Report

I don’t think it’s at all problematic that have to think the coaches were surprised that Mestemaker won the backup QB job, but thank goodness it was a meritocracy. What would I would find problematic is if Mestemaker wasn’t given the opportunity to be the backup because he is a walk-on. Regarding asking too much of him, don’t you think they based it on how he was playing? The announcers mentioned that the first 15 or so plays were scripted (in no particular order) to see how things went. When it was obvious he could handle it, they allowed him to do so. Had he struggled early, I’m sure we would have seen more of a run game. You view that as bad coaching and I view it as good coaching that allowed us to be competitive as a big underdog. I agree with everything you said about the defense being bad, going for it in 4th down, passing up field goals, etc. Those things drive me nuts, but I see it all the time in other games I watch as well. I hold him accountable as well, but I just don’t blame him for every-single-thing that goes wrong.

On TV the Texas State fans appeared to outnumber us 2-1, 3-1.

The Band and the Cheer staff and the Talons do not have a coordinated routine to engage the fans before or during the game. Other than the very generic "Go Mean-Green" we have no signature yell. We have no relentless signature chant, other than the very disjointed and often awkward "NORTH-TEXAS" chant. Which often ends very awkwardly. I've told this story several times in the past, so get your "roll-eyes" emojis ready. In 1990 I was invited to participate in a focus group. Dr. Peter Lane was the person leading the group, and basically, they were trying to determine if there was any interest in North Texas getting back into D-1 football, and what concerns (if any) that the group has about this prospect. The group seemed to feel that it was a good idea and so the meeting was coming to an end. At that point I asked if I could add something to the discussion. Dr. Lane reluctantly agreed. I said that when I go to North Texas games, I observe that we have a Band that shows up in the correct colored Uniform and plays their football play list along with other tunes. The cheer staff show up in their appropriately colored uniforms and proceed to do "cheer stuff".....mostly gymnastics. The football team shows up in their appropriately colored uniforms and goes about the business of trying to win a game in front of what always appears to me to be (for the most part) a somewhat disinterested and/or confused-about-their-role, crowd. I said that all of these aforementioned groups show up and meet the basic requirements of their roles and then leave. There doesn't appear that there is any connection between these groups, before, during, or after the game. I said that it looks more like a contracted event than a gathering of true fans who are celebrating our North Texas culture......whatever the hell that is. So here we are, 34 years later, and based on comments in this thread (and others) nothing has really changed since 1990. Oh, there is one change. When I visited with Dr. Cook a time or two three or four years ago, I told him that I always wondered why we didn't have a "North Texas" fanfare for the beginning of the Band's pre-game show. Like the Texas Band does. I said that surely someone in the most outstanding school of music in the southwest could come up something as relatively simple as that. Well, Dr. Cook came through for us. Thank you, Dr. Cook!

@BillySee58thanks for the breakdown. It's pretty early in all of this NIL era. The more time goes by, the more stories we get of NIL "deals" not being fulfilled even at bigger schools. There will always be some who transfer. Relationships, early opportunities, and set role on the roster are surely going to, if not already, be weighed against the NIL opportunities elsewhere. With the exception of guys like Mensah who left Tulane for a reported $4 million per year, it looks like many starters are aware the transfer portal and NIL are completely uncertain and in some cases, unforgiving. For a star player, going to sit on the bench at a P4 as we've seen happen may not be worth giving up NFL draft stock. Looking at raw talents like Gumms and Maclin, that repeated success in the AAC would probably have earned them NFL buzz. This conference has done well at getting offensive skill players in the NFL. Maclin may still get it by name but, barring a great 2025 season, the draft dreams are probably done. That quick money came at a long-term expense. For others who aren't as pure of talents, sure, go get your money now. There's always a risk, though.