Is There Reason To Panic, Recruiting Note

[Brett Vito]

Mean Green Blog

[GoMeanGreen1999]

No need to panic. We weren't going to win the first 3 games anyways. Hopefully some of these guys can rest and heal during those games and be back for Belt play.

[Keith7]

No need to panic. We weren't going to win the first 3 games anyways. Hopefully some of these guys can rest and heal during those games and be back for Belt play.

wow that is really optimistic

[GoMeanGreen1999]

wow that is really optimistic

Optimistic or not, this team is not going to beat KSU, Tulsa or LSU. I would love to win one or all of them, I just don't see it happening.

[Keith7]

Optimistic or not, this team is not going to beat KSU, Tulsa or LSU. I would love to win one or all of them, I just don't see it happening.

ya screw it.. fans shouldn't show up to the Tulsa game, we have no chance.. Maybe they can wait for the Sun Belt games to start

Edited August 19, 2008 by Keith7

[UNTflyer]

I can see us winning the Tulsa game.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

ya screw it.. fans shouldn't show up to the Tulsa game, we have no chance.. Maybe they can wait for the Sun Belt games to start

Dude, you are reading waaaaay too much into my posts. We should push to have a full house. Our offense is good, but our defense has a long ways to go and I just don't see this team winning any of those games. Sorry you don't like for me to think in reality. Hope they prove me wrong, but I think LSU will score 50+ on us.

[gangrene]

Dude, you are reading waaaaay too much into my posts. We should push to have a full house. Our offense is good, but our defense has a long ways to go and I just don't see this team winning any of those games. Sorry you don't like for me to think in reality. Hope they prove me wrong, but I think LSU will score 50+ on us.

I hear ya GMG 99. I'll be one of the happiest Mean Green alumni on this board should we win any of those games, but will we be less than 15-point underdogs in any of them?? No. Some people choose to stay loaded on the spiked green kool aid while others choose to drink it in moderation.

Edited August 19, 2008 by gangrene

[Keith7]

I hear ya GMG 99. I'll be one of the happiest Mean Green alumni on this board should we win any of those games, but will we be less than 15-point underdogs in any of them?? No. Some people choose to stay loaded on the spiked green kool aid while others choose to drink it in moderation.

Good to hear alumni so optimistic.. They should promote the Tulsa game to students by putting signs on campus that say "You have to be a huge homer to think we are going to win this one"

[JesseMartin]

Optimistic or not, this team is not going to beat KSU, Tulsa or LSU. I would love to win one or all of them, I just don't see it happening.

If the boys are ready to rock, I can see us beating TU or KSU...optimistically speaking, I'm saying 1-2 record after the first 3.

Unless they really surprise us, and go 2-1 and stay within 21 of LSU. If that happens, I predict at least an 8-win season. Accent on IF!

One game at a time!!!

[drex]

If Dodge is the phenom that we think we hired, we will slip up on some people this season. One of our biggest problems in the past was total non competitiveness in OOC games. We ran Dickey off to correct this situation...now is the time for Dodge to strut his stuff.

[untjim1995]

If Dodge is the phenom that we think we hired, we will slip up on some people this season. One of our biggest problems in the past was total non competitiveness in OOC games. We ran Dickey off to correct this situation...now is the time for Dodge to strut his stuff.

With all due respect, if you think that now is the time for Dodge to beat KSU, Tulsa, or, especially, LSU, with two dilapidated lines, I think you are going to be disappointed. Realistically, he needs at least one more year to build up his program to a point that we can beat a team like KSU or Tulsa. If I am wrong, I will gladly proclaim how wrong I was. In my opinion, Dickey got run out of here because his gameplan was so basic that he lost winnable games against OOC teams like TCU, Arizona, Air Force, and Baylor by running draw plays on 3rd downs in the 4th quarter of games that we could have won if we had even given the offense a chance to succeed. And, then once the talent on his team dropped, his basic offense had no great defense to prop it up against SBC teams anymore. Most fans had more fun watching paint dry than watching his offense run the ball into the line every down. This was best illustrated during the overtime of the FIU game at home in 2006 that no one could win and also in Ft. Worth at the infamous "Throw the ball" game vs. TCU. Eventually, Dodge will get us back up to a point to compete against SBC teams over the next two years. Whether he can get us to a point that we can beat a good mid-major (like Tulsa) or lower AQ-BCS team (like KSU), is something none of us will know until next year and beyond.

[TIgreen01]

Tulsa has been a good non-AQ program for the last few years....but last year their defense was terrible (though not as bad as ours! ), and they have graduated their all-world QB. Maybe the senior they have will step up and fill that hole at QB, but their defense still isn't going to be very good.

We definitely have a good chance to beat Tulsa, and I'd be shocked if we get spanked by them. I think we reverse the beating they put on us in '05 that sounded the "end of an era" for us....and do it to them, instead. After all, we OWE them an absolute beating!

[Greigns]

I'm adopting a wait and see attitude here. Seems to me like the defence is gelling much better than expected and the o-line actually looks pretty good. I'm hopeful, but we may not be quite where we need to be to give K-State a game yet. We'll see soon. I know I'll be there in Manhattan; hope you all will too.

[gangrene]

Good to hear alumni so optimistic.. They should promote the Tulsa game to students by putting signs on campus that say "You have to be a huge homer to think we are going to win this one"

When exactly is the last time you spoke to any students about our football team? Of the ones that even care, the vast majority of our current students would tell you our football team sucks and they don't expect us to win more than two or three games. Even the most pessimistic GMG poster (which I am certainly not) is more optimistic about our football team than the average UNT student. I thought we had a good chance at beating Tulsa the last time they came to Denton. Need I remind you we lost 54-2?? I certainly don't expect that this time and actually wouldn't even be totally surprised should we win...but to think or expect us to beat a team that went 10-4 last year and is predicted to win their conference this year?? Come on, have you even been following our team?? We've already lost both of our projected starters at DE, our projected O-Line is a bit light and a few other players that were expected to make contributions this year are no longer in the picture. I hope we win five or six games this year, but I don't think we'll get a victory in any of our first three games. Also, you don't have to think we're going to win a game just to go to it. If I adopted that philosophy, I wouldn't have traveled to Austin, Lubbock or Fayetteville over the last several years.

Now, if you want to talk about our chances against Rice, I'm all ears.

[meangreendork]

I can see us winning the Tulsa game.

That is most definitely a winnable game. KSU? Probably not. LSU? I want a win so badly, but that early in the season is something too far to ask for right now.

When exactly is the last time you spoke to any students about our football team?

So my roommate's now dating another friend of mine. She just happens to be a grad student now, and she's been at UNT for 5 years. Meaning, she was here in 2004 at latest. Meaning, she was around when the program was still winning strongly.

Then she spots me playing NCAA09 as (you guessed it) NT. I was busy fighting off Nevada, but that's neither here nor there. She says, "Don't you know our team is horrible?"

Before I went off on her, I remembered she's one of those people who's just here for the education. Then I told her the coach we picked up last year was basically one of the best HS football coaches in the country, and THE best in the state. When we got him, he recruited a slew of new players who wouldn't look our direction without him. This also includes our current QB and the guy more than likely to be the next QB, Dodge's son who was essentially the best Texas HS QB when he was in school, for essentially the best HS team in Texas. Then I went on about how Dodge's offense is strong, and how we've brought back one of the best defensive minds in college football. Now we have strength in both O and D coaching and that the next two seasons are really promising.

Yeah. Well, it's hard to sell people on a 2-10 team. Especially when their whole scope of college football is whatever is on ESPN, which is hard to do anyways since some people just don't like football. Many still see it as an all-muscle and no-brains sport, but we all know that a team can be as strong as it wants but if it's not coached well and if it's not disciplined, it'll lose every time.

Edited August 19, 2008 by meangreendork

[untjim1995]

That is most definitely a winnable game. KSU? Probably not. LSU? I want a win so badly, but that early in the season is something too far to ask for right now.

Why is Tulsa such a winnable game for us? Is it because we are at home? That team is awfully good. I would actually rather be playing K-State at home this year than Tulsa. Tulsa has a good thing going right now in theri program and they look at games against UNT as a nice way to hammer a recruiting rival. Look at the history of the series--Tulsa has dominated against us. Right now, I can't see how we beat them, but hey, I'll drink the kool-aid and say that I hope I'm wrong.

[OldTimer]

The blog mentions we lost a DE prospect .....but if you follow the football forum we added a HS DE prospect today.

[Got5onIt]

It hurt losing the 2 JC guys, but every school deals with something one way or another. I'm looking forward to a competitive season.

[nautique]

It hurt losing the 2 JC guys, but every school deals with something one way or another. I'm looking forward to a competitive season.

You have to know who your offering. UNT staff will likely be more diligent next season. Or they will never use the people who vouched

for Horton and others again.