Positives And Negatives Of The Night

[Davemobile]

I'll say first that this was one of the best games I've been to, and I was at the SMU game and Baylor when we won.

My two cents:

1. Defense played very well!

2. QB play was weak in the first quarter, and got much better. NTune became very relaxed and patient (is he OK?)

3. Did anybody notice the difference in kickers?--I don't think one of our kicks went past Rice's ten yard line. We'll probably see theirs in the NFL.

4. Gutsy call on the 4th and goal

5. Our pass rush was not there when it counted. I don't think we had a sack except when we blitzed. Theirs was killer-especially in the 4th quarter.

6. Great crowd

7. Great band

8. Special teams---How does this keep happening year-after-year? Coaching? I don't know.

9. The Rice method of calling the plays from the sideline after our defense was set seemed brilliant. Should we have disguised our set to make this harder?

10. Who was that left wide receiver of ours who made every defensive back on Rice look like they were running in sandals?---wow--stud

All in all I'm proud of the kids, and had a great time. I'd say for the first time since Dodge's first year that we are competitive with the other weaker D1 schools outside the Sun Belt. If we keep improving, we might have a shot at winning the Sun Belt.

[TIgreen01]

This is complete bullshit. All teams face injuries. I am so sick and tired of excuses. Win 7 or see ya later.

Depth is the responsibility of the head coach, ya know.

Not making excuses. Just bringing it up. Giving a public win ultimatum rarely goes well. This season is about to be exhibit A.

[TheTastyGreek]

One positive that nobody has mentioned is that we've never had to replace any torn down goalposts during the Dodge era. Those things can get expensive, and people often get hurt in the jubilant celebrations that accompany a goal post tear down. The liability from an injury lawsuit could have been terrible.

With all the money we've saved by hanging on to the same goal posts for 4 years, we ought to have some extra cash on hand to spend on other things.

Also, this looks like another year where we possibly won't have to worry about bowl eligibility. Most bowl games are financially a net loss proposition. For 3 straight years (and counting), we've managed to avoid throwing money away on travel and lodging for a frivolous 13th game.

So... Fiscally speaking, there are a lot of positives to be taken from last night.

And competitively... 56 points down, 1 (critical) point to go when it comes to closing the gap on the perennial powerhouse that is Rice football and Dave Baliff.

[Daddy Dumpsalot]

Is a kicker a tough position to recruit? Why can't we get a good one?

On kickoffs we averaged kicking to their 12 yrd line and then with our poor ST they had an average starting drive at the 35-40 yd line. This is putting to much pressure on our defense.

Now, Rice kicked into our end-zone almost every time and we were lucky if we got out to the 20 (wind taken into acct for both teams).

I won't even mention the fieldgoals.

We need a new kicker with a leg.

[TheTastyGreek]

Is a kicker a tough position to recruit? Why can't we get a good one?

On kickoffs we averaged kicking to their 12 yrd line and then with our poor ST they had an average starting drive at the 35-40 yd line. This is putting to much pressure on our defense.

Now, Rice kicked into our end-zone almost every time and we were lucky if we got out to the 20 (wind taken into acct for both teams).

I won't even mention the fieldgoals.

We need a new kicker with a leg.

We've got THREE kickers. THREE of them.

Rice may get better results, but we've got them outnumbered. We just need to use our kicking depth to wear them down and take advantage late in the game.

[VideoEagle]

We need a new kicker with a leg.

Got the leg part, now for someone to wear it.

[UNT90]

Not making excuses. Just bringing it up. Giving a public win ultimatum rarely goes well. This season is about to be exhibit A.

I agree, but I think RV put himself in the position of having to make the 7 win mandate when he didnt't make a change at the end of last year, which for whatever reason was a big mistake.

If things go badly the rest of the year, RV has put himself in the position of having a 1st year coach during the 1st year of the stadium. With exception, 1st year coaches rarely show huge W/L improvements. Those normally come in year 2 or 3. So we are looking at having a new, shiny stadium that will be full for the Houston game, but what then? If next years team wins 3 games, you lose the momentum generated by that new stadium

RV made a huge gamble last December that, as of right now, looks like a complete bust.

[Cr1028]

I agree, but I think RV put himself in the position of having to make the 7 win mandate when he didnt't make a change at the end of last year, which for whatever reason was a big mistake.

If things go badly the rest of the year, RV has put himself in the position of having a 1st year coach during the 1st year of the stadium. With exception, 1st year coaches rarely show huge W/L improvements. Those normally come in year 2 or 3. So we are looking at having a new, shiny stadium that will be full for the Houston game, but what then? If next years team wins 3 games, you lose the momentum generated by that new stadium

RV made a huge gamble last December that, as of right now, looks like a complete bust.

I think the ultimatum really has gotten to them. They seem to have what it takes to get ahead by the fourth quarter but time and again they are so afraid of losing that they change their gameplan in the 4th and lose the game anyway because the "just hold the lead" game plan doesn't work with these guys.

[UNT90]

I think the ultimatum really has gotten to them. They seem to have what it takes to get ahead by the fourth quarter but time and again they are so afraid of losing that they change their gameplan in the 4th and lose the game anyway because the "just hold the lead" game plan doesn't work with these guys.

So did the ultimatum get to them last year when the same things were happening?

It has nothing to do with the team's performance. No Excuses.

[Cr1028]

So did the ultimatum get to them last year when the same things were happening?

I think it did because nobody knew he would be back until after the season.

[UNT90]

I think it did because nobody knew he would be back until after the season.

And in 2007 they were nervous because it was Coach Dodge's first year.

I think that is the last thing on the players minds.

[NM Green]

Though first year coaches are always realistic and can only churn out a couple of wins, don't think this said first year coach might actually out win the coach with 4 years under his belt? I've seen more teams luck into more wins than we manage to choke away. It would be hard for a first year coach to disappoint more than what these past few years have been like.

GMG

[Cr1028]

And in 2007 they were nervous because it was Coach Dodge's first year.

I think that is the last thing on the players minds.

Yep when they were calling their own plays in 2007 because they thought they would lose their spot on the depth chart. Dodge was just an observer in year one.

Seriously guy? Can you not tell I'm referring to the play-calling and coaching style? That has nothing to do with players being nervous.

[TheTastyGreek]

Seriously guy?

I don't think he's your guy, buddy.

[UNT90]

Yep when they were calling their own plays in 2007 because they thought they would lose their spot on the depth chart. Dodge was just an observer in year one.

Seriously guy? Can you not tell I'm referring to the play-calling and coaching style? That has nothing to do with players being nervous.

So the coaches are being more tenative? More agressive?

I thought they always tried to coach to win. At least that's the type of coaching I expect. Please explain how the pressure of winning, which is the same or MUCH greater at every other FBS college in America, causes college football coaches to go 5-33, or 2-12?

[MGW]

How about another loss against a team we shoudl have beat against in front of a good crowd. John you are such a class act like many of our fans you try to put a good spin but the reality is another good crowd of aour fans and students were served another loss again at home. How long can we continue to face this? Is there any accounatabilty? Thus getting hard for us. GMG!

Dear Scottie, how did you hijack Harry's account to post the above? Just kidding, Harry. I feel your pain.

My $0.02 is as follows: though we lost last night and are currently 0-2, I think the brand of football Coach Dodge has brought to the program (despite our win-loss record) has us positioned for success. Our turn-out last night and after-half-time retention of that crowd is due to the fact that we have a potent offense and an exciting brand of football. And though our defense in years past was woeful, our D last night put us in a position to win. IMHO, Coach Dodge has the worst luck in America, but I admire his grit, determination and optomism. I still believe he can get the job done.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Dear Scottie, how did you hijack Harry's account to post the above? Just kidding, Harry. I feel your pain.

My $0.02 is as follows: though we lost last night and are currently 0-2, I think the brand of football Coach Dodge has brought to the program (despite our win-loss record) has us positioned for success. Our turn-out last night and after-half-time retention of that crowd is due to the fact that we have a potent offense and an exciting brand of football. And though our defense in years past was woeful, our D last night put us in a position to win. IMHO, Coach Dodge has the worst luck in America, but I admire his grit, determination and optomism. I still believe he can get the job done.

Obviously there has been much speculation made for a "possible" need for a new HFC, but I think most of us on this board are still hoping for some kind of miracle to happen for Coach Dodge. He told UNT "we must start building a new stadium to have a chance even in the SBC" and it would be nice if he got to coach in that new palace.

But as we all know on GMG.com...such speculation is the norm among college football fan'atics and will always be part of these kind of forums.

If we can keep the injuries to starters to a low, who knows what can happen in Sun Belt Conference play. Look what happened in 2001 for another coach who literally had the heaven's smile upon him after his 0 & 5 start. Now "THAT" was a miracle of biblical proportions because I believe AD Rick V was going to pull the plug (even in mid-season) if we had lost to MUTS with our 0 & 5 start.

Yet......who knows about any of this but..............the shadow?

GMG!

Edited September 13, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

[TheTastyGreek]

literally