What Made Me The Proudest Tonight...

[GMoney]

We give up a fumble and they tie the score. In the past two years, this game would have been over. Instead, we come right back and get a score and not give in to the "hear we go again" attitude of the past. This is the sign of a team that MIGHT be ready to turn the corner - fighting back from adversity.

The Good:

1. Running the football - OL and RBs

2. WRs - can make a person miss and make them pay for missing.

3. DL- got some pressure

4. LBs and DBs - not too many missed tackles, tighter coverage and much better gap control due to the big bodies in the middle

5. We got under the center

6. Saw some real TE formations

The Bad:

1. Page (BSU's QB) missed some open receivers that a good QB won't miss (need to tighten up in some coverage situations).

2. Can't leave points on the field (missed FGs, penalty on int/td)

3. One bad turnover.

One additional note: Definitely a bigger, faster and deeper team than the past. Some props go to recruiting and more go to Aaron Ausmus and having a dedicated FB strength coach. We looked more like a FBS team tonight.

I wanted to see us compete for four quarters and be in the game late and we did. Now, we must build on this at home and not let this night and all the momentum it will build go away in one weekend against Ohio - especially in front of a home crowd. It's still a long season, but at least our first step was in the right direction!

[NThomas]

TD's first season opener with OU had Bob Stoops running up the score just because he could. Not classy.

When there was less then :30 on the clock and UNT was in scoring range, I'm glad they decided to not tack on a field goal or try to slam it in. North Texas had already won and ended it on a classy note.

Did anybody else catch that?

[jdennis82]

i got nervous about the center/QB exchange every time but i'm glad to see it's an option and hopefully something that's comfortable enough that i don't need to be nervous

regarding the final kneel down, i had made the comment "27-10 will look nice" but i'm now glad the decision was made to lean towards class in that moment. bringing on the field goal unit would've been ridiculous but i really don't think it would've been inappropriate to have run the ball up the gut again and possible score another td.

[Got5onIt]

Great assessments and on point. My only gripe, with the experienced OL and a helluva runner in Cam, running the ball inside the 5 should be a priority. I'm not talking shotgun draw up the middle, come out in two tights or an offset I and run it. Surprisingly, they did do this on occasion, but blatantly apparent when Dunbar & Mathis came in. Don't get cute, 6pts is 6pts even if you run it in.

This team has speed on both ends. Defense looked killer. Kicking is going to be rollercoaster ride this year.

Edited September 4, 2009 by Got5onIt

[aprice]

I can't believe this isn't on your list. SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL TEAMS. What a HUGE improvement.

[Got5onIt]

I can't believe this isn't on your list. SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL TEAMS. What a HUGE improvement.

Huge improvement. Kicking is scary.

[Mad Hatter]

What I liked about last night. Riley Dodge. The kid looked completely at ease out there. The announcer referred to him as a general out there, but i'm not even sure that covers it. The guy is more like a Field Marshall or something. He didn't act like a red shirt freshman QB.

[ParksAndRecRick]

Two things out of hundreds stand out:

Team Speed and Team Chemistry!

[jdennis82]

I can't believe this isn't on your list. SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL TEAMS. What a HUGE improvement.

jeremy phillips was like a missile coming down on kick coverage and i did notice a fair amount of starters on the unit.

[greenminer]

Was it just me or did we abandon the zone-read that worked so well in the first half?

[Got5onIt]

Was it just me or did we abandon the zone-read that worked so well in the first half?

BSU adjusted well at half time and pretty much squashed that play. DE's were staying at home, forcing the run up the gut where the DLine & Lbers finished it off quick. NT ran it several times unsuccessfully in the 3rd before putting it on the back burner for the night.

[island eagle]

Was it just me or did we abandon the zone-read that worked so well in the first half?

The Ball State defensive adjustments at half-time had them keying on that play. So, we tried some other looks. By the way, we have not rolled out all the plays/formations yet. We'll probably see a few new things at the OU game.

[NorthTexan95]

I hope the boys and coaches enjoy their trip home. They definately earned it. I'd also like to point out that it seemed every shotgun snap was perfect. Nice job, JJ.

Note: We had two bad turnovers last night and lots of bad penalites.

[Censored by Laurie]

Just like I told LongJim...

Its the day after, fellas. Nothing went wrong last night...at least not until Saturday...lets just enjoy this.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

TD's first season opener with OU had Bob Stoops running up the score just because he could. Not classy.

When there was less then :30 on the clock and UNT was in scoring range, I'm glad they decided to not tack on a field goal or try to slam it in. North Texas had already won and ended it on a classy note.

Did anybody else catch that?

I did catch it and liked it. There was a part of me that wanted more, but they had already beaten them at that point so I didn't care. There is nothing sweeter than a Mean Green victory on the road, as an underdog, in a game no one (myself included) expects a win.

[rcade]

When there was less then :30 on the clock and UNT was in scoring range, I'm glad they decided to not tack on a field goal or try to slam it in. North Texas had already won and ended it on a classy note.

I disagree. Coach Dodge's move will come back to haunt us. Point differential will be an important factor in whether we get a chance to play in the BCS national championship after we go 12-0.

[MeanGreen61]

When Ball State tied the score at 10, the NEW Mean Green promptly responded. No tent folding here, just a quick TD to deflate the Cards.

[DeepGreen]

When Ball State tied the score at 10, the NEW Mean Green promptly responded. No tent folding here, just a quick TD to deflate the Cards.

And I admit, I thought this was the beginning of the end. Just as in the past. Gosh, I'm glad I was wrong.

Good win for UNT!

[TIgreen01]

We give up a fumble and they tie the score. In the past two years, this game would have been over. Instead, we come right back and get a score and not give in to the "hear we go again" attitude of the past. This is the sign of a team that MIGHT be ready to turn the corner - fighting back from adversity.

Exactly! This was the single biggest thing I was looking for last night and the team answered the bell. We've got some guts on this team. When we did make a bad play we never got our heads down, but came right back fighting.

Great effort is what I saw across the board last night. We made mistakes, but we made more good plays than bad.

[PerryG2480]

While kicking was bad, the new punter did a good job fielding a very low snap and then booming a 51 yarder.

[NThomas]

I did catch it and liked it. There was a part of me that wanted more, but they had already beaten them at that point so I didn't care. There is nothing sweeter than a Mean Green victory on the road, as an underdog, in a game no one (myself included) expects a win.

I think that is the best thing to recognize. This wasn't the UNT vs. Navy shootout where the teams could have duked it out till the end, this was a North Texas team that was truly better then Ball State on the field. The fact that they could have gone for 3 or 7 would have just been like sucker punching Ball State in the back of the head...

I disagree. Coach Dodge's move will come back to haunt us. Point differential will be an important factor in whether we get a chance to play in the BCS national championship after we go 12-0.

[MeanMag]

I think that is the best thing to recognize. This wasn't the UNT vs. Navy shootout where the teams could have duked it out till the end, this was a North Texas team that was truly better then Ball State on the field. The fact that they could have gone for 3 or 7 would have just been like donkey punching Ball State in the back of the head...

fixed.

[bstnsportsfan3]

My first year at UNT was 2007...so i have been here for 2 of the worst seasons in UNT history, and i can finally say last night that we were STRONGER, FASTER and BETTER PREPARED then our opponent! It was a refreshing site to see... what a great win!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

MEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN

GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!!

[SilverEagle]

As I told Harry after the game was over. The best thing about this game was that this was a "I DIDN'T COME HERE TO LOSE" North Texas football team.

ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE.

[eulessismore]

I like the kneeldown at the end. That's the way our local high school coach, Steve Lineweaver handles a situation like that. Not only does it give the perception of class, but it's "safer" in my opinion. Lots of bad things can happen when a play is actually run from scrimmage; turnover run back for a score, injury, etc. Just a good idea, in my opinion, to take the "w" and go to the house.