Ohio Game 2009

[NCMeanGreen]

Honestly, I am surprised that there was not any more discussion regarding the Ohio game. The was one of those games that we were evenly matched on with our opponent (a very good Ohio squad), but we could just not pull it out.

I was not able to watch the game live...but listened to the whole thing on the radio. Needless to say...I wept like a baby and was absolutely sick to my stomach!

However, and this is what I was after with this thread, THAT was the season changer right there. Period. We never rebounded from that. That took ALL of the wind out of our sails. It is like the team just had nothing left in them...a soul defeating loss.

Having said that, if we can just get over the hump we could actually have a pretty decent SB team. I do not think we are even close to being a BCS buster...much less a near Top 25 team...BUT we could be a really good SB team and compete with the Troys, MTSU, et al...

Man...are we due a break or what??? The tide has to turn this season, right??

[edcollopy]

I agree. Back to back nice out of conference wins would've been huge. That was one of the toughest losses I've seen. So many woulda, coulda, shoulda moments. 4 and forever and converting, dropped touchdown passes...so tough to watch.

[eppy4life]

Add to it the weather conditions. Everyone just knew we were going to win that game and the rain would've just provided a great story. Instead, we were left packing up the tailgate in the rain following a miserable loss.

[All About UNT]

Honestly, I am surprised that there was not any more discussion regarding the Ohio game. The was one of those games that we were evenly matched on with our opponent (a very good Ohio squad), but we could just not pull it out.

I was not able to watch the game live...but listened to the whole thing on the radio. Needless to say...I wept like a baby and was absolutely sick to my stomach!

However, and this is what I was after with this thread, THAT was the season changer right there. Period. We never rebounded from that. That took ALL of the wind out of our sails. It is like the team just had nothing left in them...a soul defeating loss.

Having said that, if we can just get over the hump we could actually have a pretty decent SB team. I do not think we are even close to being a BCS buster...much less a near Top 25 team...BUT we could be a really good SB team and compete with the Troys, MTSU, et al...

Man...are we due a break or what??? The tide has to turn this season, right??

I would agree...and so does my DVR that scorns me for still having this game saved inside of it. The honest to God is that we would have no idea knowing what season would have come out of last year if we had won that game...but I can swear on my momma that it would have been a better season if we had won

[MeanGreenTexan]

Honestly, I am surprised that there was not any more discussion regarding the Ohio game. The was one of those games that we were evenly matched on with our opponent (a very good Ohio squad), but we could just not pull it out.

I was not able to watch the game live...but listened to the whole thing on the radio. Needless to say...I wept like a baby and was absolutely sick to my stomach!

However, and this is what I was after with this thread, THAT was the season changer right there. Period. We never rebounded from that. That took ALL of the wind out of our sails. It is like the team just had nothing left in them...a soul defeating loss.

Having said that, if we can just get over the hump we could actually have a pretty decent SB team. I do not think we are even close to being a BCS buster...much less a near Top 25 team...BUT we could be a really good SB team and compete with the Troys, MTSU, et al...

Man...are we due a break or what??? The tide has to turn this season, right??

What does the softball team have to do with us becoming a BCS buster?

[EagleMBA]

We'll never play another game in the past. It was a real heart breaker and a harbinger of things to come last season. There were many opportunities to win last season that evaporated...the team just did not know how to finish. In that game in particular, we needed to make one play and had at least three shots at it.

This is a new season that is approaching quickly and another chance for this team to maximize its potential. It is not out of the question for this to be a 7-5 or even an 8-4 team if they can learn to play smart football in the fourth quarter and put people away.

[MeanGreenTeeth]

Well...the way I figure it..maybe all the bad luck last season was a Karmic offset to the "Miracle in the Desert". It takes 'a lot' of bad luck to offset that thing. Maybe we are straight with the football gods now.

[GreenStreet]

Honestly, I am surprised that there was not any more discussion regarding the Ohio game. The was one of those games that we were evenly matched on with our opponent (a very good Ohio squad), but we could just not pull it out.

I was not able to watch the game live...but listened to the whole thing on the radio. Needless to say...I wept like a baby and was absolutely sick to my stomach!

However, and this is what I was after with this thread, THAT was the season changer right there. Period. We never rebounded from that. That took ALL of the wind out of our sails. It is like the team just had nothing left in them...a soul defeating loss.

Having said that, if we can just get over the hump we could actually have a pretty decent SB team. I do not think we are even close to being a BCS buster...much less a near Top 25 team...BUT we could be a really good SB team and compete with the Troys, MTSU, et al...

Man...are we due a break or what??? The tide has to turn this season, right??

If we complete 3rd down conversions this year, come rain or shine we win that game. Ball control will impact the team just as much as an overtime loss in the rain,

[CaribbeanGreen]

Good teams make their own luck. They're resilient, they don't consistently make egregious mistakes in critical or routine areas, one early non-con game doesn't define or impact the rest of their season ("sails" or otherwise), and they never wonder about woulda, coulda,, or shoulda.

I get the frustration... that game was an epic crotch kick. But we weren't good enough to win it.... or most of our other games. The collapses we witnessed (the IMPOSSIBLE 4th quarter against Army comes to mind) were indicative only of a team that wasn't ready to win and was completely and embarrassingly unable to execute even the most basic of junior high level fundamentals at critical times (PATs, anyone? Back to back time outs?). The fact that we stayed close in several games is a credit to the talent that we DO have, and I do feel like we have reason to be optimistic about the future. But I disagree that we were "close" to being a top half of the conference team last year or that predictions slotting us at 3 wins this year are offensively wrong. A LOT has to change here in a very short time... literally, an entire culture and mindset has to be reworked, not to mention a fundamentals-on-up coaching job that is almost like starting from scratch. This is a big, big, job, and while we have some hope that pieces are falling into place and we've made some upgrades on the sidelines, history tells us quite clearly what to expect. A turnaround like some of us seem to expect (or maybe just hope for) would, quite literally, be unheard of in the realm of college football.

So, yeah, I hope we go out there and make some history. I hope the players and coaches buy into the fact that we actually can do so.... but I don't think there's a 7 win ultimatum, and I think we need to focus on extra points, clock management, and not running into each other before we start marking of W's, past or future.

Edited August 4, 2010 by CaribbeanGreen

[UNT90]

Actually, I think one play in that game made what may have been a .500 season a 2-10 season: 4th and 16.

I choose to believe what the AD says about a 5-31 coach when he says it on the fan website in clear, unequivical terms. I think some of you need to go back and listen to the podcast after the end of last season. It was pretty direct.

Edited August 4, 2010 by UNT90

[EagleMBA]

Actually, I think one play in that game made what may have been a .500 season a 2-10 season: 4th and 16.

I choose to believe what the AD says about a 5-31 coach when he says it on the fan website in clear, unequivical terms. I think some of you need to go back and listen to the podcast after the end of last season. It was pretty direct.

Correct. That was the defensive play, but it wouldn't have been relevant without two potential game-winning drops. Those were the three plays that came immediately to my mind. It was a damned shame to lose an otherwise well-played game in a monsoon.

[CaribbeanGreen]

Actually, I think one play in that game made what may have been a .500 season a 2-10 season: 4th and 16.

I choose to believe what the AD says about a 5-31 coach when he says it on the fan website in clear, unequivical terms. I think some of you need to go back and listen to the podcast after the end of last season. It was pretty direct.

You think one injury-free play in game #2 may have cost us 4 wins? I'm not taking a shot at you, I just really want to understand what it is you're saying here....

Also, re: the ultimatum, my own humble opinion is that a 6 (or possibly even 5) win team this year shows such HUGE marked improvement over last season (doubling the win total, equaling or surpassing the ENTIRE win total for the past three years combined) and such undeniable massive progress that firing Dodge wouldn't make sense. Sure, saying "5/6 wins in year 4 isn't acceptable" sounds nice, but taken in context with the last three seasons, it's almost unheard of progress. I believe he'd stay. I firmly believe that with 5 or more wins, the fanbase is going nuts over potential, improvement, the new stadium, etc... and that there would be significant resistance to firing Dodge, especially if even one of those wins is against anyone surprising or mixed in with close losses.

Mind you, I'm not saying this is a perfect situation... I'm on record as saying Dodge wouldn't have survived the locker room after the Army game were it my call. I think this was the year you let him go... but by bringing him back, you've established that precedent and created a de facto lowering of the bar.... that's why I feel like with 5 wins, Todd Dodge opens our new stadium.

Edited August 4, 2010 by CaribbeanGreen

[eulessismore]

Just for the record, I'm in favor of Todd Dodge winning at least 7 games and coming back in year 5. That said, I regard coaching as what lost us the Ohio game. I can understand some of the lack of confidence in the kicking game at other times, but it was consistently good in the Ohio game up until the point when we were within the 5 yard line, last offensive series of the first half, and Dodge decided to go for it on 4th and short instead of going for the chip shot field goal. Those 3 points would have given us the win at the end of regulation. I'm hoping that, whatever it takes, we get our kicking game figured out this year. I think that (losing due to deficiencies in our kicking game) also goes for the Army game and maybe ULaLa.

[EagleMBA]

Just for the record, I'm in favor of Todd Dodge winning at least 7 games and coming back in year 5. That said, I regard coaching as what lost us the Ohio game. I can understand some of the lack of confidence in the kicking game at other times, but it was consistently good in the Ohio game up until the point when we were within the 5 yard line, last offensive series of the first half, and Dodge decided to go for it on 4th and short instead of going for the chip shot field goal. Those 3 points would have given us the win at the end of regulation. I'm hoping that, whatever it takes, we get our kicking game figured out this year. I think that (losing due to deficiencies in our kicking game) also goes for the Army game and maybe ULaLa.

The fact that you can widen the focus to include more than just three critical plays is symptomatic of the larger issue...we just did not execute when the chips were down. Offense, defense or special teams. We have talented young men on our team. Mental mistakes, coaching decisions, self-confidence; there is a lot to address in the next month if we are going to be as competitive as we should be this year. It is TIME!

[jperg2]

I would agree...and so does my DVR that scorns me for still having this game saved inside of it. The honest to God is that we would have no idea knowing what season would have come out of last year if we had won that game...but I can swear on my momma that it would have been a better season if we had won

Well, yeah we would've had one more win and one less loss; that right there is an improvement in my book.

[UNT90]

You think one injury-free play in game #2 may have cost us 4 wins? I'm not taking a shot at you, I just really want to understand what it is you're saying here....

Also, re: the ultimatum, my own humble opinion is that a 6 (or possibly even 5) win team this year shows such HUGE marked improvement over last season (doubling the win total, equaling or surpassing the ENTIRE win total for the past three years combined) and such undeniable massive progress that firing Dodge wouldn't make sense. Sure, saying "5/6 wins in year 4 isn't acceptable" sounds nice, but taken in context with the last three seasons, it's almost unheard of progress. I believe he'd stay. I firmly believe that with 5 or more wins, the fanbase is going nuts over potential, improvement, the new stadium, etc... and that there would be significant resistance to firing Dodge, especially if even one of those wins is against anyone surprising or mixed in with close losses.

Mind you, I'm not saying this is a perfect situation... I'm on record as saying Dodge wouldn't have survived the locker room after the Army game were it my call. I think this was the year you let him go... but by bringing him back, you've established that precedent and created a de facto lowering of the bar.... that's why I feel like with 5 wins, Todd Dodge opens our new stadium.

Confidence... Never discount the mental aspect to sports. You are more likely to be able to do something if you know that you have done it before with success. That was one devastating play for this team. Remember, you aren't dealing with seasoned, mature adult pros, you are dealing with 19-22 year olds. That shot of confidence could have led to victories over ULL, Army, and maybe even Ark St. (Ok, 5-7, not .500). Ya, the dropped passes/intercetion cost the win in regulation, but those were offensive mistakes, not defensive. And don't forget, the defense then allowed the 2 point conversion right after 4th and 16. So I guess I would say two devastating plays from which this defense never recovered. Aside from the WKU game (the only team on our schedule that had less confidence than UNT), the defense never made an important, game saving play the rest of the year.

We can argue all day, but since it didn't happen, we will never know.

Edited August 4, 2010 by UNT90