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And not sure how Morris/Mosley made it happen, but the Cougs are headed to Denton first!

We all know teams need bye weeks to rest players and, in our case, implement some much-needed changes on defense. As a fan, I'm not too fond of Saturdays without Mean Green football, but I tolerate them and cope by rewatching the previous game to see anything I missed or what we can build upon. Saturday's replay session made one thing very clear. Chandler Rogers has the elusive clutch gene and ice water in his veins. In the two drives that changed the game, Chandler Rogers put the team on his back and made the right plays when they counted the most. As you'll see below, he appeared calm, cool, and collected in the game's critical moments. Fast forward - 1:56 left in the 1st half. LaTech just gashed our defense with a 56-yard run to start off a two-play, 0:20-second scoring drive capped off with a 19-yard TD pass to Smoke Harris. 16-14 good guys, but we've lost the momentum, and we're starting the drive from our 11-yard line. 1st & 2nd downs are both two-yard gains by Adeyi. Now 3rd & 6 with 1:06 left before halftime, Rogers stands tall in the pocket and throws an absolute strike to Damon Ward for 32 yards to the UNT 47. The delivery is spot-on, placed just over the cornerback's head and right in front of the safety crashing down on the play. Without this dime throw, we end up punting from our 15-yard line and hoping and praying our defense doesn't allow another quick scoring drive in the last minute. We have a fresh set of downs, we're in the hurry-up, and the momentum is turning. The pass on 1st down is batted down at the line. On 2nd down, LaTech dials up a linebacker blitz. The extra man is picked up to perfection as Rogers reads his progressions and sees Roderic Burns gearing down his route in the soft spot of the zone. Rogers pulls the trigger for a 22-yard gain down the right-hash to the LaTech 31. The clock is moving, Rogers hurries everyone up to the line and takes a quick deep shot down the left sideline to Maclin. The ball is slightly overthrown and out of bounds near the goal line, but no harm, no foul. 0:27 left in the half… 2nd down. Chandler "Hit-Stick" Rogers delivers the block heard around the world. You know what block I'm talking about. The all-over-social-media-de-cleater sealed the backside and sprung Adeyi for 25 yards to the LaTech 6-yard line. 0:18 seconds left, North Texas timeout. LaTech is on their heels. Out of the timeout, Rogers hits a leaping Damon Ward between three defenders for the touchdown. LaTech's defense is dejected, their fans are quiet, and all you can hear in-stadium is the UNT band fired up. Eight plays, 89 yards, 1:16 time of possession, executed to perfection. UNT 23 - LaTech 14 headed into halftime. Fast forward again - UNT's defense is reeling (again). LaTech converts an onside kick and then quickly scores on a 3-play, 53-yard TD drive to cap off 17 straight points to tie the game. UNT's three-score lead has evaporated in under 7 minutes, the message board is a hot-mess, and the last time Rogers possessed the ball, he had a 10-point lead. The game appears to be headed for OT with the momentum and crowd firmly in LaTech's corner. But to borrow a legendary line from Mr. Lee Corso, Not so fast, my friend! There's still 1:04 left before OT. We later learn Coach Morris told Rogers before the final drive, "They left us too much time." First down is a one-yard pickup from Adeyi. The clock's ticking... Out of the no-huddle on 2nd down, Rogers and Burns hookup for 23 yards to the UNT 49. The throw is almost a carbon copy of the pass before the half: a beautiful zone read, with a perfect strike to Burns. Move the chains. 0:47 left in the game. Clutch. First down is a quick-hit six-yard out-route to Jordan Smart to the LaTech 45. The clock is stopped, and Rogers looks in full command of the offense. Second down is a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage. The pressure builds on a pivotal 3rd & 4 with 0:34 seconds on the clock. Our wide receivers line up trips-right, UNT calls a designed play that rolls Chandler to his right to throw on the run. The result is a well executed seven-yard pass to Burns on an out route to the sidelines at LaTech's 38-yard line — another big first down to keep the drive alive and stop the clock. With 0:25 left in the game, Chandler drops back but finds his receivers covered. The pocket quickly collapses, and Chandler scampers to the right sideline for 3 yards to again stop the clock. His awareness and athleticism under pressure avoid what would have been a disastrous sack just outside of field goal range. Now 2nd & 7, at the 35-yard line, Chandler tries for another downfield bomb, this time intended for Jordan Smart down the left sideline. The pass is right on the money; however, credit to LaTech, their defensive back does a great job breaking up the pass. On 3rd & 7, with thirteen ticks left on the clock, UNT runs a beautifully timed draw play into a blitzing defense expecting a pass. Adeyi bolts for 21 yards out of bounds at the LaTech 14 with 0:07 left on the clock, putting us well within field goal range for the win. You all know what happened next. Noah Rauschenberg split the uprights, Eric Morris notched his first UNT victory with a Stone Cold celebration to boot, and Chandler Rogers showed Mean Green Nation that he's a dawg with a clutch gene.

WASHINGTON IS THE RANKED TEAM IN THAT STATE! GEEZ, WE COULDN'T EVEN GET THE FLAGSHIP UNIVERSITY??! THIS IS SUCH SMALL TIME THINKING, AND TYPICAL OL' NORTH TEXAS!! THIS JUST PROVES HOW OVERPAID EVERYONE IS OVER AT THE COUNTRY CLUB ON BONNIE BRAE!! I'M NOT BUYING SEASON TICKETS OR ATTENDING GAMES UNTIL WE GET THE BEST PAC-12...OR IS IT BIG XII, OR BIG10...WHATEVER, I'M MAD UNTIL WE GET THE BEST!! Good enough?

Friday in Fort Worth, the Arlington Heights HS FCA was lead by 2016 Heights grad Deion Hair Griffin. The 43 athletes at the FCA gathering enjoyed pizza, fellowship and a word of encouragement from Deion. Great shirt!

*Waiting to see who will be the first to complain about this*

Big guy here.

Daizon Carroll, Elex Woodworth, Cole Brown all had 0 fbs offers besides UNT. All three turned out to be very great OL for North Texas. I am not saying make a living offering kids with no offers. But EM had great success at UIW finding under the radar OL and developing. Alot of them moved up to the FBS level this offseason and several are starting. On both sides of the line until North Texas has a great run of success they will have to find some diamonds in rough.

Plus we keep hearing how high school players are getting less attention bc of the portal. Shouldn’t we be able to bring in higher level recruits if the P5s are signing fewer high school recruits? Even G5s like SMUt are signing fewer high school kids, right? Shouldn’t there be a trickle down effect that benefits us?

Wrestling background. Mauler. Athletic. Great Feet. Will move inside at North Texas. Reminds me a little of Jett Duncan. Not the biggest guy at 6'3 290 but can move.

I'm not buying. Not really concerned about what other staffs brought in. THIS staff was supposed to be a recruiting staff. THIS staff was supposed to elevate the brand, not do business as usual.

Deion’s awesome! I’m glad he’s making the rounds in DFW and still involved in the program.

$150k/yr before I even went to start my career would have given me a pretty big head start financially. They’re still part of a team, get to practice, work out, network with alums, and have a shot to play… all with a nice little nest egg. Seems like a no brainer in the current system.

September 24, 1946. It was a great day for North Texas. Charles Edward "Joe" Greene born this day in Temple, Texas. Happy Birthday, Joe! Fly Like An Eagle! GMG! And "LIGHT THE TOWER"

Really a good read. Please keep it coming. I like the way you describe things.

Great post, keep em coming.

Great analysis!

Very, very good stuff. #GMG

Nice write up!

I see both of y'alls points. On one hand, there's always hidden gems to be found. On the other hand, we're told on this board that Morris has put together a staff that will elevate recruiting at North Texas yet we're still going after hidden gems... a hidden gem here and there is fine. Many programs have an under recruited guy or two starting, however, it seems we're already resetting expectations on multiple fronts with this new staff. Recruiting is the one area we've been told this staff will thrive in and now we're being told hidden gems will be necessary until we have a run of success. What's changed?

Shorter or Nixon got $150,000 to go to Auburn. That as Morris put it is life changing money. What idiot turns that down?

Honestly, if Sundays aren’t in their future, my recommendation to players would probably be to go get paid for Saturdays. A cash base before taking your first career job would be really helpful.

2 commits. 1 more may be coming tonight.

Assuming other planned games hold, this makes seven home games in 2025.

Kudos to Eric! This is great news!!

Great post!

Every single player listed besides Gumms is playing meaningful snaps at their new school. Gumms is behind a true freshman who was a top 100 national recruit and two seniors. He is still a sophomore and will likely factor in next season. Just because they're not lighting the world on fire doesn't mean it proves they can't play at that level or that they're unhappy. I personally know a player who went from G5 to P5 as a junior this season and is redshirting when he was hoping to play. Is he upset? Of course not. He got $40,000, lives in a high rise 5 minutes from campus with his brother who's on the team that's fully paid for, and just this past week got an additional $5,000 from NIL just for being on the team. We also shouldn't take joy in seeing guys that gave blood sweat and tears to us for 3+ years not succeeding if that is the case.

I hear Alabama and Notre Dame are also slightly ahead of the Mean Green in recruiting.

Aw yes, our first opponent from the West Coast rappers division 2 PAC.

Interestingly enough, he is listed as a DT on his 247 profile. https://247sports.com/player/cameron-lewis-46114782/ Good video. I didn't watch until the end, but the majority of his snaps are at the LG position. Almost comical how how he manhandles some of his opponents. Warning; take caution watching if you suffer from motion sickness. https://www.hudl.com/profile/15111828/Cameron-Lewis

Still a lot of slots to be filled. But we have certainly entered into the show me what you can do stage becuase telling me is getting old.

will be play a four man front or that awful three man front.

One name I think the kid is waiting for a birthday or something to announce. The other name I never heard. So I wonder if he never really committed or we just got off on 🧩

This guy has made $45k and lives rent-free in a high rise apartment…all while redshirting. It’s not even pay to play, it’s pay to be on the team and maybe play in the future. I think we’d all take that deal.

100% True. I don’t blame the players, I just don’t like the system. It’s pay to play under the code name NIL.

The VB team beat Tulane 3-0 on Saturday and got the victory on Sunday 3-1 to defeat Tulane and open conference play at 2-0. Tulane is not great, but I think this was a great win. Congrats to Coach Porter and the Lady Mean Green.

Talk about having an agenda.

Traylor is 1-3 this season since losing his 7th-year QB.

A Smut loss is a win for everyone!!

Notable home conference games include a Jan. 25 matchup versus Metroplex rival SMU at the Super Pit, a Jan. 31 home game against UAB who North Texas defeated in the NIT championship game, a Feb. 15 home game versus Memphis who made the NCAA Tournament last year and a March 6 home contest versus Florida Atlantic who reached the Final Four a year ago and won the 2023 Conference USA championship. The March 6 game against FAU will be the final home game of the regular season.

The promo video the team posted on social the other day teased "11.6.23," so assuming that's the date of our home opener. Has anyone checked the schedules of the nearby NAIA schools?

Happy Birthday, Joe!

if a former "star" player here leaves and isn't contributing at a new school, isn't that more a poor reflection on the state of our program than the player himself?

I think some of the "anti-athletics" stuff about Dr. Hurley gets overstated around here. If we want to blame him for presiding over the name change from Scrappy to Eppy, we also have to give him credit for presiding over the name change from Eppy back to Scrappy. I don't think it was that he was anti-athletics, per se. Just more that he was clueless about athletics. Academics was his forte, and he was content to focus in that direction while turning over athletics to others. And if you look at what he did for the university outside of athletics, he was one of the best chancellors/presidents we ever had.

It’s quite refreshing how candid he’s been as a head coach. I know HS recruiting is still important for success of a program, but he’s also quite aware how the TP can quickly improve your team’s chances. And, I know Caponi was his hire, but I hope he doesn’t attach himself to his hip throughout his tenure. If something isn’t working, please have the common sense to find alternatives instead of making excuses for it.

Thanks, Harry! I like this Coach more and more. I hope he can make the adjustments to keep us in the win column. I feel like there is so much untapped potential with Coach Morris. I guess we will see.

Not sure, but I got offered $25 and a case of Ensure as a 57 year old former CB/QB/WR to stay away.

He's probably the most productive defensive recruit we've had in a long time