 25 year old QB who started all year for Texas State (edit). There's no substitute for experience and continuity.

I don't think this loss indicates in any way we're stuck in neutral. I think it shows how well this staff identifies and develops offensive talent. To compete in your bowl, you either need a senior QB, a loyal QB, or to get very lucky like we did with Mestemaker. 

We also lost our best WR and he would have made a big difference.

[MeanGreenTexan]

6 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

Tulane and UNT were the only AAC schools to lose their starting QBs for the bowl. That's the difference. Mestemaker played a great game. I think a *healthy* Chandler Morris wins the game. That's just me. Mestemaker made great plays for sure but there were also several deep misses early on. Before the Coleman TD, he was 3/8. He found his groove then sputtered some then picked things up again. I hope he stays and I'd love to watch him start next season.

On the flip side, we played a 25 year old QB who started all year for Texas State (edit). There's no substitute for experience and continuity.

I don't think this loss indicates in any way we're stuck in neutral. I think it shows how well this staff identifies and develops offensive talent. To compete in your bowl, you either need a senior QB, a loyal QB, or to get very lucky like we did with Mestemaker. 

So much myopia around here….  Like TXSt didn’t lose a bunch of dudes to the portal as well.

And ever since Chandler entered the portal, all I’ve read about him is that he’s declined since the Tulane game & is broken now.

We’re all fans here.  Some of us would just like to see more & don’t care about excuses.

[GMG_Dallas]

6 minutes ago, MCMLXXX said:

I agree. The key to success nest year will be substantial defensive improvement.

We'll see... Texas State's offense put up 32 on Sam Houston and coughed up the ball once versus the 2 turnovers against us. I like what I saw in their bowl but I'm not sold on how that will translate against better competition.

[GMG_Dallas]

2 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

So much myopia around here….  Like TXSt didn’t lose a bunch of dudes to the portal as well.

And ever since Chandler entered the portal, all I’ve read about him is that he’s declined since the Tulane game & is broken now.

We’re all fans here.  Some of us would just like to see more & don’t care about excuses.

I think they lost 2 or 3 starters on offense but not their QB. That's a huge position to fill in 1 month especially when the backup has no experience. Losing a RB and QB are not the same.

I haven't been one to talk about his decline since Tulane. I think that's just fans coping with his departure anyways. Our competition got better. That's my observation. I also did say a healthy Morris wins. Given a month to rest, I think he'd have done well enough overall to win. Then again, the offense regularly sputtered during the season as well.

My biggest gripe as the season has progressed is special teams and 4th quarter decision making. Just never feels like our special teams are a weapon these days and we take too much unnecessary risk on 4th down. Hopefully that stuff is figured out by next season.

[rcade]

2 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

This is not a flex, or a valid excuse.

It's neither a flex nor an excuse. It's just a fact. The American went 6-2, which is pretty good but 7-1 would've been better. The ACC went 2-11! I'm glad SMU left so we don't have to count their bowl loss in our total.

Edited Saturday at 06:49 PM by rcade

[Side.Show.Joe]

I did not expect to win this game, so I wasn't exactly surprised when we lost. It sucks to see us continue to lose the same exact way we have lost most games under Morris the past two seasons (zero red zone power running and dumb spread plays in the red zone, resulted in two turnovers and at least 6 points & horrible defense in the final minutes of the game)..... but, I also did not foresee us losing 5 of our last 6 games and failing into this POS smu bowl against Texas State either. Just disappointment all around. Maybe Morris will have enough on the job training by the time next season starts. If not, hopefully the next head coach will understand the importance of all aspects of the game. Mosley needs to get his head in the game too, because at some point his going to have to answer for this mess.

[TripleGrad]

Well, we can just add this to the immense collection that we already have.  That trophy case must be *huge*

 

 

[NT93]

Just because the “we’re gonna get our asses kicked by TxSt.” crowd was wrong doesn’t make it a moral victory.  

[UNTLifer]

3 hours ago, Side.Show.Joe said:

Mosley needs to get his head in the game too, because at some point his going to have to answer for this mess.

To who?  The fans?  We carry zero sway. 

[BigWillie]

3 hours ago, TripleGrad said:

Well, we can just add this to the immense collection that we already have.  That trophy case must be *huge*

 

 

I need to use this pic more.

[BigWillie]

58 minutes ago, NT93 said:

Just because the “we’re gonna get our asses kicked by TxSt.” crowd was wrong doesn’t make it a moral victory.  

When you try and talk about how "we are getting better" and look at small things that don't move the needle expecting to be a better team without actually winning games, that's pretty standard moral victory. I hear a TON of it on here.

[Big Z]

4 hours ago, TripleGrad said:

Well, we can just add this to the immense collection that we already have.  That trophy case must be *huge*

 

 

💯 

 

[NT93]

12 minutes ago, BigWillie said:

When you try and talk about how "we are getting better" and look at small things that don't move the needle expecting to be a better team without actually winning games, that's pretty standard moral victory. I hear a TON of it on here.

But I don’t see anyone saying that except to counter the “we’re no better than we were with SL” talk.  
Saying we’re in a better conference doesn’t mean I’m happy with where we’re at, it just means  I understand that 6 wins doesn’t always mean the same thing.  I think this years team would beat the ‘22 team, so to me, we’re better.  Again, doesn’t mean I’m satisfied.
 

Look at high school realignment.  I’ll use a made up example because I don’t feel like looking for a true one right now.  Let’s say Dallas Skyline has been aligned with other DISD schools for several years and have made the playoffs each year, even winning district three times.  At realignment, they are placed with Duncanville, Desoto, Cedar Hill, Waxahachie, Lancaster, Mesquite, and West Mesquite and finish in 6th place.  Are they a worse team?  No, but that’s what average Joe thinks because he doesn’t know any better and just looks at the record and complains that the coach needs to be fired.

[Rudy]

If EM REALLY wants to thak the fans, stop make so many boneheaded in game decisions. 

[BigWillie]

2 hours ago, NT93 said:

But I don’t see anyone saying that except to counter the “we’re no better than we were with SL” talk.  
Saying we’re in a better conference doesn’t mean I’m happy with where we’re at, it just means  I understand that 6 wins doesn’t always mean the same thing.  I think this years team would beat the ‘22 team, so to me, we’re better.  Again, doesn’t mean I’m satisfied.
 

Look at high school realignment.  I’ll use a made up example because I don’t feel like looking for a true one right now.  Let’s say Dallas Skyline has been aligned with other DISD schools for several years and have made the playoffs each year, even winning district three times.  At realignment, they are placed with Duncanville, Desoto, Cedar Hill, Waxahachie, Lancaster, Mesquite, and West Mesquite and finish in 6th place.  Are they a worse team?  No, but that’s what average Joe thinks because he doesn’t know any better and just looks at the record and complains that the coach needs to be fired.

There have been several on here talking about it, like you, I don't feel like searching and pasting.

I do agree that 6 wins in a better conference is not the same as 6 wins in a lower conference. I think the major complaint is that we have now had 2 years with similar results as the lower conference and I think the frustration is that we are just maintaining without a true drive to be the best of the conference.

I get it's hard, and I don't have an answer as much as the other armchair QB.