Ex North Texas Football Coach Goes For 3 In A Row...

[FirefightnRick]

http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/column...ory/359975.html

Posted on Fri, Dec. 14, 2007reprint or license print email Digg it del.icio.us AIM College playoffs work like champ for Moore

By RANDY GALLOWAY

Star-Telegram staff writer

It was "Ol' Texas" himself, Jerry Moore, on the other end of the phone line this week, speaking somewhere from deep in the North Carolina mountains.

I called him "The King" of college football, and he laughed. But in some ways, Moore is at the top of the game.

I joked that I was worried about his football team, worried about how the players were "holding up physically." Moore laughed again. Even in a busy time -- tonight, his team is playing for a third consecutive national championship -- Jerry doesn't have many down moments.

But there was also a most telling statement from Moore.

"This will be our 45th game in the last 27 months," he said about tonight's showdown in Chattanooga, Tenn., with the University of Delaware.

Think about that. Think about Jerry Moore and the Appalachian State Mountaineers, the same team that 3 1/2 months ago, on Sept. 1, got the 2007 college campaign off and roaring.

Little App State goes into Ann Arbor, knocks off Michigan, and, magically, that opened the door to the most unpredictable and most entertaining season, maybe, ever.

But at the highest level, Division I-A, the game now sits dormant, waiting on an endless parade of bowl games later this month, capped by a bogus matchup in a bogus "national championship" game.

Funny, huh, that one competitive notch below Division I-A, the boys in I-AA, and also in all football divisions below that, the best of the best don't take December off?

They play. And for Moore and his Mountaineers, it will be 45 games in three seasons. Fatigue? What fatigue?

Appalachian State has survived yet another 16-team tournament bracket and made it to a real title game, in what will be game No. 15 of the season.

But ...

In Division I-A, there are university presidents, athletic directors, some head coaches, and certainly their media lapdogs, telling us, point-blank, what an Appalachian State is doing, under NCAA rules, is not reasonable, and even sorta inhumane.

Those answers, of course, are a cover-up to protect the bowl-game system. That scam is exposed every December by the likes of App State.

Moore and all I-AA coaches have a real playoff system each year, and they do it with 20 fewer scholarships than the higher division.

Jerry is a proud son of Bonham, a former head coach at Texas Tech and North Texas, and even all the way up there in Boone, N.C., his Texas roots are always on display

So what I wanted to run by Moore were the three biggest Division I-A excuses for no playoff system, and have him respond. Here goes:

(1) A 16-team playoff system would be too physically demanding on players.

Moore: "We started practice on Aug. 3, opened at Michigan the first day of September, played 11 regular-season games, had one open weekend [in October], and our first playoff game was the end of November.

"So far, I haven't had one player ever tell me they are tired and want to go home. Sure, it's a grind, and it's not easy, and you've got to be lucky with injuries. But in a playoff system, there's a prize out there each week, and there's a lot of pride involved.

"And you know what? There are high school teams in Texas right now doing the same thing we are doing. I've been doing this a long time, and I'm certainly not breaking any new coaching ground with how we prepare our players.

"I do the same thing I did coaching high school in Texas. Go hard early, and we went real hard before the Michigan game, then back 'em off for conference games, and back 'em off again for the start of the playoffs.

"Heck, the football coach at Bonham Junior High is doing the same thing, using the same philosophy."

(2) Academics are severely impacted in a playoff system.

Moore: "Our players are all wrapping up finals this week, and we've got the championship game [tonight]. As a coach, you do what you always do. Give them the study time.

"A player who is going to have grade problems is basically not impacted by a playoff system. He's going to have those problems anyway. In coaching, you know that, and you try to stress to those players what needs to be done, then you hope you got through to them.

"But playing every week in December is no different than the basketball team going to all these tournaments this month. It's part of the process, and you put a system in place to account for the study time."

(3) A playoff system diminishes the regular season.

Moore: "Why then does it work in all other sports, and at all other levels of football? I don't see that being the case.

"I know the circumstances are a bit different, but absolutely nothing has diminished what happened after we won at Michigan. Actually, in the weeks after that game, it was a win that became a distraction for us.

"Nothing like it had ever happened. I mean the postman started showing up with tons of stuff for players to sign, and people were buying our helmets and jerseys and T-shirts, and everybody wanted that stuff signed.

"We finally had to map out a plan. On Monday, that became our autograph day. And over three months later, we still have autograph day. It has picked up even more lately because of Christmas. It's amazing.

"Our players had never had any experience with this kind of thing. So, as a coaching staff, you adjust the schedule when something different pops up.

"But even in a normal year, our rivalry games are still as important as ever, maybe even more important because we know we can use them as a way to get to the playoffs."

Jerry Moore. "The King." Good coach. Good guy. And also an Answer Man for all those hypocrites at the next level up.

Randy Galloway's Galloway & Co. can be heard weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN/103.3 FM.

rgalloway@star-telegram.com

Randy Galloway, 817-390-7760

Edited December 14, 2007 by FirefightnRick

[GreenBat]

I haver liked Galloway, but this was a good opinion piece.

[Huff]

Jerry Moore is a good person and I am glad to see him do well at his current school. I did not think he did a very good job at North Texas but you sure can't argue with his success at Appalachian State. It is nice to see good things happen to good people.

[NT80]

Jerry Moore is a good person and I am glad to see him do well at his current school. I did not think he did a very good job at North Texas but you sure can't argue with his success at Appalachian State. It is nice to see good things happen to good people.

Moore came to NT from being an assistant at run-based Nebraska. He ruined a good returning Fry multiple-offense football team at NT by trying to install that "Nebraska I-back" scheme. It's taken him 25 years to finally learn how to coach a passing offense.

App. St vs Delaware, 1-AA Championship Game, 7:00pm Friday (tonight) on ESPN-2

Edited December 14, 2007 by NT80

[Monkeypox]

Moore came to NT from being an assistant at run-based Nebraska. He ruined a good returning Fry multiple-offense football team at NT by trying to install that "Nebraska I-back" scheme. It's taken him 25 years to finally learn how to coach a passing offense.

App. St vs Delaware, 1-AA Championship Game, 7:00pm Friday (tonight) on ESPN-2

Well, let's see.

Appalachian State All-Time Passing Leaders (Yardage) - The ones in bold were under Coach Moore.

7,759 Richie Williams 589-947 2002-05

6,533 Steve Brown 437-848 1977-80

5,427 Joe Burchette 446-796 1999-2002

5,414 D.J. Campbell 476-904 1989-92

5,141 Pat Murphy 338-694 1965-68

5,114 Randy Joyce 449-845 1981-84

3,538 Bake Baker 275-460 1994-97

3,504 Scott Satterfield 275-491 1992-95

3,212 David Reaves 254-432 1997-2000

3,170 Todd Payton 289-575 1984-87

PASS ATTEMPTS — Career

947 Richie Williams 589 comp. 2002-05

904 D.J. Campbell 476 comp. 1989-92

848 Steve Brown 437 comp. 1977-80

845 Randy Joyce 449 comp. 1981-84

796 Joe Burchette 466 comp. 1999-2002

694 Pat Murphy 338 comp. 1965-68

611 Todd Payton 308 comp. 1984-87

491 Scott Satterfield 275 comp. 1992-95

449 Stan Goodson 227 comp. 1979-82

Yes, he's certainly developed a BETTER passing game over time, but I wouldn't say it's taken him this long to learn it. DJ Campbell was his first QB there at ASU, and remains 2nd in passing attempts behind Williams.

[NT80]

Yes, he's certainly developed a BETTER passing game over time, but I wouldn't say it's taken him this long to learn it. DJ Campbell was his first QB there at ASU, and remains 2nd in passing attempts behind Williams.

Moore had no passing game at NT or Tech. Campbell's 5400 yards over 4 years averages to about ~1300 per season, not exactly a spread offense. They have a more balanced attack now, but only since 2002, or about 22 years removed from NT.

[UNT_playmaker]

Great write up on Jerry Moore... A class-act and great football coach...

Wish him all the best and luck for App. State what a great year so far.

Didnt know he coached Tech, wow

Edited December 14, 2007 by UNT_playmaker

[Monkeypox]

Moore had no passing game at NT or Tech. Campbell's 5400 yards over 4 years averages to about ~1300 per season, not exactly a spread offense. They have a more balanced attack now, but only since 2002, or about 22 years removed from NT.

He didn't start all 4 years. He and Satterfield overlapped. No, it's not exactly a spread offense (hey, everyone, it's the new WEST COAST), but that was his FIRST QB at Appalachian State, and apparently, they've been able to throw the ball enough to win in all but one of his seasons there. There's a difference between having a running based offense and not knowing how to coach a passing game.

He did a poor job here at UNT. He went to Tech and did a terrible job there. I get it. I also get that some people are just caught up in the past around here.

[FirefightnRick]

I also get that some people are just caught up in the past around here.

No one is caught up in the past, Jerry Moore coached here.............IN THE PAST. That's just a fact as was his lack of success here and at Tech. In fact, I counted 4 times last night mostly towards the end of the game, in which the announcers mentioned while giving him his props for coming from no where in regards to success to winning three straight 1-AA National Championships, that he had been fired at Texas Tech. It was something to the fact of..."He was fired at Texas Tech, was completely out of coaching, then was a volunteer at Arkansas not recieving a dime for his efforts when he got the call from ASU and now look at him?".

Rick

[eulessismore]

I wish I had been able to see the FCS championship game last night, but just don't have cable (hey, don't feel sorry for me; I get to see plenty of good football by actually going to Euless Trinity and UNT games).

That said, I think that some posting on this board (the success of ASU and Moore isn't relevant), and the Pony board (hey let's hire this guy from ASU) are missing or dismissing some points I think have SOME relevance for these times in college football AND to those in the Mean Green Nation.

1. Moore has a sense of loyalty to ASU, coming from being recruited as a coach there when he was not only fired from Texas Tech, but scorned by many in this area for his lack of coaching success there. In an interview after the win against Michigan, when mentioning his desire to finish his coaching career at ASU, he also mentioned ASU plans for building a 7 story, multimillion dollar sports complex, and his ties to that area in North Carolina. I think many of the coaches who have been most successful in college football have been those who spent many years, if not an entire career at one school. If Todd Dodge begins winning consistently more with each year at UNT, we should consider doing what it takes to persuade him to stay and achieve success at the highest level. National championship? Let me get to that later.

2. Moore has won the National Championship for 3 years in a row in FCS/1-AA, but it took until his 16th year at ASU to do it. To reinforce my first point, what if ASU hadn't hired someone with that kind of stick-to-it-iveness (sp) (is that still a word). As far as Appalachian, Division 1-AA (now FCS) began their playoff system in 1978 and ASU did not make it to post season play until 1986. I'm not sure that ASU WAS a member of 1-AA for all those years, but their 4-7 record in 1993 (only losing season under Moore) doesn't indicate that a reasonable person would believe they would achieve the pinnacle of success in their division 12 years later, stay there for 2 more years AND beat the 5th ranked team in all college football. In short, I believe the ultimate goal of UNT football might as well be winning at the highest level, including a national championship (even if it took 12 years from now, or even 30, when was how long ago ASU only won 2 games. What does this "past" teach us? That "WE AREN'T BOUND BY THE PAST".

3. Moore and ASU went into playing Michigan not only thinking they could win, but having plans to exploit weaknesses they saw in the Michigan defensive middle and thinking they COULD block field goals (very prescient). Is this the first season in a long time when noone thinks of short field goal attempts, or even extra point attempts as automatic. If not, it's certainly been a big year for the kicking game, one way or another. I, for one, would not oppose offering MORE than one scholarship to kicker(s), and bringing in a consultant, having one coach just for special teams, whatever, to MAKE THE KICKING GAME WORK in our favor.

4. ASU could have been written off as a one game wonder following their great success at Michigan, then losing 2 games in conference, rendering their goal (if only one I saw in a t-shirt shop in Blowing Rock, N.C., where I was spending vacation last October, of "Three in a row") unsuccessful. I guess I was thinking they wouldn't make it based on their early season record, but didn't know a couple of things; (1.) There are teams in the FCS playoffs who didn't win their conference (2.) Appalachian is just a team that fails to know they should lose, even if others already think they have.

5. Jerry Moore is the only well known coach I've heard talking about how antiquated the FBS system is (and, I think that ASU has shown some weaknesses of it by its play this this year; getting into the playoffs, and playing its best football once there. I hope that UNT athletics can have its leaders voicing the need for a playoff system as vociferously as Moore (who admittedly has nothing to lose by doing so.

6. There's nothing wrong with playing as an underdog, but you have to take on the big programs to win from that position. WINNING AS A BIG UNDERDOG HAS GREAT REWARDS (AS SHOWN BY BOISE STATE AND APPALACHIAN STATE), AMERICA LOVES AN UNDERDOG. However those rewards requires the risk that come from playing in big games, sometimes as a big underdog.