The Final 8 Belt Years

The Fake Lonnie Finch · December 11, 2012

Anyone who wants to know why this board is so negative need only to read the above.

I'm surprised there are any fans left.

You need to be more positive about our lack of wins.

untjim1995 · December 11, 2012

Anyone who wants to know why this board is so negative need only to read the above.

I'm surprised there are any fans left.

The most ironic part is that we have actually INCREASED our attendance in the last 8 years after winning the SBC four years in a row. Our fanbase has grown with a product that given us 22 wins against 73 losses. Of those 22 wins, 11 have been at home, against these teams: SMU, FIU (in 75 OTs), ULM (twice), WKU (twice), MUTS, Indiana, FAU, ULL, Texas Southern, and South Alabama.

After doing this research, I'm surprised we have any fans left, too.

Edited December 11, 2012 by untjim1995

CurveItAround · December 12, 2012

The most ironic part is that we have actually INCREASED our attendance in the last 8 years after winning the SBC four years in a row. Our fanbase has grown with a product that given us 22 wins against 73 losses. Of those 22 wins, 11 have been at home, against these teams: SMU, FIU (in 75 OTs), ULM (twice), WKU (twice), MUTS, Indiana, FAU, ULL, Texas Southern, and South Alabama.

After doing this research, I'm surprised we have any fans left, too.

Sleeping giant?

:whistling1:

Cooley · December 12, 2012

Man, I think what the last 8 years shows is how horrible the Sunbelt was during our so called "Glory Years" under Dickey. Practically all the schools in the new Sunbelt, other than North Texas, were start ups, hadn't started a program or had been playing D1AA ball. All have since past us by (including Dickey's last 2 years) When you throw in our out of conference record under Dickey, it gets worse. Looks like Todd Dodge didn't set this program back. He just didn't advance it. We may have already enjoyed our best days under McCarney. Tulane, of all people, saw us coming to CUSA and they jumped ship. Gotta laugh to keep from crying.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Cooley

Spaceraider · December 12, 2012

I wonder if there were a lot of MUTS fans who wanted to fire Stockstill after his 2011 2-10 season? That season followed a 6-7 year that saw a bowl loss. No matter what, he certainly rewarded their fans this year with a great season. I'm hopeful McCarney will do that here next year.

There were some definitely during the 2-10 season, and I was expecting a 5-7 season at best this past season, and even more heat on the man. After the McNeese State loss I thought for sure we would be hiring a coach at the end of the season, but to his credit and the players, they got things turned around and no one expected the blowout of Gatech in Atlanta, so everyone ate crow after that, beating wku who was heavily favored in Bowling Green and beat Troy who CRS had not beaten in his time at Middle Tennessee. The blowout at ark state was bad, but MT limped into that game. Seemed like every game from the Ga Tech game on, we were losing key players to injuries each game...There were only ten or eleven seniors on that squad so MT should just as good next season.

CRS has been extended to 2019, a little longer than I feel comfortable with for any coach. But most of the coaches at MT come and stay, Happy that CRS got things turned around.and hopefully MT will have momentum going in to CUSA next season (I think we're done with the Sun Belt and Karl Benson)

Arkstfan · December 12, 2012

Because around here, we hold coaches accountable.

Using the logic we used on Dickey, let's see how the coaches from TFLF's list would have fared:

Arkansas State: 2 winning seasons, 5 non-losing seasons
2005: 6-6, Steve Roberts
2006: 6-6, Steve Roberts
2007: 5-7, Steve Roberts
2008: 6-6, Steve Roberts
2009: 4-8, Steve Roberts
2010: 4-8, Steve Roberts (gets the axe here)
2011: 10-3, Hugh Freeze / David Gunn
2012: 9-3, Gus Malzahn / John Thompson

I would have pulled the trigger in 2009 at ASU. 2008 won at TAMU and then staggered out 2-4 to finish the season, twice losing two score fourth quarter leads. By the end of 2009 the season and a half record was 6-12 and Roberts was as good as done.

PlummMeanGreen · December 12, 2012

Man, I think what the last 8 years shows is how horrible the Sunbelt was during our so called "Glory Years" under Dickey. Practically all the schools in the new Sunbelt, other than North Texas, were start ups, hadn't started a program or had been playing D1AA ball. All have since past us by (including Dickey's last 2 years) When you throw in our out of conference record under Dickey, it gets worse. Looks like Todd Dodge didn't set this program back. He just didn't advance it. We may have already enjoyed our best days under McCarney. Tulane, of all people, saw us coming to CUSA and they jumped ship. Gotta laugh to keep from crying.

Cooley, you are being so blatant and negatively....truthful.

I do think Coach McCarney has some tricks up his sleeve, though. Best and most celebrated coach in North Texas history only won 2 games his 2'nd season in Denton, but even then we felt he was getting some players to build with.

Just wish that new stadium would have given us more star'ed recruits than we seem to be getting but lets just see what happens with that, too. As long as they are recruiting some kids with speed and good quick feet on the line they can get coached and can be developed in the weight room. We can no longer say its about our facilties any more and that is a positive; albeit was over-due in finally getting done for those of us getting long in the tooth.

GMG!

Edited December 12, 2012 by PlummMeanGreen

Arkstfan · December 12, 2012

The Sun Belt UNT dominanted.

UNT. First year back in FBS 1995

ASU. First year back in FBS 1992

Idaho. First year back in FBS 1997

ULL. FBS since 1974

ULM. First year back 1994

MTSU. First year FBS 1999

NMSU. FBS since 1959

Utah State. FBS since 1939 * (joined in 03)

Troy. First year FBS 2002 * (joined in 04)

As to start-ups

FIU & FAU joined in 2005

WKU joined in 09 after a successful FCS run and has finished second the last two seasons.

USA start-up joined this year.

UNT was the third newest back to FBS of the original 7.

PlummMeanGreen · December 12, 2012

The Sun Belt UNT dominanted.
UNT. First year back in FBS 1995
ASU. First year back in FBS 1992
Idaho. First year back in FBS 1997
ULL. FBS since 1974
ULM. First year back 1994
MTSU. First year FBS 1999
NMSU. FBS since 1959
Utah State. FBS since 1939 * (joined in 03)
Troy. First year FBS 2002 * (joined in 04)

As to start-ups
FIU & FAU joined in 2005
WKU joined in 09 after a successful FCS run and has finished second the last two seasons.
USA start-up joined this year.

UNT was the third newest back to FBS of the original 7.

When I was a student at NTSU in the 70's, I can honestly tell you that I knew very little of the schools which would later make up the Sun Belt Conference. They could have been called

anything, ie, start-up, NCAA newbie or whatever. I know we seemed to have a recruiting advantage on most of them early on based on one of Dickey's recruiting hauls which had approximatley 10 Texas state Top 100 recruits in his best (and last) good recruiting class. DD pretty well coasted on those players till they graduated and then the rest of the SBC passed us.

AkrStFan, I did know about your Larry Lacewell's successful run in Jonesboro, because of what I read in a Dave Campbell's Texas Football newsletter that he sent out back in the day and one of those that even had a feature on Lacewell, but outside of Arky' State all the other SBC schools who would make up our schedule very few of us now in our 60's would most likely have known very little about. Now we are having to call some of those schools "daddy" the way they have "beep! beeped" past our program, beginning in Dickey's last 2 years in Denton.

GMG!

Edited December 12, 2012 by PlummMeanGreen

MeanMag · December 13, 2012

Man, I think what the last 8 years shows is how horrible the Sunbelt was during our so called "Glory Years" under Dickey. Practically all the schools in the new Sunbelt, other than North Texas, were start ups, hadn't started a program or had been playing D1AA ball. All have since past us by (including Dickey's last 2 years) When you throw in our out of conference record under Dickey, it gets worse. Looks like Todd Dodge didn't set this program back. He just didn't advance it. We may have already enjoyed our best days under McCarney. Tulane, of all people, saw us coming to CUSA and they jumped ship. Gotta laugh to keep from crying.

I agree with a lot of what you post, but not your reduction of the early 00's. It's certainly not "Glory Years", but it's better than what my generation has seen prior or since.

ArkSt fan already proved that the conference wasn't necessarily full of start-ups at that time, and although most have experienced success after ours, some of that is our perception brought on by us being so terrible since then that a few more losses would have made it mathematically impossible to have a worse run.

2002 8-5 (6-0)

OOC Losses:

Texas (11-2)

Alabama (10-3)

TCU (10-2)

Arizona (4-8)

South Florida (9-2)

2002 OOC Wins:

Nichols (7-4)

Cincinnati (7-7)

The additional opportunity games for wins were obviously South Florida, Arizona (big time), and TCU. Texas and Alabama went on to win National Championships since, we all know what TCU has gone on to do and South Florida pushed for a BCS bowl game since then. Cincinnati has moved up since that time and Nichols is a nobody. 2-5 isnt stellar in OOC but in reality, it wasn't going to get much better than 4-3, making for a 10-3 year. 6 of those 7 out of conference teams are now in BCS autobid leagues.

2003 9-4 (7-0)

OOC Losses:

Oklahoma (12-2)

Air Force (7-5)

Arkansas (9-4)

Memphis (9-4)

2003 OOC Wins:

Baylor (3-9)

Air Force and Memphis are the games that stick out here as they were winnable even though all of our losses were against teams with winning records.

2004 7-5 (7-0)

2004 Losses:

Texas (11-1)

Florida Atlantic (3-9)

Colorado (8-5)

Baylor (3-8)

Southern Miss (7-5)

Obviously losing all your out of conference games sucks. It sucks losing to a provisional D-1A school (FAU) and it sucked losing to Baylor and Southern Miss in the bowl game. Scheduling is still something we bitch about on this board today, but I can't remember a season since that we scheduled 3 big 12 teams. We had the loss to Baylor coming after the way we beat them in 2003, and Colorado was the game where we were without Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas had his breakout party.

I look back on the losses and think you probably couldn't have expected but about 4 more wins through those 3 years. Since then, we have been abysmal no matter who we've played. I thought it was time for Dickey to go just for all of the off the field antics. He was a bitter man. But, I must give him the credit for the teams that he fielded and for making me a North Texas fan, and not just another UNT alum.

Anyone can reduce those years to whatever it is you think, but it's a hell of a lot better to win than to lose to who we've been losing to since. They weren't blow your mind years, but they weren't bad either, which is what we've been since then.