Observations from Austin

September 5, 2006

Well it takes me a while to get back to Memphis, as I had to stop over in Dallas, but though late I still feel compelled to write down a few of my remembrances.

I had a great time in Austin, notwithstanding the fact that our team got the devil beat out of them. Still I appreciate the fact that our players went down there and laid it on the line with the nation's elite. Hopefully our administration will build a program and stimulate support such that in future years we could expect a better result. Going to one of these games is an overwhelming experience.

I sat in the upper deck with my good friends who are 'diehard' UT fans, but most of whom have never attended a single class at UT. This even after the 2004 game from which I was ejected (but returned only to be chased again - unsuccessfully -at the end by the sometimes vigilant UT police. Thank heaven for those escalators!). After that, I had vowed to sit down with the NT group, however I changed my mind because I just too much enjoy sitting up there and giving a counterpoint. Probably due to the earlier start time, I found the other UT fans to be in better spirits about it this time. Captain Morgan just does not get up very early. Still they grumbled some when I called them a bunch of greedy pirates. (That is a long story.)

The NT dancers looked great. At this time, they are THE best ambassadors for our school. And it's no misrepresentation: my personal recollection is that NT has more good-looking girls per capita than any other school - or other place for that matter.

Obviously this team hung in there better than 2004, though there were tragic circumstances then. (RIP Andrew Smith)

Offense needs to move the ball so not so difficult for the defense.

Punting, and blocking for the punter - excellent and probably kept it under a hundred. Need a lot of work on coverage though. (Keep them in front of you!)

I thought it was interesting that the American-Statesman mentioned Muzzy on Sunday, because the UT fans around me were rather taken with Muzzy. They were then genuinely concerned about him, and it was like the paper was in touch with that.

Quarterbacks need to learn to throw the ball out of bounds when the time is right.

What can we most learn from UT? Great blocking.

I saw a lot of missed tackles that I thought should have been made. Now granted if I tried to tackle any UT football player, I would for weeks either be hospitalized or still looking for my jock. However, I expect more from our excellent North Texas defenders.

I used lots of sunscreen and drank lots of water and I was still turned to a raisin by the relentless withering sun. It was worse than the time I went down there for Virginia and remarked it was like sitting on a giant solar panel. And this time I remarked that it was more inhospitable than what we gave them in Charlottesville with a blinding rain storm when Virginia won the next year.

From the upper deck I saw a big truck with the new eagle logo really huge. I pointed it out to the UTans up there and they all agreed it should be used on the helmets. From way up there they couldn't figure out what we do have on the helmets, even with the ridiculous big-screen.

I'm having a hard time deciding who I want them to go with at QB. That one drive looked great and I think WW might make some defenses play back some. On the other hand, Phillips 'looks' more comfortable as a passer. Then again, it's hard to argue with 5 of 6, though 10 of 12 would be convincing. I will say that I thought WW was a better passer than I expected. If he can speed up and make some better decisions his versatility would be a big asset. Again I'll admit that it's easy to be critical when you're not staring down the barrel of the UT rush. Please note, UT is not the only team that is going to put up an effective rush. Anyway, I think I would start putting the primary efforts toward Wilson, but there are so many factors that are not apparent to the casual observer.

Here's my last point, and it's really just a reiteration of one above: I know the players get a huge jolt out of just playing against an opponent like this, and that's great, but for the sake of the school's image, if we are not going to put together a program that can make this a respectable result, let's do something else. Now ours is not the only team that will get rocked by UT this season, but we should not make excuses out of that. We've got to have a decision at the top that being competitive at the highest level in football is a top priority. All you have to do is walk around down there in Austin on game day. It's not taking anything away from UT. All those fans are pumping in money that they are using to bolster their academic programs and overall image. It's a good model. It's working. Let's follow it.

NM Green · September 5, 2006

I am with you on the suspension of these games until further notice. We are hurting our image and while I use to get excited about going to these places I don't anymore. I have witnessed too many 50 point or more blowout losses to get juiced up about going to Knoxville, Lincoln or Gainesville.

Hawaii is just now starting to go into these types of games and I just watched the June Jones show where he was bummed about the mental breakdowns that cost them the game. He stated that HI outplayed them and the score was 25 - 17 when Colt Brennan (HI QB) was intercepted in the endzone with 22 seconds left. They had a chance all the way to the end.

We use to play like that and while I saw team improvement on Saturday, I felt like the game was being treated like a scrimmage. This isn't the NFL - we either play to win or don't go at all. I don't mean to sound negative, but certainly we can go into places like Phoenix, Colorado Springs and Nashville and make "some" cash without giving up a return game.

GMG

September 5, 2006

I'd rather see the administration decide we're going to be winning these games than to quit. They might try to put it back on the would-be supporters and say it's up to them. I would respond to that by saying they need to drum up the supporters. That is their day job.

Edited September 5, 2006 by Aquila_Viridis