UNT has much to do heading into C-USA

[Harry]

The sun set on the Sun Belt Years late Saturday night in Bowling Green, Ky.

To say North Texas didn’t go out the way it hoped might be a bit of an understatement.

The Mean Green blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to Western Kentucky, the final blow in its final game in a league it used to own. The fact that the Mean Green came tantalizingly close — at least on the scoreboard — in a 25-24 loss certainly didn’t make anyone in UNT’s locker room feel any better.

A year that started with talk of a bowl game and building on a 5-7 season ended with a 4-8 thud that raised a lot of questions, not to mention a tangible feeling that UNT might have painted itself into a bit of a corner.

UNT’s move to Conference USA will become official in a couple of months.

The Mean Green will head in to that new league, one that is generally considered to be a step up in the world of college football from the Sun Belt — where it once won 26 straight — off something of a clunker of a season.

For those of you scoring at home, that’s UNT’s eighth straight losing campaign.

UNT has come out again and again saying that this is it, the big change that would lead to success during those eight seasons.

The opening of Apogee Stadium was supposed to provide a jump start. So were a couple of new coaches.

So far, UNT has yet to see the payoff, at least not in terms of a winning season.

UNT has made progress under Dan McCarney. There is little doubt of that. The Mean Green nearly ended its string of losing seasons last year and has posted back-to-back winning seasons at home.

“A lot of times when you make progress, it does not show up on the scoreboard,” McCarney said outside of UNT’s locker room late Saturday night. “We are a good example of that right now. We clearly have gotten better in some areas. It’s easy right now for me to look at the program and see other places we need to improve. The important thing is that expectations have been raised with football, academics, behavior, the expectation of winning and what we do each day. I know we got better even though it didn’t show with our record this year.”

Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20121125-brett-vito-unt-has-much-to-do-heading-into-c-usa.ece

[UNTexas]

All true...

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

I like the cut of Dan's jib, and I think we'll do well next year and from here on out with him.

[GrayEagle]

Reasons for optimism going into CUSA:

1. QB contender was 15th-28th rated in nation coming out of high school

2. Improved running backs with Reggie Pegram.

3. Improvement in receivers with Darrius Terrell and the emergence of Smith and Lewis.

4. If the Feldt brothers can live up to potential, perhaps our best offensive line ever.

5. Influx of JC (hopefully defensive linemen) players to help shore up some holes.

6. Emergence of Whitfield (3 int., 12 PBU) and the return of Warner.

[mgfan]

Sorry to say but the one thing you can not do with Unt football is get your hopes up.

[All About UNT]

Reasons for optimism going into CUSA:

1. QB contender was 15th-28th rated in nation coming out of high school

2. Improved running backs with Reggie Pegram.

3. Improvement in receivers with Darrius Terrell and the emergence of Smith and Lewis.

4. If the Feldt brothers can live up to potential, perhaps our best offensive line ever.

5. Influx of JC (hopefully defensive linemen) players to help shore up some holes.

6. Emergence of Whitfield (3 int., 12 PBU) and the return of Warner.

all great points except for #4. Don't count on Cam or Boone getting any playing time here....Cam at least anyway.

[Proud North Texan]

Sorry to say but the one thing you can not do with Unt football is get your hopes up.

It's UNT not Unt....

[DeepGreen]

I'll be surprised if Warner plays another down of college football.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Reasons for optimism going into CUSA:

1. QB contender was 15th-28th rated in nation coming out of high school

2. Improved running backs with Reggie Pegram.

3. Improvement in receivers with Darrius Terrell and the emergence of Smith and Lewis.

4. If the Feldt brothers can live up to potential, perhaps our best offensive line ever.

5. Influx of JC (hopefully defensive linemen) players to help shore up some holes.

6. Emergence of Whitfield (3 int., 12 PBU) and the return of Warner.

:goodjob: :goodjob:

[emmitt01]

Reasons for optimism going into CUSA:

1. QB contender was 15th-28th rated in nation coming out of high school

2. Improved running backs with Reggie Pegram.

3. Improvement in receivers with Darrius Terrell and the emergence of Smith and Lewis.

4. If the Feldt brothers can live up to potential, perhaps our best offensive line ever.

5. Influx of JC (hopefully defensive linemen) players to help shore up some holes.

6. Emergence of Whitfield (3 int., 12 PBU) and the return of Warner.

Which one of those isn't based on "we hope"?

[KRAM1]

Which one of those isn't based on "we hope"?

All sports are based on a lot of "we hope". Never a sure thing in any level of sport. That's pretty much why they play the games. Without hope for "next year" there should would be a lot of ever depressed sport team fans. Yet, they hang in there with their teams.

So, you bet, Emmitt, lot of "hope" here....just like the vast majority of teams at every level across this great nation of ours.

Now, will the Mean Green turn that "hope" into a sense of reality in 2013? I guess we will all see soon enough. Until then, I am definitely full of that hope stuff for the Mean Green. No guaranty in life....got to have hope.

And, along with that "hope" I will take a big helping of effort, work, recruiting, buy in, planning and building as well. Fans can hope, team must work!

[D-ry]

Which one of those isn't based on "we hope"?

#1 sounds like a fact from the past not something to hope for.... but I have to agree with KRAM1. Every year I get so pumped up and tell all my friends and family from other schools "this is the year for UNT, you just wait and see". I hang my Mean Green poster on my wall, circle the games I KNOW we can win, a few we should win, and at least 1 I hope we win. I spend hours planing a road trip with my buddies to the bowl game we never become eligible for and lastly I spend a ton of money on new tailgating polos and booze for the home games. Then, as the season plays out I have to write a red "L" next to majority of the circled games, throw out the plans for a bowl trip, and spend even more on drinks post game to drown my sorrows.

Honestly though, I never stop doing the same thing every year, and that's what college football is all about! No one can call the members on this board bandwagoners, and when we do start seeing success (and we will!) we can be assured we contributed to it; whether it be through monetary support, attending games, or just believing in our team! So everyone quit your whining and get back to posting all the things this off season that are going to contribute to upsetting majority of the teams on our 2013 schedule!!!

GMG

[GrayEagle]

all great points except for #4. Don't count on Cam or Boone getting any playing time here....Cam at least anyway.

I don't understand what's happened to him. He was an Under Armour All-American, first team all-state, great size, good strength (benches 360), okay speed for an offensive lineman (5.3) and rated the 28th best offensive tackle as a senior. With all of that going for him he can't crack the starting lineup? We have some good lineman but no one with those credentials. I hope that it's lack of incentive and that changes when Boone gets healthy. They've wanted to play together in the same line.

[MeanGreenTexan]

I hope Cam is not another Jamize Olawale, where we have a star, but we're not getting him on the field...

[Censored by Laurie]

I hope Cam is not another Jamize Olawale, where we have a star, but we're not getting him on the field...

I imagine this is the first and only time Cam Feldt and Jamize Olawale will ever be compared.

[foutsrouts]

I hope Cam is not another Jamize Olawale, where we have a star, but we're not getting him on the field...

Yes, Mac's doghouse seems to be of the maximum security variety.

[GrayEagle]

Which one of those isn't based on "we hope"?

I'd say 1,2,3 and 6. Number 5 should also be a fact, we just don't know to what degree. Mac isn't going to waylay his high school recruitment plan without bettering the talent level from JCs. They will improve the team; we just don't know how quickly and how much.