Cfn Preseason Rankings

[BobFam]

Here's the link

Other Rankings:

83. SMU

92. Navy

102. Troy

103. Rice

108. Ark. St.

109. MTSU

___________________________________________________

113. North Texas

The ranking is too low because ... the defense should be good enough to be competitive in Sun Belt play until the offense comes around. The linebackers should be among the most productive in the league, while there are just enough good players on the line and in the secondary to hope for big things. The offense can't be any worse than it's been over the last two years, and it won't be with RB Jamario Thomas the centerpiece of the new spread attack.

The ranking is too high because ... the quarterback situation is shaky at best, and there might not be any semblance of a passing attack over the first half of the season. The receiving corps needs a lot of time with the only real playmakers coming in from the freshman class, while the line could be a nightmare early on. There's no established pass rusher on the front four.

Relative Strengths: Running Back, Linebacker

Relative Weaknesses: Offensive Line, Wide Receiver

[DallasGreen]

Despite the question marks, there is no way NT should be 30 places behind SMU!!!!

[rcade]

My fear is that these preseason rankings will prove true. One off-season isn't enough time to turn a program around, especially for a first-time college head coach. My expectations are pretty low going into the season. I refuse to believe UNT will lose to SMU -- on principle -- but it would be a shock if the Mean Green contend in the Belt.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

My fear is that these preseason rankings will prove true. One off-season isn't enough time to turn a program around, especially for a first-time college head coach. My expectations are pretty low going into the season. I refuse to believe UNT will lose to SMU -- on principle -- but it would be a shock if the Mean Green contend in the Belt.

I want to win as many games as possible and would love to see a 7 or 8 win season, but each time these preseason rankings come out with so many of them not calling for much, the more happy I would be with 4 or 5 wins.

[PlummMeanGreen]

My fear is that these preseason rankings will prove true. One off-season isn't enough time to turn a program around, especially for a first-time college head coach. My expectations are pretty low going into the season. I refuse to believe UNT will lose to SMU -- on principle -- but it would be a shock if the Mean Green contend in the Belt.

I think most of us will keep this 1'st season of Todd Dodge's in total perspective. What I believe T'odge wants to build at UNT will transcend toward much higher national rankings, ie, more than what we've been doing even during above .500 seasons in recent years in fact.

Most D1-A true freshmen should probably most always redshirt their first year on campus (or that is what most D1-A coaches I've heard say is a best case scenario for their respective programs).

Todd Dodge's most important role in 2007 may very well be with a consortium of other NT staffers and what may take place in some conference meeting area of some major Texas corporation(s). In more ways than one, UNT really needs to strike while the iron's hot during Todd Dodge's initial honeymoon period in Mean Green Country.

We may very well be 0 & 2 coming into our home season opener at Fouts Field versus FIU. Certainly, we all hope that isn't the case but anyone should mentally prepare themselves for that possibility.

GMG!

Edited August 1, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[NTPhiKap99]

I want to win as many games as possible and would love to see a 7 or 8 win season, but each time these preseason rankings come out with so many of them not calling for much, the more happy I would be with 4 or 5 wins.

I hate seeing that we are ranked so low as well but it is deserved we’ve won 5 games the last two years and have a first year head coach. But I am still pretty optimistic. We've had very young teams the past couple years. I think our defense and o-line should be much improved and the offense as a whole even will all the changes can’t be any worse than it has been the past two years. We have a lot of returning starters and a better freshman class than recent years. With all that said I think 7-5 and being in contention for the S.Belt championship is a big possibility.

[Eagle1855]

Rice went 1-10 in '05 with a run-based offense. They changed the entire offense for '06 with a new coach, same players and a couple key freshmen, finished regular season 7-5 which was good for the 2nd spot in C-USA west, with the deciding loss being a 1 point heart breaker to eventual conf champ, UH. It's not impossible...

[Mean Green 93-98]

I don't know if anybody is trying to make excuses for Dodge or the football team. What we as North Texas fans are conditioned to do is to prepare ourselves for a letdown, so we might maintain (or reclaim, as the case often is) a semblance of sanity. We're going to have to achieve and maintain that higher level of success you mention before we can overcome those years of conditioning.

[Arkstfan]

Rice went 1-10 in '05 with a run-based offense. They changed the entire offense for '06 with a new coach, same players and a couple key freshmen, finished regular season 7-5 which was good for the 2nd spot in C-USA west, with the deciding loss being a 1 point heart breaker to eventual conf champ, UH. It's not impossible...

Record changes of teams after a coaching change in Sun Belt play

2001 ASU 2-9 under Hollis, 2002 6-7 under Roberts

2005 MTSU 4-7 under Andy Mac 2006 7-6 under Stockstill

2001 ULL 3-8 under Baldwin 2002 3-9 under Bustle

2002 ULM 3-9 under Keasler/Collins 2003 1-10 under Weatherbie

[NTPhiKap99]

No one is saying it can't be done it just normally isn't done. As you mentioned the MuTS were expected to finish 6ht last year and they proved the nation wrong. Rice did make a similar turn around with the same talent and just a better system and coaching. We can do that same thing but we can’t expect the national media to expect us to go from 3-9 to 9-3 before TD even coaches a game. Let get on the field and hopefully prove everyone wrong.

[Eagle1855]

well-said. especially the last part- almost teared up a little bit.

[DallasGreen]

I think most of us will keep this 1'st season of Todd Dodge's in total perspective. What I believe T'odge wants to build at UNT will transcend toward much higher national rankings, ie, more than what we've been doing even during above .500 seasons in recent years in fact.

Most D1-A true freshmen should probably most always redshirt their first year on campus (or that is what most D1-A coaches I've heard say is a best case scenario for their respective programs).

Todd Dodge's most important role in 2007 may very well be with a consortium of other NT staffers and what may take place in some conference meeting area of some major Texas corporation(s). In more ways than one, UNT really needs to strike while the iron's hot during Todd Dodge's initial honeymoon period in Mean Green Country.

We may very well be 0 & 2 coming into our home season opener at Fouts Field versus FIU. Certainly, we all hope that isn't the case but anyone should mentally prepare themselves for that possibility.

GMG!

I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL LOSE TO "BIFF & BUFFY U" !!! Don't worry about tomorrow or next year just take it one game at a time. As Rick V has said that in spite of TD's 79-1 record coming in he doesn't expect TD to win them all, But 9-2 would be acceptable to RV. JUST BE SURE ONE OF THOSE 9 IS S M U !!!!!!!

[NTPhiKap99]

Along those lines I don’t think anyone on this board wants us to go 4-8 or 5-7 but we understand most teams don’t make a 5 win improvement in just one year under a new system. I honestly do expect a four game turn around to 7-5 but I also know like most of the board if we finish 5-7 and show drastic improvement within the new system as the season goes on it’s not a disaster. Everyone here wants us to go 12-0 but most people on the board try to be realists and understand in most cases teams have to rebuild and like everyone I just hope that process doesn’t take too long.

[greenminer]

Not really sure where you're going with this. I get the "don't make excuses, it can be done" part. But what you're saying sounds borderline "we should be upset" if it DOESN'T happen. I want it. I demand it long-term, for sure. Do I expect it (winning season? Sun Belt title?) this first year....

I wouldn't be surprised if it happened, but I won't be disappointed if it doesn't. I agree, though: definitely no more excuses MF'ers.

[GreenBat]

I didn't know geeks were passionate. Oh you said greeks, my bad.

[greenminer]

I didn't know geeks were passionate. Oh you said greeks, my bad.

Both are applicable. I don't know about Tasty, but I'm definitely a Mean Green geek Greek.

Or Greek mean Green Geek. somewhere in there is an 'e'. I just need-------need-to-------------rearrange----the-words---------and----maybe

spread----------------things-out.

Oh God the offseason please go away.

Edited August 1, 2007 by greenminer

[foutsrouts]

Along those lines I don’t think anyone on this board wants us to go 4-8 or 5-7 but we understand most teams don’t make a 5 win improvement in just one year under a new system. I honestly do expect a four game turn around to 7-5 but I also know like most of the board if we finish 5-7 and show drastic improvement within the new system as the season goes on it’s not a disaster. Everyone here wants us to go 12-0 but most people on the board try to be realists and understand in most cases teams have to rebuild and like everyone I just hope that process doesn’t take too long.

Last year's record was a farce. We threw away a few very close games for a variety of reasons including DD's messy situation. I think we were basically a .500 team, and an improvement by a couple of games over that is what I'm expecting.

[eulesseagle]

FYI:

1. The last two years of Coach Dickey's tenure UNT lost nine games by a touchdown or less.

2. The average point total per game the last two years was 13.5 points per game.

3. UNT is essentially playing with the same player as we have had the last two years.

QUESTION:

Does anyone really think that with a 4-3 Defense and a spread offense that Coach Dodge will only

put up an average of 13.5 points per game?

Granted that Coach Dodge is installing a new offense but what an offense he is installing. ALSO Coach Dodge has installed MOTIVATION - DETERMININATION - GUTS.

IMHO, Coach Dickey recruited some really good players but conversley I do not think they played to their potential.

FWIW, with a few calls our way along with a couple of lucky bounces Coach Dodge goes 8-4 (L: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Navy & Troy)with Vizza finishing the year.

The worst that I predict is 6-6 (L: OU, Ark, SMU, Troy, MTSU & Navy).

[KingDL1]

FYI:

1. The last two years of Coach Dickey's tenure UNT lost nine games by a touchdown or less.

2. The average point total per game the last two years was 13.5 points per game.

3. UNT is essentially playing with the same player as we have had the last two years.

QUESTION:

Does anyone really think that with a 4-3 Defense and a spread offense that Coach Dodge will only

put up an average of 13.5 points per game?

Granted that Coach Dodge is installing a new offense but what an offense he is installing. ALSO Coach Dodge has installed MOTIVATION - DETERMININATION - GUTS.

IMHO, Coach Dickey recruited some really good players but conversley I do not think they played to their potential.

FWIW, with a few calls our way along with a couple of lucky bounces Coach Dodge goes 8-4 (L: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Navy & Troy)with Vizza finishing the year.

The worst that I predict is 6-6 (L: OU, Ark, SMU, Troy, MTSU & Navy).

Screw Troy & Navy I think we may see a 10-2 season. Most of all TD will be playing to win all the games, that makes me happy by itself.

[UNTFan23]

Screw Troy & Navy I think we may see a 10-2 season. Most of all TD will be playing to win all the games, that makes me happy by itself.

There you go. The sky is the limit ... but why stop there? You should be making hotel reservations to Scottsdale, AZ right this minute.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Now TheTastyGreek, have we gotten bit by the DD "MF'er" Bug or something?

I think you are taking this board much too serious now aren't you?

I think what most of (who you are calling MF'ers--I know, parentheses not required but I put em' in anyway ) want with OUR MESSIAH (sorry if your Greek Jewish) but is to land somewhere in the Top 25 rather than the other "25" too many of the other MF'ers (you describe our fellow alums for heaven's jehosophats sake?) seemed to have become too cluckin' content with for most of the last decade.

Let's call an ace and ace and a spade a spade, THE TASTY GREEK, some of us want a helluva' lot better than winning any D1-A football championship but being a Bottom 25 ranked football program while doing it. And for those on campus who think thats going to GIT ER' DONE (Luv' Ya Blue) , then they may need to take their travelin' show to some other SBC-esque type school where low set goals & expectations make way too many of their futher-muckin' fan's pants go crazy.

YET..................MF'er's to describe your own fellow alums, The Tasty Greek? Perhaps it really is time to take a break from this board if you can't handle a few variances of opinions or [u]posting-styles that even sometimes has you making silly attempts to poke fun (which I guess relieves some semblance of stress, I suppose). Yet I'm sure Emmitt01, you know, our own Mean Green version of Bryant Gumble, could find you a much better and more articulate vocabulary to chose (choose) from than, uh, MF'ers; but I'm sure E01 would be more than glad to help you with that project and would do it with much more humility than ol [b]Bryant "Have Your Read My Book on Humility & How I Attained It" Gumble (more futher'muckin' underlines for you, TTG) would ever be able to.

BUT......................all this MF'er part is probably a bit too DD'esqe even for the most ardent DD-Baller out there including those on this forum who thought that a hardy handful of us on GoMeanGreen.com as far back as 2 plus years ago were out of our futher-muckin' upwardly bound college football minds suggesting that there was no such thing as success at the NCAA D1-A level with annual performances in the SBC/Bottom 25--bowl game or no bowl game. Whoops! Probably just pissed off a few more with that statement. When UNT gets back to Top 25 (since we've actually have been there before in a much tougher Denton-based environment and far worse football facilities) then some on this board will wonder why we didn't hire those who could "Git Er' Done" much quicker than we have of late, ya' think?

Now.............Have A Nice Day!

[PlummMeanGreen]

Fair enough, TTG...

BUT..................no matter how you mean't it, MF'er is pretty personal to most. I guess we all use tongue-in-cheek with our posts more than we can count and I've had to (as Ricky Ricardo would say) "esplain" at times that some of mine were even tonuge-in-cheek (whether in a sardonic, sarcastic or futile attempt at comedy sort of way).

Sorry about the DD comparison, but the "MF"er" part of your post did remind me of the story several of you on this board have told me about that MF'er verbal attack by DD aimed at our fan base after one of his practices last year. That is the only reason I brought up DD as I am (like all of you) trying to just move on and do my best to think of some of the more posiitve things Dickey left behind. Yet we can all learn from our past, can't we; that is, as far as hoping that some of its more negative aspects don't surely don't get repeated.

What I am saying about Todd Dodge is probably more hopeful/wishful thinking than anything since he hasn't even coached a game yet. Hopefully, I'm sure most (if not all) of us would (actually) like him to take us to the next 2 or 3 levels since the next level right now is what DD did for 4 years beating a bunch of schools very few of us knew about 25 years ago (at least the majority of them) and without one Top 25 ranked team. Even the MAC & WAC have taken ranked teams to bowls.

I realize we are in the Sun Belt Conference for a definite reason and that mostly because many of our past UNT leaders have given our athletic program minimum$ to work with thus giving us the appearance of a program that has been fiddle-fartin' around with athletics for most of our adult lives. I feel we can all agree that we are ready to see UNT take all this to the limit and give ourselves yet another chance to have a first class program. In Texas, many just happen to use stadium size as the barometer to what level of class a school really (and sincerely) wants for its football program. The Grand Opening of a 30,000 seat stadium would be fun for all of us leading up to Grand Opening Day, but the very next day we all might wonder if we just built the thing too darn small as far as what Todd Dodge wants to do with Mean Green football, specifically recruiting. (Won't what we build with our new stadium even need to compete with UTEP's Sun Bowl Stadium to some extent)?

STADIUMS! STADIUMS! STADIUMS! BUT................what better statement could UNT make louder than any (probably in our history) by building our future new stadium which will have every possible ammenity any new NCAA D1-A football stadium built in this new millineum should or would have? As most know by now, many of us just happen to think seating capacity should be toward the top of the list of all those ammenities & priorities with this new stadium. With 10 D1-A football schools in Texas, isn't UNT really going to need to do some things in an "outside our usual box" & more grandiose way, especially moreso than most of the schools that used to be in the Southwest Conference?

TTG, we need many more fans who get stark raving mad about poor to mediocre expectation and performance in every area of our school and UNT Athletics, specifically. You are certainly one of those and I appreciate that about you as a fellow NT Ex. Sometimes, though, realism can get confused with negativism, yet I hope all eras will soon have reason to celebrate as far as our Mean Green football is concenred and that alums from every era of our school's history will see things that have never been witnessed during any of those eras.

GMG!

Edited August 2, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[greenminer]

Eagle1855 said:

Rice went 1-10 in '05 with a run-based offense. They changed the entire offense for '06 with a new coach, same players and a couple key freshmen, finished regular season 7-5 which was good for the 2nd spot in C-USA west, with the deciding loss being a 1 point heart breaker to eventual conf champ, UH. It's not impossible...

The Rice turnaround, I agree, is so impressive. What happened with us? Our Rice transfer (can't remember name) said during the spring/fall practices that we were so much further along at that point than Rice was the preceding year.

Not making excuses, but seems like you could be over-generalizing? To say that it is expected because it's been done a few times before seems a bit naive. There are so many factors that can be spun so many different ways. Again, not making excuses; I demand it too and, if Rice did it, why couldn't we?

mofo.

**edit

WOW what a hop. how did I get here?