Really missed not being in the bowl

meangreen11 · December 21, 2005

I was happy for ASU but it really hurt not being in the bowl tonight darnit. We could have beat this version of USM with any of our last 3 teams. 2005 was a dark year that I hope won't be repeated.

Monkeypox · December 21, 2005

We could have beat this version of USM with any of our last 3 teams.
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No we couldn't have.

Rudy · December 21, 2005

Agreed, no we wouldnt. Remember, its an OOC game. dd doesnt coach to win those.

untbowler · December 21, 2005

We could have beat this version of USM with any of our last 3 teams.
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We probably would have given up 30 poins by the half and then make no changes so it would have been a repeat of last year and 2001.

None of our teams would have beaten USM or ASU.

And that is the sad, sad truth.

meangreen11 · December 21, 2005

We probably would have given up 30 poins by the half and then make no changes so it would have been a repeat of last year and 2001.
None of our teams would have beaten USM or ASU.
And that is the sad, sad truth.
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You guys are crazy. Our 2003 team with andrew and booger would have killed the 2005 usm team. You guys are so jaded.

untbowler · December 21, 2005

You guys are crazy. Our 2003 team with andrew and booger would have killed the 2005 usm team. You guys are so jaded.
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In 2003 we lost to Memphis with Scott at QB, are you thinking of 2002??

In 2002 we nearly lost the game when Smith threw a pick that got taken back for a TD, only to be overturned due to a block in the back 15 yards behind the play, sounds familar, so we barely won that game.

We never make adjustments and that is how ASU hung so close, but we would not have beaten USM this year or last year they are to fast and big.

Eagle1855 · December 21, 2005

We never make adjustments and that is how ASU hung so close, but we would not have beaten USM this year or last year they are to fast and big.
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ASU isnt any faster than us. This USM team wasnt as good as last years. I think our previous teams would have played as good or better than this ASU team. ASU barely beat our worst team in 5 years, come on guys

TIgreen01 · December 21, 2005

I gotta give ASU major props for their performance in the NO Bowl. Had they not lost A. Warren so early in the game this might have been a Sun Belt win (he did manage to come back, but fumbled shortly there after and that turnover ended up helping USM to the final score). I really think SMiss wins CUSA this year had Katrina not decimated their town right before the start of the season.

They (SMiss) looked JUST AS BIG this year as they did last year.

So, I see TWO possible explanations for last nights close game for ASU against a supposed far more talented team.

1. Coaching. ASU appeared to have a good gameplan to attack USM. Last year (and pretty much every year) we did not.

2. USM wasn't as good as everyone thought. Hard to say on this...they only ended up 7-5, but you have to think that the hurricane really weighed heavily on this team. That said, they made a lot of early mistakes in this particular game.

Either way, I have to wonder if the perceived talent gap between the Sun Belt and all other mid-major conferences is really that large. I think that our (North Texas) performances in this game for the last 4 years really helped spread that notion further than it probably deserved. ASU had some players on the field that looked every bit as good as those on USM....I couldn't really say that last year when we played them. I think alot of that goes back on the coaching staff for the awful schemes we seem to use against every OOC opponent that we play....or is it that our players really aren't as talented as everyone else's and our schemes help us compete against (and beat) Sun Belt competition--but can't compensate against anyone outside the conference???...or do we just flat out suck at gameplanning OOC games?? I tend to believe that our coaching makes our talent look worse than it is...thoughts?

Ok...sorry for the scatterbrained comments, but this game is exactly what I had hoped for from the Sun Belt (well, I would rather have had a win). ASU didn't look like they shouldn't be on the field with USM--the way we did last year. I remember sitting in the Superdome last year (watching us get owned) thinking, "Man, it is time for someone else to win conference b/c we are not doing the conference justice in these games"....which is an awful thought to have--but can anyone seriously argue that?

UNTLifer · December 21, 2005

We probably would have given up 30 poins by the half and then make no changes so it would have been a repeat of last year and 2001.
None of our teams would have beaten USM or ASU.
And that is the sad, sad truth.
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Don't let one season ruin your opinion of NT's last few years. This USM team was not near as good as last years. They lacked playmakers on defense, and Almond has not had a good season.

H-towngreen · December 21, 2005

USM played bad, really, really, bad. You could see a point in the 3rd quarter with about 8 min. to go where they finally started to put it together. ASU should have been down 14-0 after the 1st.

I was impressed with Noce as he kept ASU in the game with his scrambling ability.

UNTLifer · December 21, 2005

I just got tired of the announcers not giving ASU any credit. I know USM was heavily favored, but they acted like it would be the upset of the century if ASU won.