This MEAN GREEN can win CUSA

[SSP]

HeHe...I could think of a few I wish would not have registered. Just too easy..... LOL

I hope you arent talking about me..... ;/

[KRAM1]

I hope you arent talking about me..... ;/

Oh, heck no...keep 'em coming! Can't wait to read your next 100 posts!

[Green P1]

Oh boy, P1's gonna start fetishizing SSP. Here we go...

Uncalled for. Way to stay classy.

#6+winmeangreenarebetterthanthat

[GOMG2013]

Buyers & James Jones should be the starters.

James Jones and buyers started this game. They played decent and shouldnt have too many problems the rest of the year. They will get better and better.

I really did not expect them to be able to keep up with the speed of Georgia, one on one, but the held thier own. it seems like everyone in the nation knows when the other corners are in the game and they are in one on one coverage.

Most teams are going to take those shots if they know it will be single coverage. Our safeties are playing up and peeking in the backfield to stop the run and underneath stuff.

We have faster dbs on the team that can probably run with anybody. Zed Evans, schellchi, Davis...but UNT wants run stoppers in the game over cover guys.

[Proud North Texan]

Go Mean Green

#wincusa

[JesseMartin]

Okay, so in this awesomely weird thread this is what I've gleaned:

1) For an explosive Georgia offense with at least one Heisman hopeful and tons of potential NFL-level talent to put up about 100 more yards against us than they did against highly ranked Clemson and South Carolina is deplorable.

2) 45-21 is a blowout that nobody should have any good feelings about, like 77-0 or 49-7 or 70-7, no matter what the press and everybody else who never paid attention to us before says.

3) Dungeons and Dragons rocks if played while posting some semblance of flirting with a married former NCAA women's basketball player, with or without a basement or photos of feet.

So, back to the original point of the thread, and adding to what a few others said about level of competition...

Remember, I'm a mechanics/training/conditioning guy that only played a few flag football games, so of course my opinion is based more on preparing for competition than the nitty-gritty specifics that some of you have at your disposal. But this is still a pretty simple point.

Especially where the offense is concerned, everyone noticed how poor the running game was, as well as the missed or dropped passes. But as the good little nerd who worked hard to find ways to compete with the guys with tons of experience, what I saw BEFORE each potential reception was a level of coverage that was tough to beat. Not only speed, but also the agility in being able to spin and juke a bit wasn't where it would need to be if you expect to compete with guys at that level. That's where the key issue comes in...the other teams we're going to play aren't at that level. A half-step advance over Georgia's basically semi-pro-level coverage would have been the difference on a few key plays and probably could have won us the game. Even with our defense giving up those few big plays against an offense that is also pretty much at a semi-pro level, that tiny bit more "speed and spin" effectiveness on a few potential receptions probably would have won the game, yes, even in the rain.

Our upcoming opponents will likely make adjustments and get better, but presumably so will we. It doesn't take a football guru to be able to isolate very specific sets of movements and the speed in which they are executed in order to determine a need. If we were expected to play at this level every week, that would be the primary focus for improvement. Doing so in CUSA is still preferable, but let me say this again, it will be very rare for any of the coming teams to have that level of efficacy so the key will be to just keep playing hard a la Ball State, consistently if possible since I agree that consistency has been one of our biggest problems for pretty much forever.

I primarily addressed the passing game, because as far as the running game goes, it seemed to be more a matter of playcalling and reminded me of our 1, 2, 3, punt series we have been accustomed to against ranked opponents in recent history. I know a lot of the problem was that the pass inefficiency didn't help open up the run, but it was so predictable I was calling almost every offensive play before it happened in the second half. And if somebody who's just learning as he watches can pick that up, a top-10 team probably can as well.

This is why I really hope I'm right about the speed and technique, and that it will be stronger against CUSA than it was against an SEC powerhouse. If so, the pass game will be similar to what we saw against BallS taters and Theydahoes, so there will be a greater opportunity for a good run in between.

[Rudy]

I dont understand everyone's disturbance in our secondary and not wanting to spell it out. CORNERS. Buyers is doing great, but.. then there's those other holes......

I don't understand this disturbance in the force. It's like millions of voices screamed out in agony, and then suddenly stopped.

I also don't get why we don't have our corners line up, say, closer than 10 yards off the LOS, and jam the recievers coming off the ball. We have to start disrupting their routes.

[untbowler]

probably a;ready said but the killer for the team was the INT in the red zone as UNT was driving to tie the game at 28-28, looks like it took the steam out of the team especially the offense.

Was just a bad, bad throw DT never checked down and expected Smith to run the route when he had stopped the route, even the announcers said DT never looked anywhere else and missed WR by 15 yds.

Offense never did much after.

Good game by the defense but the running game has too be a huge worry, this was not a very good UGA defense

[UNT90]

Lol. No sir. Basketball. The second best sport.

Women's basketball is a sport?? Who knew...

Come on, most of y'all knew that was coming.

[UNT90]

I also don't get why we don't have our corners line up, say, closer than 10 yards off the LOS, and jam the recievers coming off the ball. We have to start disrupting their routes.

Perhaps you missed that 98 yard TD pass?

[SSP]

Women's basketball is a sport?? Who knew...

Come on, most of y'all knew that was coming.

Ha Ha Very funny.

But according to the $0.00 that I owe on student loans... yes, it most certainly is.

[KRAM1]

Ha Ha Very funny.

But according to the $0.00 that I owe on student loans... yes, it most certainly is.

And, at this point may be the most solid team the Mean Green has of the "big three". Coach P is doing a great job of building that team into a contender in CUSA. Right now I would rank our top three, in terms of where it is at this exact moment as:

Women's BB

Football

Men's BB

Women's BB has made strides under Coach P and is fun to watch...heck, I went to more women's games last year than ever before. One reason is that Coach P has done so much to support all the UNT programs that I felt almost compelled to go. Football is definitely on the right track. If you don't believe that you simply are not looking or simply so jaded that you fail to see what's in front of your face. While I believe our men's BB team will be improved this year over last, I think we will have to wait to see if the team decides to play as a team, stop pouting and play to their potential. Clearly not so last year...as evidenced by the suspension to a key player the day before the tournament in Hot Springs and the on going trials of our "top draft pick".

So, yes, women's BB is a sport, UNT90. Since you say you won't come to the men's games this year, why not check out the ladies. Could be fun, yes?

[Rudy]

Perhaps you missed that 98 yard TD pass?

Actually, I did. I was in the restroom when it happened. When I walked out and saw, I almost went right back in.

If he did jam the reciever, he didn't do it well enough. If you're in cover 2, you have to give the safety time to get over. If you're in man, you have to give yourself an edge to stay with him.

[MeanGreenTexan]

I'll answer each of your response points separately.

Yes, the punt could have been downed on the 1 inch line, but it was not.

The horrible punt you and I are talking about happened VERY early in the 4th quarter. Plenty of time left with a 35-21 score (Still very much in reach). Pin them deep, as we should have there, and make them march it out of the end zone. Plenty of time left to play and make up 14 points at this point in the game. 4th & 11 there. It's either a long FG (50+yd), or punt & pin them deep.

You have to be a little practical, you honestly think NT had a chance in hell of scoring 3 times with 3 minutes left.

No I don't, but at least the guys were trying to win. That's the point I'm trying to make. McCarney's mindset changed. He wasn't in give-up mode like we've seen out of him in the past.

Also fail to see your logic were a punt with the game still in play on their side of the field is a good call and punting on NT's side of the field with the game already lost is a poor choice.

Addressed the first point above, as for the second... it's because at the end of the game , you're not playing field position game anymore, you're either trying to win, or not. Hello?!?! You play to win the game! Desperation mode? Sure! Horrible odds? Sure! Trying to win? YES!

Yes, I do care what casual fans think of the program; because those causal fans can become NT fans or even recruits as their perception of NT football improves. '

Of course YOU & I (and everyone else here on GMG.com) care what casual fans think of the program. That SHOULDN'T matter to coach McCarney though during the game. EVER. That's not his job. His job is to try and win football games. These are 2 very different points.

Also I still think punting and hoping for a fumble or other misplay on their side of the field is a much more likely scoring opportunity than NT driving the ball seventy yards in the time left and score. NT had virtually no running game. A fumble on the punt return on a slippery field seems just as likely as NT being able to mount a td march.

With 2 minutes left? Or, instead of your scenario, they execute a fair catch or something and simply run the ball/clock to end the game. Give-up mode.

You're very correct, with hindsight being 20/20, this result would have made the score look better to "casual fans". Instead, we gambled, lost, and they scored a late garbage TD. Tough stuff, but at least the guys were trying to win.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Actually, I did. I was in the restroom when it happened. When I walked out and saw, I almost went right back in.

If he did jam the reciever, he didn't do it well enough. If you're in cover 2, you have to give the safety time to get over. If you're in man, you have to give yourself an edge to stay with him.

They broke this play down, and the safety's man was in the slot (so no safety help). This was single coverage, and Whitfield was giving the WR a 10+ yd cushion. So it was set up well... Whitfield just got burned, again.

I'll say it again: The deep ball is this defense's achilles heel. Need to shore that up, or any decent QB is going to exploit it.

[Green P1]

Ha Ha Very funny.

But according to the $0.00 that I owe on student loans... yes, it most certainly is.

#ugh

#scoreboard

Edited September 23, 2013 by Green P1

[Censored by Laurie]

Or better yet, how our fans lowly expectations suck, that is the real kick in the balls.

why are you back?

[MeanMag]

There was a 4th down coaching decision in the 4th that caused the score to get more lopsided, but it was probably because there was a sliver of hope. I probably would have punted, but they were exploiting their speed advantage in the secondary, and it was obvious we had to score to keep up at that point.

They were arrogant enough to kick it to chancellor and he did what he does. Georgia fans should be angry at their coach for kicking to him. You noticed they didn't kick it to him again after that. Almost everyone we've played so far this season knows better. Richt knew, he just didn't care.

On the blocked punt, Georgia was arrogant enough again to not bring in anyone to protect. The were too eager to flip the field. Again, coaching.

They are right though, had their coaches played the game the right way, it likely would not have been as close as it was.

That said, I was very happy to be tied in the 3rd. I did not expect that. Defense played great through the first 2 1/2. Offense made some good plays, but could string much together after coming out looking very capable.

[MeanMag]

I don't want to discredit our players either... Richt was sure his players were far superior to ours. Against most teams, I would say he's correct. We had the guys with the ability to make him pay for his mistakes in decision making or play calling.

Georgia did in the 4th Q what they should have done in the first.

The final score probably wouldn't have been that different.

Edited September 23, 2013 by MeanMag

[GrayEagle]

I'm as pleased as anyone about our showing in Athens but we have a lot to correct before we can be strongly considered to win the CUSA championship. I think that winning the West Division might be feasible but I don't think that we are/will be that close to East Carolina or Marshall. Both have better offenses and defenses than we've shown. We are not that much stronger than those two and can't overpower the better teams.

Our play-calling still sucks. We had negative yards running on first down until very late in the game, yet we continued to call the same running plays on first down.

Our running game isn't cutting it. I don't know if the o-line can't run block or the backs just aren't quick enough to find the seam but our average per carry is eleventh of the 14 CUSA teams. It could be that we lack speed. Brown provided a change of pace last year but we don't seem to have a speed back this year.

Our defensive backfield seems to have improved this year over last with the improvement of Buyers and the addition of James Jones but we are still giving up the big play. We are dead last in the conference in passing yards given up.

Improve those areas and we could win eight or nine games and maybe even a bowl. Do nothing and we might still win six games because the conference is still pretty weak this year but Southern Miss and La Tech will be back soon (and they'll be in our division). We need to ge a leg up on them now.

[untbowler]

I'm as pleased as anyone about our showing in Athens but we have a lot to correct before we can be strongly considered to win the CUSA championship. I think that winning the West Division might be feasible but I don't think that we are/will be that close to East Carolina or Marshall. Both have better offenses and defenses than we've shown. We are not that much stronger than those two and can't overpower the better teams.

Our play-calling still sucks. We had negative yards running on first down until very late in the game, yet we continued to call the same running plays on first down.

The announcers commented as much that UGA just put 9 in the box every first down and sure enough we ran into the brick wall everytime. Maybe the big difference was Antonio Johnson not playing.

[yyz28]

Damn, this thread makes me tired.

So, for my first real post in about a year, let me say that I think UNT did better against UGA than I thought they would.

...however, I can't ignore the bad (including coaching and play calling) we witnessed against Ohio. I can't ignore that Idaho really isn't that good. I can't ignore it took everything we had to get back and take down Ball State. ...and I can't, after 20+ years of following this team ignore the fact that more times than once, I've felt propped up by a little success only to be let down at the end of a .500 or worse year. ...and this has happened more times than I care to recount.

As a result, I find myself cautiously optimistic. North Texas COULD BE on the verge of finally breaking out, of seeing the right side of .500 in virtually a decade. ...and I'll be at every remaining home game, win, lose or draw, rooting the team on as I have year in and year out.

...and while I find the positivity refreshing, I don't think the folks being "negative" are wrong for their concern. ...I think the "let's tap the breaks and see what happens THIS WEEK" is the right way to be looking at this. CERTAINLY the right way for the team to be looking at this. IF they look as forward as some of the folks in this thread are, disappointment is guaranteed for all.

So, let's quit the in-fighting. I'm excited to see some newbies fired up on this board, but they should remember what us "old-timers" have been through before calling anyone an "Idiot". We're all on the same side here, folks. GO MEAN GREEN!

[PlummMeanGreen]

I'm as pleased as anyone about our showing in Athens but we have a lot to correct before we can be strongly considered to win the CUSA championship. I think that winning the West Division might be feasible but I don't think that we are/will be that close to East Carolina or Marshall. Both have better offenses and defenses than we've shown. We are not that much stronger than those two and can't overpower the better teams.

Our play-calling still sucks. We had negative yards running on first down until very late in the game, yet we continued to call the same running plays on first down.

Our running game isn't cutting it. I don't know if the o-line can't run block or the backs just aren't quick enough to find the seam but our average per carry is eleventh of the 14 CUSA teams. It could be that we lack speed. Brown provided a change of pace last year but we don't seem to have a speed back this year.

Our defensive backfield seems to have improved this year over last with the improvement of Buyers and the addition of James Jones but we are still giving up the big play. We are dead last in the conference in passing yards given up.

Improve those areas and we could win eight or nine games and maybe even a bowl. Do nothing and we might still win six games because the conference is still pretty weak this year but Southern Miss and La Tech will be back soon (and they'll be in our division). We need to ge a leg up on them now.

I know a bit of cyanide to go with the green koolade, but Gray Eagle (who has watched Mean Green football before Fouts Field was even built) has some viable concerns.

I don't get the minus yards for our backs, either; especially since 2 of our OL were on Phil Steele's All CUSA team. Now Georgia might have had future 1'st round NFL draft choices on their entire defensive line which would cause negative yards but most likely not.

We know how proud the 2 SEC broadcasters who kept repeating "the Dawgs obviously have been looking ahead to the LSU game all week long" but much of their homer'isms had to do with the fact that this was an SEC TV broadcast.

We'll all know we have a good (most likely bowl bound) football team when these 2 things occur:

(1) We win conference games on the road.

(2) We play a game (home or on the road) when all our cylinders are completely out of kelter, but we still somehow win the game.

Anyone remember another season last decade when the ball bounced our way almost every single time which the wins that resulted because Lady Luck was smiling on us gave us our 1'st bowl game in decades?

Anyone remember the Miracle in the Desert out at Las Cruces, New Mexico, too? Well, we may need to pull 1 or 2 of those miracles out of our hat in CUSA for us to go where we want to go; that is, to a bowl game game with 6 or 7 wins.

GMG!

Edited September 23, 2013 by PlummMeanGreen

[GOMG2013]

...and while I find the positivity refreshing, I don't think the folks being "negative" are wrong for their concern. ...I think the "let's tap the breaks and see what happens THIS WEEK" is the right way to be looking at this. CERTAINLY the right way for the team to be looking at this. IF they look as forward as some of the folks in this thread are, disappointment is guaranteed for all.

So, let's quit the in-fighting. I'm excited to see some newbies fired up on this board, but they should remember what us "old-timers" have been through before calling anyone an "Idiot". We're all on the same side here, folks. GO MEAN GREEN!

being cautious is understandable. Being so afraid to where you fear teams like Rice, UTSA, Tulane So Miss, and La Tech is ridiculous.

I have seen these teams get more props on this board from some posters, than UNT.

UTSA? Tulane? Really? UNT has looked better than most of the teams we play and that should be a reason for excitement.

Edited September 23, 2013 by GOMG2013

[MeanMag]

being cautious is understandable. Being so afraid to where you fear teams like Rice, UTSA, Tulane So Miss, and La Tech is ridiculous.

I have seen these teams get more props on this board from some posters, than UNT.

UTSA? Tulane? Really? UNT has looked better than most of the teams we play and that should be a reason for excitement.

You obviously weren't around the last few times we played Tulsa an Rice. Had you been, you would understand the apprehension, not fear.