How much are we going to run the ball?

North Texas Shep · August 15, 2013

A team that can run often is a good thing as long as they are picking up first downs. Our running game last year, was the bad kind that went almost no where... Which is also where are passing game went. Hopefully we run a lot and achieve a good 5 yds a carry.

Edited August 15, 2013 by North Texas Shep

BillySee58 · August 15, 2013

No problem...but if you are talking to me...that IS my opinion and that opinion is a valid part of the discussion. I could not care less about what plays in what perscentages...this is old hat...Coach Mac has said on may occasions that we wants about a 50-50 mix of pass and run. Me, sorry, but I don't care what the mix is...I just want to see a win.

Although I do recall how boring UNT football was the last couple of years under the Dickey reign when we ran and ran and ran and ran some more...up the middle...up the middle...up the middle...or so it seemed. Probably deceptive, but I recall lots of "discussion" in the stands about the lack of excitement...win or lose.

Yes, here comes a Hayden Fry reference...Hayden could lose a game and at least you had fun watching it, heck in the end Dickey could win one and you left bored to tears it seemed.

SO, a 50-50 mix might be OK, as would boring Dickey football again as long as UNT won. Lots of attitudes about the "boring nature" of a Dickey win are probably long forgotten after these last, what, eight years of losing. You really had to be there in both eras to understand the difference between watching a Fry loss and a Dickey win compared to the last years under Dickey. maybe you were there...if so, you know what I mean and can understand my position in this discussion.

We have exciting players like Jimmersonand Chancellor who will make things exciting. If we're winning then those guys, and others, are making plays.

I couldn't say I was there during the Dickey days, although I did watch J Thomas, but those games where you have a back go for 200 yards is still darn entertaining. Even if it takes 40 carries.

Seeing some offensive stat records challenged this year would be fun to watch and would help us out in the win column.

meangreanmick · August 15, 2013

True, but the problem was the fact that we ran the ball roughly 99.9% of the time on first down. We may have run the ball only 56% of the time, but it and the 44% when we threw the ball were terribly predictable.

67% run on first down.

56% run on 2nd down

34% run on 3rd down

UNT90 · August 15, 2013

67% run on first down.
56% run on 2nd down
34% run on 3rd down

Yep. Very predictable.

GrayEagle · August 15, 2013

Last year, the two most prolific running teams in CUSA, Tulsa and Rice, ran the ball 59% and 61% respectively. But, they had the two best defenses also. Southern Miss also ran the ball 60% of the time but their defense was terrible and they were 0-12.

The average pass play (at least last year in CUSA) gained three more yards than the average running play. I'd guess that's about par nationally as well. So it bodes well to use the pass a lot unless you are turning the ball over. LaTech had the #1 offense in the brown-eyed world and they passed 51%; ran 49%. Unfortunately, their defense was dead last in the FBS or they would have been a bracket buster.

A three yards and a cloud of dust offense is boring but if it wins you can learn to tolerate it for awhile. A slick offense that wins sells tickets because they're fun to watch. But, a stout defense wins championships. Tulsa lost a lot of their stop troops and we could have the best defense in CUSA this coming year in spite of our weak run defense. CUSA is a strong offensive conference but defenses are suspect.

FirefightnRick · August 15, 2013

I couldn't say I was there during the Dickey days, although I did watch J Thomas, but those games where you have a back go for 200 yards is still darn entertaining. Even if it takes 40 carries.

It was entertaining when it happened. But often times it didnt. People here who think Mac's running game is boring hasn't seen a "boring running game" compared to early Dickey teams. Anyone who witnessed the "Throw-The-Ball" chant game at TCU can tell you what I mean.

It got to the point where as a fanbase we started to look forward to watching our defense. I entered a "Predict The Score" contest over on one of the ULL boards, but instead of giving a score I predicted ULL wouldn't cross the 50 more than 3 times. They crossed it twice.

We had a defense that could be suffocating at times and when TCU was ranked #1 in just about every defensive statistical category we were in the top 10 with them. I want to say 3rd in scoring D and 9th in run D?

Anyhow, The Buick was perfectly happy to win a game 2 to nothing if it took that. We played field position all game long and would trade punts for hours. It was extremely boring but it worked for a time.

In '02, despite having a vastly superior team to a very poor 1-AA Nichols State team Dickey only allowed Andrew Smith to throw to the ball, I want to say 8-12 times? I only recall NSU crossing the 50 once the whole game and we only took a 10 point lead into the 4th quarter. I remember at the end of the third noticing people leaving and heading to their cars.

Rick

Edited August 15, 2013 by FirefightnRick

golfingomez · August 15, 2013

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guarantee that UNT will run the ball AT LEAST 6 times a game

untjim1995 · August 16, 2013

It was entertaining when it happened. But often times it didnt. People here who think Mac's running game is boring hasn't seen a "boring running game" compared to early Dickey teams. Anyone who witnessed the "Throw-The-Ball" chant game at TCU can tell you what I mean.
It got to the point where as a fanbase we started to look forward to watching our defense. I entered a "Predict The Score" contest over on one of the ULL boards, but instead of giving a score I predicted ULL wouldn't cross the 50 more than 3 times. They crossed it twice.
We had a defense that could be suffocating at times and when TCU was ranked #1 in just about every defensive statistical category we were in the top 10 with them. I want to say 3rd in scoring D and 9th in run D?
Anyhow, The Buick was perfectly happy to win a game 2 to nothing if it took that. We played field position all game long and would trade punts for hours. It was extremely boring but it worked for a time.
In '02, despite having a vastly superior team to a very poor 1-AA Nichols State team Dickey only allowed Andrew Smith to throw to the ball, I want to say 8-12 times? I only recall NSU crossing the 50 once the whole game and we only took a 10 point lead into the 4th quarter. I remember at the end of the third noticing people leaving and heading to their cars.
Rick

To piggyback on this, I remember when we played any SBC team in that 4-year run, especially at Fouts, and I would go into the game wondering if the opposing team would get to 17 points. Every once in a while, an SBC team could top 20 on us. The thing that just killed those teams wasn't just that our defense was so good, but it was that we ran so much time off the clock, that once we had a lead, they had to pass to catch up and those MG Defenses were especially stout at pass defense. That line just killed the QB and we have never had a secondary like we did in the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Man, those guys just killed you.

To me, though, the game that ultimately made Dickey Ball so obviously boring was when we played FIU in 2006 at Fouts. We won by a field goal, something like 26-23 in 7 OTs. We literally had no offense at all and I remember thinking that this had to be the last year he would coach at UNT. That boring ass offense just wasn't going to connect with the typical college football fan. Even when we were good, we didn't really connect with those fans, since our gameplan was so basic. What I didn't realize was that replacing Dickey, which was still the right thing to do, would lead to the university having to hire a high school coach with high school coaches as assistants. Sadly, that led to the most catastrophic losing stretch the unviersity has ever seen, but ironically, it was typically watched in front of bigger crowds than the Dickey-coached teams because throwing the ball was more enjoyable to your typical fan that running the ball over and over, especially on 3rd and 15 every time. Of course, we could have used Dickey's running offense when we routinely had first and goal under Dodge and had no idea had to run the ball in the red zone. Only at North Texas could you go from one coach who ran an offense like he was always in the red zone to one who ran an offense as if he was always in between the 20s. So, yes, the point FFR made about defense is really the ultimate point--at North Texas, when our defense has been awesome, our team has usually been competitive at the least. We need to get back to that again, no matter who the coach is or what style offense we usually run.