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Position: Running back How acquired: Undrafted free agent, North Texas What he did: He spent the early portions of the season on the practice squad but was called up in October. Dunbar rushed for 75 yards on 21 carries during the season in a backup role. His value increased when DeMarco Murray missed six games with a sprained foot. Dunbar proved to be a player who can do different things -- he caught six passes out of the backfield, averaged 21.8 yards on kick returns and got work on special teams. In the second meeting with the New York Giants, on Oct. 28, Dunbar returned a kick 44 yards. Where he fits in the future: He needs more work in the passing game, especially in picking up the blitz, but it seems the Cowboys want to keep him around more than Phillip Tanner, the other backup running back. Dunbar has good speed and vision and seems to hit holes faster than Tanner. He will compete, possibly with Tanner in training camp, to be Murray's backup. The key for Dunbar, of course, is whether the new special teams coach thinks he can provide an impact on his unit. Story on ESPN Dallas by Calvin Watkins

or UNT?

YAY! Here's to another shot at the Sun Belt Title.

For those who did not listen to tonights radio show, Roger Franklin was a guest tonight. It was very nice to hear a quality kid and quality person talk about how much he loves North Texas. It was obvious to all of those that are there that this team has not given up on this coach or this season. Hopefully we can get Alzee, Clark and Jacob back soon and make a little run for some momentum going into the tournament. Sounds like Clark might be back for Saturday, Alzee will be questionable for saturday, and Jacob might be back Thursday. But for right now we are going with 7 plus the walkon on Thursday, unless Jacob can come back.

When Dodge got hired, it was because of his name recognition in the area as a great winner at HS and because he was affordable. Nothing else mattered, since we had just bought out Dickey's contract and had nowhere near enough money to pay Harbaugh, who was said to want double what we paid Dodge, as a starting point. Jimbo Fisher is the really interesting name here, since he probably was the other finalist to Dodge, but he didn't have the name cachet that Dodge had at the time. Just as he did with Benford, RV was trying to hit a home run by hiring Dodge. At first, with the media coverage, supposed recruiting pickup, and the attendance for that first spring game, it appeared that we were on our way. Then we played Oklahoma as if they were Colleyville Heritage and lost a heartbreaker 79-10. Of course, after this, we basically got mudholed further for the next three-plus years under Dodge. Fisher probably would've have been a coach in the same vein as Coach Mac today, so who knows if that would've worked out here, although recruiting to Fouts and playing in the SBC probably wouldn't have made us contenders. Harbaugh needed interview experience, which we gave him. He knew that he was going to have a MWC or Pac job waiting for him soon, just no one imagined it was going to be so soon at Stanford. Harbaugh is a great coach, no doubt, and he would have been awesome here, just because he is such a great QB developer and handler. But we couldn't/wouldn't pay for him. Ironically, just four years later, we tripled the salary to get a head coach here in McCarney. As usual, we are always late to the FBS party.

Perhaps he could wear a helmet like the keeper from Chelsea.

I'm still not sure if it's a good idea for Jacob to come back with his history of concussions. He has his whole life ahead of him - head injuries are not something to play with.

Your shortest post EVER. Congrats.

Made the front page of ESPN Dallas http://espn.go.com/dallas/

LANCE DUNBAR UP THE MIDDLE!

He is not my boy but I still believe he will be an excellent coach. I believe that people are wrong on these boards when say that he has lost the respect of the players or has no clue how to be a head coach. I believe that people are wrong when they say that Benford cannot lead us into a winning season and the Big Dance. I just do not get where people come up with the idea that players are transferring either. Sure 18 year olds make some brash and (at times) poor decisions, but do not assume that they are discontent like some people behind their computer keys. Sure the season has not lived up to the hype (by far) but there are still a lot of games left and a bright future ahead (next season).

It is sad about Tulsa. We played them for many years in the old Missouri Valley and I believe they were the closest thing we had as rivalry back then. The CUSA we thought we were joining has become a bubble burst indeed. We must learn to win if we expect to become attractive to other conferences. Schools running away from us hurts more than being rejected in the first place.

We should have never changed our name. The change was the results of "UT envy". We even changed our newspaper from the "Chat" to "North Texas Daily". Lots of imagination there. "State" seems to work fine in places like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Oklahoma,Louisiana. Our administration at that time was a bunch of carpetbaggers. I wish I could still buy NTSU stuff. And why didn't we change our radio station call letters? UNT is just one of those names that don't fit. I speak of us as just "North Texas".

Did he have previous head coaching experience? Was he a winner? Did he buy a house in Dallas or is he just renting? Are his players good husbands and fathers? Question. No info.

The ole Plum's memory is bad. We last beat Tulsa in '70 or '71 when Cedric Hardman completely devoured their quarterback...this got Cedric a first round draft choice by San Francisco. I think we also destroyed them in '67 when I was in school.

No one has looked at $$$ in this discussion. It seems simple to me you look at the money potential coming to UNT. Central Texas has a lot of well established alumni that have not been sought out to give or even miminal support by our school.It was our market that would be the second only to the dfw & Houston area in our direction. Have you ever seen a UNT presence in these areas? So nothing happened to get "NEW BLOOD" into our program for a dozen years now. Bringing in TX St & utsa would give us a athletic presence into an area of Central Texas where we have ex's & students & their families. I'm only wondering if the school will follow? But, reading the above, do we really need any more fans or money?

Jimbo Fisher interviewed at the same time as well. That was back when he was OC at LSU. He was probably just another guy who was interviewing to get his name out, though.

But remember we do not have wealthy donors. I seriously believe that if we had a Red Comb or a T Pickens to contribute a large amount of money for Athletics along with that money going into marketing, things could have been a whole lot different. Yes we have a large alumni in the metroplex but there has to be catalysis to get those 100,000 plus former NT students involved. By the way I am going to submit my $125 to the Mean Green Club today.

There was no mistake made, we simply couldn't afford Harbaugh.

"All interesting stories and some have some truth to them. But, it is a story that no one knows how it would have ended. Speculation is just that...who knows? But, does make for some interesting "what ifs", but that is all it is...no one knows where any of this would have led." "Very true...but it makes for a great legend for all those who want to think that RV screwed up somehow. Folks, was never going to happen...and, unless. You are just delusional or super stubborn, you know it." How are those schizophrenia meds working for ya?

Man it sucks to be....from Middle Tennessee.

Just off the top of my head, teams that WERE on that list that went bowling after the 2012 season: #10 Bowling Green - An 8-5 record and a Military Bowl loss to San Jose St. #9 Vanderbilt - A 9-4 record and a Music City Bowl win over N.C. State. #8 WKU - A 7-6 record and a Little Ceasars Bowl loss to Western Michigan. #2 San Jose St. - An 11-2 record with a Military Bowl Win over Bowling Green. Ya, thats right the second worst team in college football turned it around. On the waiting list: Duke - A 6-7 record with a Belk Bowl (??) loss to Cincinnati. LaLa - A 9-4 record and a New Orleans Bowl win over East Carolina. Central Michigan - A 7-6 record and a Little Ceasar Bowl victory over WKU. Ball St. - A 9-4 record with a Beef O'Brady's Bowl loss to UCF Knights. And may I point out that Ball St. was up, down, and back up again while we have continued to SUCK. All of these teams were considered to be in a worse state than UNT at the end of 2010 have turned it around. By several of the posts on here, it's pretty clear that we not only continue to accept losing, but actively make excuses for it.

Player fee STILL only $25....and includes the player t-shirt. You can pay through PayPal as soon as Harry gets the PayPal thingy up on the board, or you can pay by check. PM me for details regarding payment by check and I'll get back with you ASAP. Also...folks, if you cannot play and cannot attend, your donations in any amount...any amount...would be greatly appreciated. All proceeds go to support athletic scholarships at UNT. We are helping about 350 scholarship athletes through these efforts. Hope you will want to be part of that and help by signing up to play, signing up to volunteer to help with the event, providing a game sponsorship, providing and item or two or three for the silent auction or by simply making a donation. Anything and everything is greatly appreciated. You can get any and all questions answered by simply PM'ing me here through GO MEAN GREEN.Com or a simple email to my office at: mmiller@ipi.org. Thanks for the support of this event...it matters to our scholarship athletes and to our program at UNT.

Breaking News: Tony Benford was injured while Suspending himself for the game against Middle Tennessee State. Mayor McCheese Will coach the Mean Green on Thursday.

1. Tulsa hasn't left (yet) 2. No one is running away from anyone. Schools are "realigning" because of money. Just like people switch jobs because of more money. 3. No it doesn't hurt worse. The new CUSA is still better than the current & future Sun Belt. Let's stop the pity party. The new CUSA is more money, divisional play, and in-state rivals. The new CUSA is the best conference we have ever been in.

You didn't mention those things but you did throw in a jab there to protect your boy Benford.

I never mentioned poor defense or losing to a D2 school. I mentioned player performance and relatively simple tasks where the blame was placed on the Coach. I do not absolve Benford from everything this season. Calling for his removal is ridiculous though... The season has been poor on both sides. I still see an upside and especially going forward into next season when CJ is 100% and grown under Benford's tutelage.

The mistake made is thinking that you can't afford what will get the football program on track. That has been the major problem here forever. The reality is you can't afford not to afford the right coach and facilities for your football program in this day and age. And that is a lesson I still don't think the powers that be at UNT have fully grasped.

You can't spell douche bag without TCU.

Simple answer...yes! Truthful answer as well. Never a strong suit for a JJ coached team, but he'll coach those players to 20 win seasons. Post season....well? Who knows...depends. He 'll be a good coach for you guys. Hang in there, but don't expect lots of help from the line. Just get one guy named Josh White who can hit 'em when the game is on the line and the opposing team is fouling in an attempt to beat the clock...

Oh, but I don't care about national averages...I care about how UNT does when the game is on the line....poor national averages mean nothing to me when I am pulling for the Mean Green. Seems I am not the only one with the view I have...but, thanks for the plug. Being in the top 3rd of something bad is not what I would be aiming to achieve, and the...everybody is doing it so why can't I angle just doesn't cut it. I do understand what you are getting at, however. What is the national average and what is the reason it is so poor? Coaches can't coach across the nation?

Darn coaches just can't coach....fire them all!

Yep...if they could beat UNT right now, they best learn how to hold on to a 19 point lead. Darn those rookie head coaches, they just don't have the experience to coach at this level. In case anyone missed it, SMU is now 1-3 in conference after a decent number of early season wins against not so "challenging" opponents...SMU's overall record is: 11-8. And, yes, I would like UNT to be 11-8 right now...but I sort of think by the end of the season UNT will have a better conference record than SMU or LSU for that matter. Ok, well, that remains to be seen, but I would not be so fast as to announce that SMU would definitely beat UNT right now. Our guys are better than their guys! That's a fact, jack!

Hmmmmmm...point was about holding onto a 19 point lead, not overcoming one! SMU lost a 19 point lead, did not overcome one. You can ask So,. Miss about what it takes to overcome one...as that is what they just did against SMU. And, I am too lazy to look up the UNT recodes to see when the last time it happened. So, let me ask you (because I don't know)...when was the last time UNT LOST a 19 point lead? That very experienced HC at SMU can not "coach"" well enough to protect a 19 point lead. He needs to be fired immediately. The guy obviously cannot coach a lick! But, we have folks that just know SMU would beat UNT right now. Hmmmmmmmm. I guess we will really never know as SMU isn't on the schedule. Since someone felt my post was worth a -1 (why...I was knocking SMU after all?), maybe I should add that LSU is 0-3 in conference and UT women are now 0-5 in conference .... both with very experienced and VERY capable head coaches like Brown at SMU. Seems experience alone might just not be the panacea for all things. I know this upsets some folks, and I am in no way knocking either JJ or Aston...I am knocking those who think "experience" at the D1 level is all one needs to be successful coaching at a new school. Didn't that lady who coached Duke and then went to UT to coach the women have a national championship as well? Where is she coaching now?

.. Read the Damn site if you doubt me (or dare) ..... It is a US government site ( US Treasury) ... not some some political site. It is the truth .. not some harebrained political propaganda. You can with this link look all the way back to 1790.. Apparently some people just can't handle the truth....... when it isn't what they want it to be...... Are you afraid you will find, from an official sourse, that the truth isn't what some tell you.... One thing that UNT taught me was consider the course... and why they might say that... The US Treasury has to be as neutral as it gets... it is the official accounting record. http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt.htm

Some of you should seek counseling for your obsession with Benford. I am beginning to worry.

Ouch...feel bad for Alzee....and the team. Going to be tired after this one for sure.

The 'beginning to worry' was in reference to GMG'ers, not Benford. He is in his own category, but I tend to wait until the end of the season to reflect.

A new Athletic Director I predict we will have another losing season next year and of course everybody from the administration at top to what fans we have left at the bottom will accept it. And some fans will continue to come here and blame other fans for this mess. This is North Texas after all...

Again, I feel the need to remind everyone that even if both administrations felt compelled right now to start a home and home, UNT would not be in a position to start the series until 2018 and not get a home game until 2019 or 2020 thanks to gawdawful scheduling by the A.D. (with the crowning blow being a 2-0 series with Iowa.) Threads like this are nothing but wishful thinking.

AD's know when to schedule North Texas and there was a period of about 30 plus years when none of them would schedule their Southwest area schools to play us. Those schools did beef up their all time North Texas football series "W's" column when they knew we were as harmless as a pussy cat which has been most recently. Would you as an opposing Athletic Director have scheduled UNT when it had Time All American Abner Haynes (the 50's); or the Mean Joe Greene Era (the 60's); and then during the Fry Era which was most of the 70's? Well, you probably would not have and many schools we would have really preferred to have had on our football schedules back then didn't either. They all know who they are, too, and I'd bet some of their school's alums are reading this very thread. . GMG!

Very true...but it makes for a great legend for all those who want to think that RV screwed up somehow. Folks, was never going to happen...and, unless. You are just delusional or super stubborn, you know it. But, the legend lives on for those who always want to feel slighted or that UNT always makes the wrong choice. I hear Vince Lombardi, Bear Bryant and Knute Rockne stopped by once as well. Can we get this thing going? It would make for extra super legend. Seriously, this constant "what if" stuff just doesn't matter...UNT has the history of HC's that it has and that is not going to change. Best to look forward not back. The future is so much more fun.

Their RPI is 38. They are a sold team all around though. We have a chance (as we always do). It really depends on which UNT team shows up and if Alzee is good to go.

Actually...we're the 3rd largest with over 41,000...

You sure...? I think there are a lot that would argue it is coaching... I mean they do not respect the coach so they miss free throws and turn over the ball right? You might need to ask Emmitt or Doctor Seuss etc... They are the experts.

Thanks Skandrew

Most of us on this forum actually don't sit around and make up stories about who interviewed or who was interested on our HFC's job; in fact, most all info I've ever received as far as "who did interview" or "who called about our job" came from an athletic department source every time. If i was going to be creative, I'd probably aim higher for new personnel who have the record and the reputation of having had success at an FBS level (and no NCAA probations under their watch as well). I am no longer close to the scene because I choose not to be close to the scene plus my weekend work as a wedding and all events DJ service, too. Still, the older you get, the less important some things in your life actually become. Yet as a UNT grad, I am mostly intrigued (not in the usual way) with this non-stop lack of success or run we've had the last 2 or 3 decades in Denton; that is, how much longer our leaders will continue to botch hirings and to keep giving those botched hires extended contracts. Again, folks, I (and many others on GMG.com) have seen so few winning seasons since we graduated so I guess maybe the truth might just be on our side with this subject? I still keep hoping we will somehow stumble onto some successful hirings and when they leave for Big Time U we still keep that cycle going (a la Boise State) instead of this other quagmire most of us have seen most our adult lives. Sorry, I wish I could be more diplomatic or kiss A$$ about all this, but that is just not what I could ever comfortably do. I am hardly running for mayor of GMG.com. (Harry, is this board incorporated)? GMG!