TIgreen01

"well coordinated and hustling"...... <sigh>.....wish we'd see that again someday soon.

Dang good question. I'd say from a fan's perspective---yes. From the AD/Pres perspective, no. UTEP would never make this move as long as CUSA stays in it's current alignment and we don't have enough proof that LaTech would even be committed/agreed to this. I think LaTech is your biggest detractor. They have the same problem that SMU does---they think they are better, and should associate themselves with better, than they really are. I honestly do not think that both TSU and UTSA will be able to successfully make the move to FBS--at the same time. If they do end up making the jump, their success will be marginal b/c of the further thinning out of Texas' talent and specifically the talent around the SA/Austin area. Also, any UNT fan that thinks it's a good idea for there to be MORE FBS level schools based in Texas isn't seeing the whole, true, picture. The same reason that SMU, TCU and Houston do not want to associate themselves with us is that WE are diluting both their talent pool and access to greater media exposure/respect by having success and elevating ourselves to their level. These schools were all in the SWC before. That conference broke up b/c the bigger schools couldn't get the national recognition they felt they deserved b/c SMU/TCU/Rice/Houston were diluting their SOS and talent pools. This cost them in the eyes of the media. This is why it is critical that we build the stadium, and start moving on and up. The longer that we stay at our current level, the more likely it is that we'll end up in some second division of the FBS---ala, some semblance of the Southland/redo of the SWC. Also, to be clear, I do not mean that to move on and up means to move out of the Sun Belt. It means we have to start filling the stadium and constantly be in the race for the conference title. We need to occasionally get players drafted by the NFL. If we can do that, we'll be able to control our own destiny....ala Southern Miss---who we should(and probably the AD actually is) be modeling ourselves after. Nobody really knows what will happen in any of the conferences. With a nucleus of UNT, Troy, one of the Florida schools and rotate MTSU/ULL/ASU as competitors, this conference should be getting better and better. But we need to be one of the top 2-3 programs and not accept less than that.

Of course. We are already D1/FBS and the Sun Belt is mainly looking at FCS teams that are planning to move up for expansion. We are still a top dog in this conference simply b/c of our location (DFW/Texas) and access to recruiting hotbeds and media. Once the stadium is completed, we will have either the best facilities in the conference or tied for the best. Does that mean we have the right to put down the rest of our conference? Absolutely not. There are some good schools in this conference, but even the best of them are not as far ahead of us as some on this board keep trying to convince everyone of. Very few schools stay on top every single year...there are ups and downs for everyone.

As long as any team in the Sun Belt has to schedule this way, we're going to struggle to get respect. I was surprised to see Troy's attendance down....seemed like they were doing much better than that.

Seems like a ridiculous question to me. Baylor doesn't even want to be "Baylor"---or what the word means to college football. You think they are content in just being in last place in the Big 12 South every year so they can collect a check and spend it on other sports?

Outstanding link! Ball St. has 16 combined starts amongst their returning Oline?! Could there be a better opponent for our new look Dline to start out against? I think not. Also, had no idea FAU lost so much up front.

I said 'no'. Wins/losses don't really matter as much to me, at this point. Last year utterly destroyed my expectations for this team. I want to see wins, but am more concerned with seeing a competitive team that doesn't quit in 10 out of 12 games. If we see a team with no more fight in it than we saw last year, then it's a clear sign that a change is needed. So...should we win 4 games, but get blown out in all of our other games and quit by the second quarter of ANY game---then I'm not satisfied.

There really is no spinning necessary here. This kid almost transferred last year, and now has finally done it. Either these guys (many of whom were from well-to-do families) don't like UNT, they don't like what Dodge has come to represent at UNT, or they couldn't cut it on the field and wanted out. Not sure which one it is, but losing over half of your 1st class of recruits to transfer is not good. As far as Russo is concerned: he started, at times, last year but was back at 2nd on the depth chart at his position in the spring and looked to possibly drop even further after the JUCOs arrive. Maybe he didn't want to be contributing as primarily depth, instead of starter?

Funny stuff....you basically singled out the vast majority of the American population with that quote. Other than that, I do tend to agree that this thing is being overblown....but who knows?

Alright, great. Now how do we do this? I say, make friends with UTEP, Tulsa, Memphis, Southern Miss....in that order. Houston does not respect us and SMU out and out hates us. We should develop a rivalry with them so that we play every other year in Denton....to offset the years they are not coming to SMU. That gives them a game in DFW every year.

Good responses, but this guy needs to understand that students ARE paying for other students "entertainment" in avenues other than sports. Unless something has changed in the last 5 years or so, the music and arts departments (where he's obviously concerned with from his piano days) get money from all students---not just those participating in their degree programs. Why is it ok for every student to pay for the music and arts as a form of entertainment, but not athletics??

oldguystudent is a genius, but it'll never happen....it would be hard to talk a coach into a contract like that at our level without more guaranteed money. Still....good idea. I think TD is back next year unless he starts off 0-6. Short of that happening, I think he can still win just one or two as long as the team is competitive in most games---since that would be a MARKED improvement over last season. This team is still young and the AD cannot possibly be ready to throw in the towel on this. The 'X' factor is the new stadium project. If it really does get off the ground by making it through the state legislature, gets lumped in with the new hotel/resort deal, etc....then I think RV will have earned enough rope to not get hanged by taking this huge risk on hiring a HS coach and could pull the trigger much quicker.

...corrected

Wait??....what are you saying? That the black uniforms (that were official UNT football uniforms---back then, we did have an all black uniform; or at least black jersey's with dark green pants) were to be worn on senior day only to be "lost" the week before the game? Then you're saying that DD quickly reordered all black uni's from the internet to fill in for the missing official black uniforms? What the heck? If this is what really happened, is it any wonder why the new coaching staff had such a difficult time transitioning in? Seriously. This is even more bizarre than what I originally thought happened....

Ok...remember Josh Heupel? Oklahoma QB when they won the BCS Championship game in 2000. He had a weak arm AND couldn't run. He constantly lobbed balls into the secondary against Big 12 and Top 5 level talent...in as much of a spread offense as you'll ever see (Mike Leach was OC then). Arm strength matters, but not as much as some on this board would like to believe. The whole package matters more than just the parts.

Saw plenty of 10-15 yard passes from both Riley and Tune....what we didn't see was a single completed pass of 20 yards or more. Still not sure what happened to those plays since Dodge's first year here. Also, what was the story with Lance Dunbar? I saw him suited up, but he never went into the game.

How do you know this? Have you seen him play?

So this spring game gave you all you needed to see to deem Riley a failure already?

How do you figure? It looks like they were going after a certain look with those endzone seats. If they are right on top of the field, those seats won't be bad at all. Ever been to SMU's stadium and sat high up in the endzone? Not a bad view if you ask me.

I'd say this info certainly puts the entire drug testing scandal from last fall in a completely different light.

This post highlights what I think is a very common thought amongst UNT alums and/or supporters. The idea that UNT football should be treated like a professional football team....ie. I spend my money to buy tickets and concessions/parking/whatever and I expect to see a win. This just isn't how college athletics works. College teams are only ever going to be as good as their faithful allow them to be by giving back to the program. True, not everyone can afford to really help support a program the way it should be, but you have to either suspend that feeling of not getting your money's worth or buy into the fact that you (and at UNT, even the smallest contributor gets to say this) are the lifeblood of the program. I don't mean to downgrade any of the above activities in terms of their importance. With young kids that are about to get to the age where they are playing sports and doing their own activities, I definitely struggle with attendance these days, myself. I just hate to see people completely give up on UNT b/c they don't feel they get their money's worth.

If Ball St. has a 5th year senior anywhere near the quality of what Tulsa had last year (they lost their stud QB the year before last and used a 5th year senior last season--and he turned out to be a stud) then you might be right. I still think that's a big hole to fill and that they will certainly not be as good this coming season as they were last year.

No. I think he'll be better than Vizza. Call me crazy. There are going to be things that Riley doesn't do as well as Vizza, and he'll probably make his share of "freshman" mistakes, but he's going to bring another dimension to the offense with his running ability. Not to mention that he's more accurate with his throws than Vizza was. That said, I agree that it's hard to predict wins and losses for this team. That's mostly b/c our defense and special teams were so horrendously bad the last 2 seasons. Until we actually see them improving on the field, it's probably best to steer clear of calling any game a "win" at this point. That doesn't mean that we can't still break down the schedule and the opponents...and hope to find the best chance at getting wins.

I am not as impressed with Ball St. as many seem to be. They were on tv quite a bit last year, and without that QB (who left for the NFL) that team doesn't go. Throw in the fact that the Head Coach also left during the offseason and I think THIS is the game we have the best chance to win in the first 4 games. Ohio still has Frank Solich on the sidelines and they are a VERY physical team. That will be the team (with the obvious exception of Alabama) that challenges our new dline the most.

This schedule is the absolute best I've ever seen at UNT. 3 of the first 5 are at HOME??!?! I never thought I'd see the day. The icing on the cake is that the conference office set us up with back to back home games to open conference play (against 2 of the toughest teams)! There are no excuses this year. The team needs to take advantage of this. Kudos to the AD. Great job.