Who Will NORTH TEXAS Beat By The Largest Margin

[NCMeanGreen]

And the delusions continue.

Some of ya'll are beginning to sound like HogDawg!

Here is to a good game either way!

True...that guy is somewhat delusional. It appears that La Tech fans are fairly polarized, where a dichotomy is created between those that are ok with going to the Sunbelt, and those opposed. Why would the Sunbelt be so bad for you guys???

[stebo]

The Troy game is in Denton on a Tuesday night - but on ESPN2 - so you can catch it on TV if you are really interested. Shouldn't conflict with the Idaho/San Jose showdown that will be on at 11 p.m. Central Time and played in front of 5K people in the Hanger

[TechFan]

True...that guy is somewhat delusional. It appears that La Tech fans are fairly polarized, where a dichotomy is created between those that are ok with going to the Sunbelt, and those opposed. Why would the Sunbelt be so bad for you guys???

There is a long history of trying to distance ourselves from NLU/ULM. Being only 30 minutes apart and fighting over a very small population base has put some seriously hard feelings between the two schools.

I do not think most Tech fans hate the Belt. We were members of the Belt for years and kept trying to get a football conference organized with the Belt. Tulsa, UNT, Ark State, ULL were some of the teams being bantered about for conference mates. Tech finally got tired of waiting and jumped to the WAC. People in authority at the conference office were pissed. They claimed that we were trying to undermine the new conference by jumping ship. There was a lot of insults thrown back and forth, and most fans got turned off by the discourse.

Eventually Tech will be in a conference made up of schools like UNT, Tulsa, SMU, Ark State, etc. It will take time, but it will happen.

For some fans, as long as WW is commissioner of the Belt, then Tech should stay away. These fans wish nothing but failure on WW. Others realize that in 2 years, our payouts from the WAC have a very good chance of being significantly reduced. Something will have to give. Tech will either come back to the Belt, get an invitation from yet another version of CUSA, or go independent again.

[0footballfan0]

Easy ....LA Tech. Reason is UNT playes their best mid/late season.

Tulsa is game 3. UNT usually finds it's grove in Game 4.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Do you folks plan on bringin' the tortillas to Ruston?  If so, we'll have to ready something of our own, mwahahaha.  I dunno what we'd toss though...   We could throw peaches, since that's Ruston's trademark.  lol

I love the BS about how we have no talent and all that, woohoo, I can't wait to show that as a mistake.  (it's looking like the smack cannons are being loaded, though I'm using restraint since it ain't my board)

Do you play Troy at home or in 'Bama this year?  I'd REALLY like to catch that game on TV if possible.  That should be what.. the Belt championship?  Very interesting game.  I think ULL will be up this year, but I guess currently the Belt title is still yours to lose.

I'm also excited to see our badass LBs go up against your great RBs.  fun fun fun!  Come tailgate with us, we'll leave plenty of space for ya!

The Sun Belt Conference office is doing its best to get a new host for the New Orleans Bowl, made certain that the game which will probably determine the SBC football champion would be:

(1) ..........played early in the season probably because of our team's reputation of being slow startin' most seasons. As one said, we usually start our march to meshing as a football team our 4'th or 5'th game of the year. This year probably even moreso.

(2) ..........played at Middle Tennessee (its our time to go to the Boro' anyway)--yet play there in the 2'nd game of the entire football season?

If UNT goes to its 5'th NO's Bowl in a row this December, there will probably be gnashing of teeth, bare white knuckles and under-the-breath cursing from some in the SBC's offices located in New Orleans.

We seem to always finish 3'rd or 4'th in the SBC recruiting round-up each February, but it seems Coach Dickey's Texas and Oklahoma HS products always finish 1'st on the football while the others win the recruiting beauty contest. I know which competition we prefer to win at NORTH TEXAS.

Troy U? Read the pre-season college football magazines and most of those rags would tell you the Trojans lost a tremendous amount of talent off last year's team. Don't know who they are reloading with but when they come to Denton this Fall I guess we'll all find out. Its an ESPN national telecast from Fouts Field.

Edited July 2, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[NCMeanGreen]

Easy ....LA Tech. Reason is UNT playes their best mid/late season.

Tulsa is game 3. UNT usually finds it's grove in Game 4.

Yeah...right when the SB race starts!

That is the point, though. We need to win those early season OOC. I think some sports writers are getting numb to us smacking the Belt each year...

[Ktulu7]

Hey greenminer.

I can offer a little insight on our team, but I'm not a complete expert, you'd have to surf our board probably for more info. The thing is, we lost Moats but have 3 replacements that are excellent. Freddie Franklin was the backup last year and is just about as fast but not as strong as Moats. Mark Dillard is faster in a straight line than Moats probably, but doesn't cut as well, but he's a big strong guy. Patrick Jackson, the freshman, is one of the best RB recruits in the nation, but how that translates into College ball, we'll have to see.

As far as passing... Kubik's an alright QB really, we had a TON of dropped passes last year. We have a new WR coach and probably THE FASTEST wide reciever in the entire NCAA in Jonathan Holland. Now.. will our guys catch better this year? Who knows. Freddie King is another good WR we have as more of a short route, go-to guy for quick yards.

OL is fine with a guy just tryin' to up his draft stock playin' on it. We've got a big running-back playin' TE right now since we just don't have any.

Defense.... Despite the bull they say on most prediction sites about our DL, the guys stepping into those positions are great and FRIGGING HUGE. Last year, our OL and DL guys were the largest in the country. We have a couple guys that could bust through the line sometimes, but mostly they keep everyone busy and clogged up while our fantastic LB corps do their work. Just ask Fresno State what they think of our linebackers, especially Byron Santiago or Barry Robertson. We got a couple good recruits at CB but I have no idea how the'll play. We have a FANTASTIC safety recruit, but I'm actually not sure our bonehead coach will play him and would rather our crappy one play... who knows.

Basically.. what you have is a very very underrated team in Ruston.

Offense: about average unless our WRs can catch the ball, 'cause the RBs will be great

Defense: insane upfront... secondary remains to be seen as it sucked last year...still 3-4 D with our new DC coming from Ok. State

Sp. Teams: average with an inconsistent but strong punter, average kicker that improved in the off-season, and decent return guys with straight-up speed but not a lot of juke'n and jive'n.

The key here is..... Coach Bicknell... Will he get the team up for games like the Florida game or the one in Fresno? Who knows? We don't hardly ever lose at home and they will be up like crazy for you guys when you show up, so given your road OOC record.. this is stacked against you, but I'm not gonna automatically put a "W" in the slot next to your name on the schedule card. We'll just see what happens. I'll be in Baton Rouge watching you guys at LSU in September, so if you can give those guys a run for their money, you might have a chance. Anyway, lookin' forward to it and hope to see lots of you Green folks in Ruston this year.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Hey greenminer.

I can offer a little insight on our team, but I'm not a complete expert, you'd have to surf our board probably for more info.  The thing is, we lost Moats but have 3 replacements that are excellent.  Freddie Franklin was the backup last year and is just about as fast but not as strong as Moats.  Mark Dillard is faster in a straight line than Moats probably, but doesn't cut as well, but he's a big strong guy.  Patrick Jackson, the freshman, is one of the best RB recruits in the nation, but how that translates into College ball, we'll have to see.

As far as passing... Kubik's an alright QB really, we had a TON of dropped passes last year.  We have a new WR coach and probably THE FASTEST wide reciever in the entire NCAA in Jonathan Holland.  Now.. will our guys catch better this year?  Who knows.  Freddie King is another good WR we have as more of a short route, go-to guy for quick yards.

OL is fine with a guy just tryin' to up his draft stock playin' on it.  We've got a big running-back playin' TE right now since we just don't have any.

Defense....  Despite the bull they say on most prediction sites about our DL, the guys stepping into those positions are great and FRIGGING HUGE.  Last year, our OL and DL guys were the largest in the country.  We have a couple guys that could bust through the line sometimes, but mostly they keep everyone busy and clogged up while our fantastic LB corps do their work.  Just ask Fresno State what they think of our linebackers, especially Byron Santiago or Barry Robertson.  We got a couple good recruits at CB but I have no idea how the'll play.  We have a FANTASTIC safety recruit, but I'm actually not sure our bonehead coach will play him and would rather our crappy one play... who knows.

Basically.. what you have is a very very underrated team in Ruston.

Offense:  about average unless our WRs can catch the ball, 'cause the RBs will be great

Defense:  insane upfront... secondary remains to be seen as it sucked last year...still 3-4 D with our new DC coming from Ok. State

Sp. Teams:  average with an inconsistent but strong punter, average kicker that improved in the off-season, and decent return guys with straight-up speed but not a lot of juke'n and jive'n.

The key here is..... Coach Bicknell...  Will he get the team up for games like the Florida game or the one in Fresno?  Who knows?  We don't hardly ever lose at home and they will be up like crazy for you guys when you show up, so given your road OOC record.. this is stacked against you, but I'm not gonna automatically put a "W" in the slot next to your name on the schedule card.  We'll just see what happens.  I'll be in Baton Rouge watching you guys at LSU in September, so if you can give those guys a run for their money, you might have a chance.  Anyway, lookin' forward to it and hope to see lots of you Green folks in Ruston this year.

Now we didn't do too bad on the road in Lafayette on ESPN national TV last Fall, Ktulu7. We hope history repeats itself this October.

[MeanGreen61]

Defense....  Despite the bull they say on most prediction sites about our DL, the guys stepping into those positions are great and FRIGGING HUGE.  Last year, our OL and DL guys were the largest in the country.  We have a couple guys that could bust through the line sometimes, but mostly they keep everyone busy and clogged up while our fantastic LB corps do their work.  Just ask Fresno State what they think of our linebackers, especially Byron Santiago or Barry Robertson.  We got a couple good recruits at CB but I have no idea how the'll play.  We have a FANTASTIC safety recruit, but I'm actually not sure our bonehead coach will play him and would rather our crappy one play... who knows.

Size is great in LBs & the D-line, but strength, speed & quickness are far more important.

No disrespect, but last year you defense was ranked 78th against the rush giving up 176.5 ypg. Our defense was down last year and it was ranked #74. It'll be interesting to say the least.

[Ktulu7]

No offense here at all.. but compare the competition. At least look what we did to Auburn's running game. We kept turning the ball over, so we got blown out, and they could pass on us, but at least look how crappy their RBs were against us. Anywho, anyone assuming we'll suck because of our D stats last year and the loss of Moats, will be unpleasantly surprised. This year's schedule is a CAKE WALK to us, compared to the past few years. No way we don't bowl. Our coach even promised we'd WIN a bowl game this year or else. Don't count us out at all. I don't count you guys out either, don't get me wrong. You're building a decent program in Denton, all you gotta do now is try to take the next step by beating non-Sun Belt teams. I know we're targeted for that, so your team will play up to us somewhat when you get here. Lookin' forward to it. Good luck.

[greenminer]

all you gotta do now is try to take the next step by beating non-Sun Belt teams.  I know we're targeted for that, so your team will play up to us somewhat when you get here.  Lookin' forward to it.  Good luck.

We've been thinking this for years. I'll believe it when I see it.

*Keeping my fingers crossed*

-gm

[PlummMeanGreen]

We've been thinking this for years. I'll believe it when I see it.

*Keeping my fingers crossed*

-gm

Outside of LSU, our OOC schedule seems a bit lighter than usual. I think we've played a Top 10 school to open our season most every year Dickey has been coach it seems.

Darrell Dickey's Mean Green teams have beaten Texas Tech (was it 2) out of 3 or 4 times they've played. So we are not completely without some higher profile OCC wins during his tenure in Denton. Oh, and we did beat the CUSA football champion in the NO's Bowl 3 years ago so I guess that sorta' counts, too, right?

We all want to beat a Big Boy now and then, but for mid-majors and after having done a bit of research on the subject, such victories don't seem to turn mid-major programs around as much as you would think. One might think such victories might translate into a substantial increase of alumnus fund-raising, dramatic improvements on athletic facilities or even new athletic venues, but for most mid-majors I don't see that that has happened after such a Big Win over Big Boy U.

What NT is doing at our 200 acre Mean Green Athletic Village is out of neccesity because TxDOT wants frontage property adjacent to Fouts Field (and they will get their land) PLUS we are just playing catch-up with facilities we should have already had in place quarter of a century ago IMO.

The best part of all this for NORTH TEXAS is the fact that our campus fathers made a most dramatic decision to move all football venues, operations, a new Athletic Center, a new luxurious dorm and a future new football stadium to one of the best locations any NCAA D1-A school could ever hope for, ie, on 200 acres of prime interstate real estate and on land located between 2 Texas interstates. What a visual that will be for the hundreds of thousands who will annually drive by our athletic village as they go to Dallas or Fort Worth where those 2 interstates divide in Denton right where the Mean Green Athletic Village just happens to be located. What a recruiting gem all this will be when all venues are completed.

For the LSU game this Fall, I really hope Coach Dickey will play about half his bench, get our key players several plays in a hostile environment and then get em' all ready for a more important game for us the next week at Middle Tennessee.

There was a time I wouldn't miss going to such a Big Name football game such as an LSU, but now we don't take 5K-10K Mean Green fans to such games anymore because they have sold out their stadiums with their own fans OR they stick you in the worse seats in the universe as to where our players hardly know we are even there.

Edited July 4, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[Monkeypox]

Um, until we can prove that we can beat ANY team outside of the Sun Belt - I myself wouldn't predict any sort of victory over either La Tech or Tulsa.

I agree. But this is what people do in July.

[greenminer]

We all want to beat a Big Boy now and then, but for mid-majors and after having done a bit of research on the subject, such victories don't seem to turn mid-major programs around as much as you would think.  One might think such victories might translate into a substantial increase of alumnus fund-raising,  dramatic improvements on athletic facilities or even new athletic venues, but for most mid-majors I don't see that that has happened after such a Big Win over Big Boy U.

I'm with you all the way on the facilities, PMG; but please elaborate on your "research" regarding the Big Wins over Big Boy U and their effect.

Even a strong showing does wonders (I think) for some, not a lot mind you, national respect. 4 straight NO Bowl appearances is a lot to be proud of, but two straight whoopings and people are still looking at us as "Sun Belt Kings". 3 straight 2-win seasons, but a recent 8 win and close showing against Colorado has UTEP soaring much faster than we are (believe me: I'm torn on this issue). The facilities have been there all along for UTEP; it's the wins/showings over those "big boy u's" such as last year's UTEP team that could REALLY help us. Perhaps there are a few major doners out there waiting to see Dickey get that win that would validate UNT's claim to high standards. After their late success, the media didn't seem to care about week 1's 41-9 loss to AzSt.

What do you have to say about Fresno St and Boise St's media attention? I think their 1 or 2 wins over the big boys each season does wonders for their image/exposure. Many years ago a man named Bowden took that attitude at Florida St and he seems to have himself something going.

Just playing a little devil's advocate,

-gm

[PlummMeanGreen]

I'm with you all the way on the facilities, PMG; but please elaborate on your "research" regarding the Big Wins over Big Boy U and their effect.

Even a strong showing does wonders (I think) for some, not a lot mind you, national respect. 4 straight NO Bowl appearances is a lot to be proud of, but two straight whoopings and people are still looking at us as "Sun Belt Kings". 3 straight 2-win seasons, but a recent 8 win and close showing against Colorado has UTEP soaring much faster than we are (believe me: I'm torn on this issue). The facilities have been there all along for UTEP; it's the wins/showings over those "big boy u's" such as last year's UTEP team that could REALLY help us. Perhaps there are a few major doners out there waiting to see Dickey get that win that would validate UNT's claim to high standards. After their late success, the media didn't seem to care about week 1's 41-9 loss to AzSt.

What do you have to say about Fresno St and Boise St's media attention? I think their 1 or 2 wins over the big boys each season does wonders for their image/exposure. Many years ago a man named Bowden took that attitude at Florida St and he seems to have himself something going.

Just playing a little devil's advocate,

-gm

Well, as much as I hate to say this, you can start with us--NORTH TEXAS.

I am trying to remember what our 1975 wins over Tennessee, Houston, SMU and others did for us as far as significant fund-raising was concerned and how many (much needed) football related facilties we built as a result of high profile wins? Hey! we are all "FOR" high profile wins, but I think we are moreso supportive of a football program that is consistently upgrading its recruiting and athletic facilities as to where high profile wins are not so much a big surprise to anyone anymore.

Well, we did get our athletic offices near Fouts Field because AD/Head football coach Hayden Fry knew Bob Moody of Galveston's Moody Foundation. (Amazing, we had an employee at NT who actually knew someone with the Big Bucks--what a concept). And yes, it was that Galveston family's foundation that financed much of SMU's Moody Coliseum, too; but FWIW, our athletic offices were already in the works well before that most defining 1975 football season in our school's history. In fact, weren't those offices already finished are almost finished before the Fall of 1975?

I am trying to see what several high profile football victories have done for Bulldogs of La Tech. For sure, Karl Malone gave em' a bunch of money for their weight room, but they are (apparently) having a difficult time gettting funds for much needed Field Turf or Omni-Grass. As I look at the latest photos of LTU's football stadium, I don't see luxury suites, end zone athletic centers, Daktronic scoreboard/instant replay boards, etc, etc, etc.; furthermore, I don't even read on their board of solid plans on the drawing boards for such.

Agree with the part on Bobby Bowden who (as you would probably know) even brought his Seminoles to our own Fouts Field, but one thing that Bowden got that NT still hasn't received is a whole army of FSU supporters who give the really Big Bucks, a community that supports its home town college football team and an administration who (back in that day) wanted much bigger things than we presently are saying we want. Florida State just had a bunch of constituencies who put their monies where their mouths were.

We have many talkers but we don't have enough doers, that is those who focus on giving to the things that keeps our athletic program afloat. Such as giving to the Mean Green Club as to free up other monies for new athletic venues at NORTH TEXAS.

SUMG has in the past received a little hell for his hot sports opinions (as many of us have) but for the 2'nd year in a row, he has given $2,500 to the Mean Green Club and has persuaded me to double my own donation this Fall. We just really need many new MG Club members giving what they can afford to give and not because anyone on this board says we need this, but because that is the very lifeblood of our men and women's varsity athletics of which we are all concerned of its well-being.

The UNT administration cannot continue to subsidize NT Athletics the way it has and especially fund it to the level we all aspire this program to be. So just who is it that is going to fill in all the blank check$ ?

Edited July 4, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[greenminer]

I am trying to remember what our 1975 wins over Tennessee, Houston, SMU and others did for us as far as significant fund-raising was concerned and how many (much needed) football related facilties we built as a result of high profile wins?   Hey! we are all "FOR" high profile wins, but I think we are moreso supportive of a football program that is consistently upgrading its recruiting and athletic facilities as to where high profile wins are not so much a big surprise to anyone anymore.

Who was heading our administration then? I just look around at the examples we've mentioned and have to make a connection: the wins, IMO, CAN help big-time towards funding/exposure/etc, but those that have done it had an administration that was aggressive enough to capitalize on them.

I wonder were good ol' RV would do if we actually went into TIger Stadium and won, and then went on to another SB title. I bet it would make his day. I'm so glad we have him.

-gm

Edited July 4, 2005 by greenminer