MUTS will defeat NT this season

[stebo]

I don't think anyone is saying we lay down and dog it, ipeagle, lets just focus on the 2'nd game of the season which only happens to be our SBC opener (on the road). The MUTS game has national ramifications for our program, like in another nationally televised bowl game appearance? It would be our 2'nd nationally televised game for the 2005 season if we get back to the Big Easy.

This funky SBC schedule was put together by the SBC office in their (not so subtle) attempt to dethrone NT from being this December's New Orelans Bowl host. Let's hope it simply backfires in their face.

Plumm,

I keep reading your posts about this conspiracy against NT going back to New Orleans. As WW has stated many, many times - the conference schools submit their OOC schedules - then they all sit around and work out a schedule taking into account who was the "home" team last year and when it will work out. Last year everyone complained because we didn't play Troy; please don't turn this year into some conspiracy about the Belt office trying to screw us. MTSU will be playing their second game of the season, too. We will both be beat up from big time BCS teams... and this is the only spot that would work for both of our teams so that they could be the home team. It is really that simple.

[H-towngreen]

Conspiracy or not. This year we have no bye weeks which will hurt us throughout the season and if we do go to N.O. we would have way to much time off before the game. And it is a little weird to have your 1st conference game as the 2nd game of the season.

[UNTSportsGuy]

I don't think anyone is saying we lay down and dog it, ipEagle,  lets just focus on the 2'nd game of the season which only happens to be our SBC opener (on the road).  The MUTS game has national ramifications for our program (not that the LSU game wouldn't), but the down the road ramifications for NT would be another nationally televised bowl game appearance at a time of year recruits really start getting serious about their future collegiate homes.   It would be our 2'nd nationally televised game for the 2005 season if we get back to the Big Easy. 

This funky SBC schedule was put together by the SBC office in their (not so subtle) attempt to dethrone NT from being this December's New Orelans Bowl host.  Let's hope it simply backfires in their face.

And Micheal Jordan retired the first time because Stern caught him gambling on games, and Ricky Williams was really suspended for a year for drugs by the NFL?

[stebo]

Conspiracy or not.  This year we have no bye weeks which will hurt us throughout the season and if we do go to N.O. we would have way to much time off before the game. And it is a little weird to have your 1st conference game as the 2nd game of the season.

The schedule has changed a lot since that first release. We now have a bye week (Nov 19). We also have a semi-bye week because we play a game on the 24th of Sept - wait 10 days to play Troy at home on Tuesday (ESPN game) - then we have off another 11 days until we play Florida International. I would say that the schedule has really come together. The MUTS game is in a bad place but other than that, this is the best schedule that I have seen for the Mean Green in a LONG time (maybe ever).

Here is the current (and final) release:

Sat, Sep 03 LSU at Baton Rouge, Louisiana 7 pm

Sat, Sep 10 Middle Tennessee at Murfreesboro, Tennessee 6 pm

Sat, Sep 17 Tulsa Denton, Texas 6 pm

Sat, Sep 24 Kansas State at Manhattan, Kansas 1:10 pm

Tue, Oct 04 Troy Denton, Texas 6:30 pm

Sat, Oct 15 Florida International at Miami, Florida 5 pm

Sat, Oct 22 Louisiana Tech at Ruston, Louisiana 3 pm

Sat, Oct 29 Louisiana-Monroe Denton, Texas 6 p.m.

Sat, Nov 05 Louisiana-Lafayette Denton, Texas 6 pm

Sat, Nov 12 Florida Atlantic at Boca Raton, Florida 3 pm

Sat, Nov 26 Arkansas State Denton, Texas 1 pm

Edited July 6, 2005 by stebo

[posiesnivy]

From the parents of an athlete of which we both played sports in High School, we've always instilled an attitude in our children that you always go out and play 110% and leave nothing on the field (or court). It makes no difference who the opponet is because there is always a way to beat them. You give it your best and should you come out on the short end, learn from it and go again. I believe most if not all the players have this attitude or else they would not playing college ball today.

I understand your concerns about wanting to keep down injuries, etc. so that we can enter Conference games healthy, but I have a hard time with the idea of playing safe to prepare for the next game. I'm competitive, my husband is competitive and so are our children. We play to win or else why play. Perhaps the players are looking forward to the challenge and I for one will not discourage them from going all out. The game is like a test to see how far they've come and a lesson in where they need to improve both as a team and individuals.

Even if they come up short on the scoreboard but have given it their all, they still come out winners. I personally don't like coming up short, but it happens. My gut feeling is, this team will do better than a lot of people give them credit for. As I've said before, they only need to believe in themselves because the talent is there.

I don't express opinions often, but this subject needed responding to. I always enjoy reading what everyone has to say and it keeps us in touch with the heartbeat of NT. This basically is the only forum of information we have about the university other than what we get in the mail which really doesn't tell us much.

[NCMeanGreen]

Lets not even play the LSU game... I'm going to mark an 'L' on the schedule right now.  Wish we had the same attitude Troy did last yr coming into big out of conference games.  Did anyone expect Troy to beat Mizzou?  Did anyone expect Troy to play LSU so damn close that they almost pulled out a win?

Did anyone expect Troy to finish second in the SB...losing not once, but twice to SB teams????

[H-towngreen]

Stebo thanks for pointing that out for me. Although our real bye week doesnt really help us out to much due to the fact that its so late in the season the time off between the games you pointed out should really help us.

[lightningstrikes]

Ah, the smell of overconfidence...of reliving glory days...of blissful ignorance...

SHATTERED on Sept 10th!

Go Blue!

It ain't too early for some smack talk, and Big Blue has a LOT to smile about this year! Hope y'all do beat LSU; it'll help our SOS after the whuppin' in the Boro you'll experience!

[mad dog]

What in the last four years gives you the impression that Middle Tennessee should walk away with a win?

Hmm?

[GrandGreen]

I have yet to figure out the logic of those that advocate less than total effort for any game. Do you really think that taking a beating like last year at Texas does your program any good? Good teams play every game to win. Some seem to forget that Troy should have beat LSU last year. NT's chance of victory at LSU is very small but I hope that NT doesn't have any athletes or staff that give up before the coin toss.

[DeepGreen]

I have yet to figure out the logic of those that advocate less than total effort for any game.  Do you really think that taking a beating like last year at Texas does your program any good?  Good teams play every game to win.  Some seem to forget that Troy should have beat LSU last year.  NT's chance of victory at LSU is very small but I hope that NT doesn't have any athletes or staff that give up before the coin toss.

Amen!

[GrayEagle]

Amen!

My sentiments exactly!

[meangreendork]

ITeagle, are you drunk? I love the team and I really think they're stellar people, but I don't think we have a good shot at LSU. They're rumored to be even better than their most recent national championship team. I do want the team to play with everything they've got, but in all honesty, I have to say that we'll still lose the LSU game.

And for the MUTS...

They've talked about beating us before, and it hasn't happened yet. We have a soft spot at QB and at the line, but I don't think they can hold off our rushing attack, both in the RB/FB form and in the QB form. They could win the game, but I still NT fans writing a big W in for that game.

[UNTFan23]

ITeagle, are you drunk?

You mean IPEagle, right? <_< My second moniker is ITEagle03.

[BIG DAWG]

I am a NT fan with everything I have, I couldn't be more of a fan than I am.

That being said, there isn't a chance we play with LSU. WE ARE WHAT WE ARE!

To think that if we have a really good game plan, and if we play hard enough, we should be able to hang with, or upset them is ridiculous.

We are not on the same grounds as far as athletes across the board. We do have our fair share of athletes, but not like they do.

I get so SICK of every year people getting pissed when we don't do well against the teams that end up in a BCS game. They schedule us for that reason, if they thought we had a chance of beating them, they would not schedule us.

Also, you CANNOT compare Troy's game with Missouri with a game versus LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, etc.! That to is absolutley ridiculous.

No, we are not going to go in there and lay it down, but do not think for one second that it is going to be close in the fourth quarter either.

I HOPE WITH ALL MY BEING THAT ONE DAY WE CAN THINK LIKE THAT, BUT THIS IS NOT THE TIME!

Lastly, DO NOT take MTSU lightly, this is going to be one hell of a tough game, and make no doubt about it IS A GAME THAT WE COULD VERY WELL COME UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF.

With that being said KILL MTSU, MAY THEY ROT IN THE HOT CINDERS OF HELL!

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

I am a NT fan with everything I have, I couldn't be more of a fan than I am.

That being said, there isn't a chance we play with LSU.  WE ARE WHAT WE ARE! 

To think that if we have a really good game plan, and if we play hard enough, we should be able to hang with, or upset them is ridiculous.

We are not on the same grounds as far as athletes across the board.  We do have our fair share of athletes, but not like they do. 

I get so SICK of every year people getting pissed when we don't do well against the teams that end up in a BCS game.  They schedule us for that reason, if they thought we had a chance of beating them, they would not schedule us.

Also, you CANNOT compare Troy's game with Missouri with a game versus LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, etc.!  That to is absolutley ridiculous.

No, we are not going to go in there and lay it down, but do not think for one second that it is going to be close in the fourth quarter either.

I HOPE WITH ALL MY BEING THAT ONE DAY WE CAN THINK LIKE THAT, BUT THIS IS NOT THE TIME!

Lastly, DO NOT take MTSU lightly, this is going to be one hell of a tough game, and make no doubt about it IS A GAME THAT WE COULD VERY WELL COME UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF.

With that being said KILL MTSU, MAY THEY ROT IN THE HOT CINDERS OF HELL!

-----I do not expect North Texas to defeat LSU BUT---- I am not throwing in the towel either.... strange things happen. I have personally watched a team with 2 first downs and about 20 yards defeat a team with about 20 first downs and over 250 yards. (it happened as a result of a punt return and multiple turnovers)

---The Houston Texans had only 40 yards when they defeated the Steelers two years ago. The nuttiest was a Cowboy loss (52-10) in 1970 and they had set a then record for offensive yards ( over 500 yards and probably a record on turnovers too) and later that year made the Super Bowl. They had the ball all day and would throw an int, watch them score and go back on offense again and mess up again..

---Will we win, rather unlikely.... can we win.... if we get lucky and and they play poorly. Troy alsmost defeated them didn't they.

---This team is a real question-mark. There are a lot of spots to fill even if we do have excellent running backs. WE could do very well or fall apart and do poorly.

---I can't believe some here just think it is IMPOSSIBLE to win..... unlikely but not impossible. Every year good teams lose to teams that are given no chance.

Edited July 7, 2005 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[ipEAGLE]

The point is we will probably lose to LSU.... but if we don't come into that game well prepared, and with a "play to win attitude" something is wrong with our football team period. If we show up with that attitude expect us to win 2 or 3 games this season. I am sure the players will step out on that field and EXPECT to win.

What some of you guys are saying this could possibly be a better option: lets not even put in the first team.... they MIGHT get hurt. Players MIGHT get hurt if they played a middle school team. ITS FOOTBALL!

Edited July 7, 2005 by ipEAGLE

[PlummMeanGreen]

Plumm,

I keep reading your posts about this conspiracy against NT going back to New Orleans. As WW has stated many, many times - the conference schools submit their OOC schedules - then they all sit around and work out a schedule taking into account who was the "home" team last year and when it will work out. Last year everyone complained because we didn't play Troy; please don't turn this year into some conspiracy about the Belt office trying to screw us. MTSU will be playing their second game of the season, too. We will both be beat up from big time BCS teams... and this is the only spot that would work for both of our teams so that they could be the home team. It is really that simple.

It has been suggested to me that because NT keeps accomodating other SBC schools OOC schedules as to allow them to play higher profile schools (such as how we accomodated ASU vs Army) that this is a big reason this years' NT football schedule has turned out to be the most out of sync NT football schedule I can ever remember. I have no idea if NT playing the Good Samaritan role of accomodating our league mates schedules is the reason or not. Who knows, maybe one of the SBC'er has done the same for us in the past.

PLAY THAT FUNKY SCHEDULE.......For example, Tuesday night games in Denton have the potential to be a freakin' turnstiles disaster AND a "Saturday after Thanksgiving" football game scheduled in Denton, Texas, America?!?!? Come on now, some of us who have been around the Mean Green scene a few decades can tell you just what might happen on that Saturday after Thanksgiving and it ain't pretty, folks. Heck, our students are still at home eating left-over turkey and dressing!

Stebo, there are even coaches who will tell you that the way a schedule is concocted can be a distinct advantage or disadvantage. How about playing a schedule where a Sun Belt team has 3 tough SBC schools on the road? Is that a good schedule or a bad schedule? Anyone also remember when we had to go to the 'Boro 2 years in a row? Maybe not the conspiracy theory at work here, but certainly an unusual way for a league to schedule its league member's football schedules. (Look at ULM, even they have to come back to Denton for a 2'nd year in a row which I'm sure doesn't exactly thrill their coach who dissed the great Super Jamario Thomas for signing with NT and to an extent harped about how lucky our football team had been in the SBC saying: "they are not that good?"

For others, I proudly played Texas HS football (as some of you did), I lettered all 3 years, was tri-captain my senior year and even made all-district safety that year (not so bad for a slow white kid, eh:); but none of my very mild success playing Texas HS football is not my point in all this, but what I am saying is that I know a little about gridiron competition and the desire to win football games. What I am also saying is that this is not a "never played the game" novice talking about football here. Yeah, like some of you, I also used to wake up on those Saturday mornings after those Friday Night Lights had been turned off many hours before and woke up with all those bruises, dislocated fingers put back in place, strained knee ligaments, cuts, nics and the things you get playing a football game all the way from Pop Warner football to the NFL..............

...........So I repeat: No where has this NT alum posted that we lay down or "dog it" at LSU and "not" try to win this game. I am just suggesting that we not lay it all down emotionally in Baton Rouge; I am saying we play a whole bunch of our football players as to get them some experience since we are a young Mean Green football team this Fall. I say play a bunch of them as to also keep the team fresh while we still try to win that football game in Baton Rouge and even do all that no matter how much LSU spends in their athletic budget.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN......anyone else notice that many of the non BCS schools who have had the wins against Big Boy U such as La Tech did in different seasons recently when they beat OSU and Michigan State but still went on the rest of those seasons and maybe won 3 or 4 more games the rest of the year AND not even winning their own conference?

How about Troy U last year? We all saw (and were proud of them) for their most impressive ESPN televised win over Missouri but then they lose twice in the Sun Belt? We all want to beat Big Boy U but not at the expense of leaving all the emotions of such a win on the field and then being flat as a pancake against an SBC school do we? Not at the expense the week after the LSU game of playing MT in a game that has more long term ramifiations whose results could possibly mean NT having a 2'nd nationally televised game this Fall "live" from the NEW ORELANS BOWL? So it seems wins over the Big Boy U's of the NCAA world seems to have not been the panacea for La Tech or Troy U's conference match-ups later in the season they had such wins.

OH BOY, MORE OLD-TIMER TALK (yuk): Those of us who were around when the Mean Green beat Tennessee will never forget the feeling it gave all of us in the entire NT community with front page coverage of this win even in a Dallas newspaper, but I still don't recall NT getting any significant MG Club donations because of that win and our athletic facilities did not change one iota after that big win over the Vols of Tennessee. In fact, our football facilities stayed the same for almost 25 years after that big win in Knoxville. You wanna' beat Texas and then not win the Sun Belt? Troy U beat Missouri and did not win the Sun Belt.

This is an opinion board and everyone has those on every subject from shades of green to brandings to even the way the 2 letters "N T" should be placed on a baseball cap, but what I am saying concerning the subject of playing and beating a Big Boy U is that lets not make it more than it really is and I still defer back to our win over the University of Tennessee. That NT team did not go to a bowl game I should also point out. Should have but it didn't.

PLEASE NOTE THIS: 2 weeks after our (then) biggest win in NT history and that because we had a bye the week after our win in Knoxville, we played Cal Poly- Pomona (WHO?) at Fouts Field before an "almost" sold out Fouts Field and gee-willakers, folks, we almost fooled around and got beat in that game from a school none of us had ever heard about before or since.

Final score of the 1975 NT vs Cal Poly-Pomona (2 weeks after the UT Vols win):

NT..................................27

Cal Poly-Pomona...........17

It was even closer than that rather close score indicates, too We should have clobbered Cal Poly-Pomona, folks.

Edited July 7, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[stebo]

I read all that... and last year's schedule was actually in our FAVOR. 3 other Belt schools played FAU and counted them as a DESIGNATED CONFERENCE GAME... yet we played them and they were OOC. We didn't have to play Troy. As for us changing the date for the ASU game this year, it actually just pushed our game with them back one week and gave us a bye week in mid November whereas we did not have one before. Your theories all have merit but if you look at each individual item... there is a valid reason for everything.

[PlummMeanGreen]

I read all that... and last year's schedule was actually in our FAVOR.  3 other Belt schools played FAU and counted them as a DESIGNATED CONFERENCE GAME... yet we played them and they were OOC.  We didn't have to play Troy.  As for us changing the date for the ASU game this year, it actually just pushed our game with them back one week and gave us a bye week in mid November whereas we did not have one before.  Your theories all have merit but if you look at each individual item... there is a valid reason for everything.

The main reason I say our schedule is out of sync, stebo, is that for a school that is trying to build its fan base and increase its attendance averages, Tuesday night games and "Saturday after Thanksgiving" games sorta' makes it difficult. Maybe there wasn't anything we could have done to prevent that.

We are all estatic that ESPN will televise a national game from Denton with our Troy U game, but we would be kidding ourselves if we thought most of our "2 or more hours away from campus" alums and fans who drive up for most Saturday Game Days will be at that Tuesday night game. I hope NT has some pretty creative marketing for that Tuesday night game in Denton because..............we'll need it. (We just don't won't to have televised crowd shots such as we saw at the Fort Worth Bowl at TCU's Amon Carter Stadium).

Edited July 7, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[NCMeanGreen]

It has been suggested to me that because NT keeps accomodating other SBC schools OOC schedules as to allow them to play higher profile schools (such as how we accomodated ASU vs Army) that this is a big reason this years' NT football schedule has turned out to be the most out of sync NT football schedule I can ever remember. I have no idea if NT playing the Good Samaritan role of accomodating our league mates schedules is the reason or not. Who knows, maybe one of the SBC'er has done the same for us in the past.

PLAY THAT FUNKY SCHEDULE.......For example, Tuesday night games in Denton have the potential to be a freakin' turnstiles disaster AND a "Saturday after Thanksgiving" football game scheduled in Denton, Texas, America?!?!? Come on now, some of us who have been around the Mean Green scene a few decades can tell you just what might happen on that Saturday after Thanksgiving and it ain't pretty, folks. Heck, our students are still at home eating left-over turkey and dressing!

Stebo, there are even coaches who will tell you that the way a schedule is concocted can be a distinct advantage or disadvantage. How about playing a schedule where a Sun Belt team has 3 tough SBC schools on the road? Is that a good schedule or a bad schedule? Anyone also remember when we had to go to the 'Boro 2 years in a row? Maybe not the conspiracy theory at work here, but certainly an unusual way for a league to schedule its league member's football schedules. (Look at ULM, even they have to come back to Denton for a 2'nd year in a row which I'm sure doesn't exactly thrill their coach who dissed the great Super Jamario Thomas for signing with NT and to an extent harped about how lucky our football team had been in the SBC saying: "they are not that good?"

For others, I proudly played Texas HS football (as some of you did), I lettered all 3 years, was tri-captain my senior year and even made all-district safety that year (not so bad for a slow white kid, eh:); but none of my very mild success playing Texas HS football is not my point in all this, but what I am saying is that I know a little about gridiron competition and the desire to win football games. What I am also saying is that this is not a "never played the game" novice talking about football here. Yeah, like some of you, I also used to wake up on those Saturday mornings after those Friday Night Lights had been turned off many hours before and woke up with all those bruises, dislocated fingers put back in place, strained knee ligaments, cuts, nics and the things you get playing a football game all the way from Pop Warner football to the NFL..............

...........So I repeat: No where has this NT alum posted that we lay down or "dog it" at LSU and "not" try to win this game. I am just suggesting that we not lay it all down emotionally in Baton Rouge; I am saying we play a whole bunch of our football players as to get them some experience since we are a young Mean Green football team this Fall. I say play a bunch of them as to also keep the team fresh while we still try to win that football game in Baton Rouge and even do all that no matter how much LSU spends in their athletic budget.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN......anyone else notice that many of the non BCS schools who have had the wins against Big Boy U such as La Tech did in different seasons recently when they beat OSU and Michigan State but still went on the rest of those seasons and maybe won 3 or 4 more games the rest of the year AND not even winning their own conference?

How about Troy U last year? We all saw (and were proud of them) for their most impressive ESPN televised win over Missouri but then they lose twice in the Sun Belt? We all want to beat Big Boy U but not at the expense of leaving all the emotions of such a win on the field and then being flat as a pancake against an SBC school do we? Not at the expense the week after the LSU game of playing MT in a game that has more long term ramifiations whose results could possibly mean NT having a 2'nd nationally televised game this Fall "live" from the NEW ORELANS BOWL? So it seems wins over the Big Boy U's of the NCAA world seems to have not been the panacea for La Tech or Troy U's conference match-ups later in the season they had such wins.

OH BOY, MORE OLD-TIMER TALK (yuk): Those of us who were around when the Mean Green beat Tennessee will never forget the feeling it gave all of us in the entire NT community with front page coverage of this win even in a Dallas newspaper, but I still don't recall NT getting any significant MG Club donations because of that win and our athletic facilities did not change one iota after that big win over the Vols of Tennessee. In fact, our football facilities stayed the same for almost 25 years after that big win in Knoxville. You wanna' beat Texas and then not win the Sun Belt? Troy U beat Missouri and did not win the Sun Belt.

This is an opinion board and everyone has those on every subject from shades of green to brandings to even the way the 2 letters "N T" should be placed on a baseball cap, but what I am saying concerning the subject of playing and beating a Big Boy U is that lets not make it more than it really is and I still defer back to our win over the University of Tennessee. That NT team did not go to a bowl game I should also point out. Should have but it didn't.

PLEASE NOTE THIS: 2 weeks after our (then) biggest win in NT history and that because we had a bye the week after our win in Knoxville, we played Cal Poly- Pomona (WHO?) at Fouts Field before an "almost" sold out Fouts Field and gee-willakers, folks, we almost fooled around and got beat in that game from a school none of us had ever heard about before or since.

Final score of the 1975 NT vs Cal Poly-Pomona (2 weeks after the UT Vols win):

NT..................................27

Cal Poly-Pomona...........17

It was even closer than that rather close score indicates, too We should have clobbered Cal Poly-Pomona, folks.

OK Plumm...you win. This is the LONGEST post I have ever seen on this Board!

Do we have an award for Longest Post? We should...and this one would win, for sure!!!

[pollock]

I officially give DD permission to completely ignore the LSU game - treat it as a scrimmage and act like that team is the Raiders.  We don't have time to prepare for both, so we start off Fall preparing for MTSU - play our canned hunt game in Baton Rouge for the check and stay healthy - so that we can watch their film against Bama and beat them down like little bitches.

Permission, shmermission. That's what Dickey is going to do because he is Darrell Dickey.

HOWEVER, if we don't go out there and at least TRY to punch LSU in the mouth, we don't deserve to win any OOC games.

I fully expect a blowout loss to LSU. Hell, I'd consider 35-7 a moral victory. But it better not be like UT last year. That was pathetic.

[BIG DAWG]

That is what happens when you play a Rose Bowl Champion in their house, for the first game of the season.

Then you add in the fact half our team seemed as if they were first time starters.

No fault on the staff, players, etc. I don't care what crazy ideas anyone else has on how it should have been netter than that. It would have been the same had we played Michigan, USC, Auburn, or any of the other schools that went to a BCS game.

[eeally]

Well that's not good considering LSU is a potential BCS champ. We will show up for LSU and it won't be as bad as UT. We will be prepared.

[pollock]

That is what happens when you play a Rose Bowl Champion in their house, for the first game of the season.

Then you add in the fact half our team seemed as if they were first time starters.

No fault on the staff, players, etc.  I don't care what crazy ideas anyone else has on how it should have been netter than that.  It would have been the same had we played Michigan, USC, Auburn, or any of the other schools that went to a BCS game.

Well, yeah, then that doesn't bode well for this year.

I went into the UT game last year with the previous three season openers in mind...

OU 35 NT 3

UT 27 NT 0

OU 31 NT 10 (I think..)

Those were pretty qualified teams as well. Not sure what broke loose last year to make it 65-0. Maybe you can blame it on the team being in mourning? I just don't want to see it happen again.