TIgreen01

Seriously?...this fact based or a guess? Interesting thought, though....

Surely we won't have 2 consecutive home games in late November? If not, then that Army date might mean that we have FINALLY dodged the Thanksgiving weekend bullet!!! Hoorah!

yep....me, too.

I think this season hinges entirely on our ability to establish the run as a viable threat and the coaches willingness to stay committed to it. Our defense was bad last year, but our offense and special teams really put them into terrible situations with turnovers and giving up big plays. I think that Riley will instantly be a dual threat type QB that we have really not had in TD's first 2 seasons. It sounds like the JUCO QB they are also going after is that type of player as well. Our oline will be better this season on experience alone, and once you add in the newcomers and returnees (Drake, Jenkins+Tomlinson) this could be the makings of a very good unit. We are deep at RB with playmaker style RBs and Micah brings a grind it out capability. I really hope that TD and TF focus on giving this area enough reps during games to keep defenses from just thinking pass only. All bets are off on our defense, though.....without a stud DT emerging, I don't see this side of the ball improving enough for us to have a better than .500 season. I'd say 4 wins would be disappointing, but acceptable considering the last 4 seasons. Is that enough for TD to get another year? No idea....I think that mostly hinges on what ticket sales do this season. If we have a dramatic drop off in season ticket sales going into the season, then I'd say TD needs to have a .500 or better year. If sales remain relatively strong then he gets more leniency. Just my .02.

You think it was fun playing at Louisville the last couple of years? Same type of situation is looming over at WVU. Lost their genius coach last year, and now lost the superstar QB. Expectations are higher up there, so even a slight dropoff would not be fun to go through. We have nowhere to go but up. I guess I just don't understand why we have to always put ourselves down around here. It wasn't long ago that someone said that a certain player was better than UNT deserved. Stop it, people. We passed a referendum, THIS YEAR, to increase fees and finally build a new stadium. The President publicly backs it and we see it promoted in the school's alumni magazine....all this in just the last 4-5 months and yet people still dog us and complain.

why are we freaking out? Another school offered him....that's it? And we have this thread?? If we are EVER going to start beating some of the bigger programs on the field, we're eventually going to have to land the players that they are seriously recruiting. Dodge and co. can still land this kid. WVU isn't somewhere this guy wants to go for one simple reason. Pat White graduated. WVU will be on the decline.

One of the best blogs I've seen from Vito in a LONG time. Particularly liked this part: "UNT landed a really good class last year and is doing well this year considering the circumstances that I won't go over here for fear of flying fruit and nasty e-mail" I realize this is his blog space and an area to post his opinions, so he could just as easily have gone further. I definitely enjoyed reading something in the press that wasn't leaning one way or the other. Thank you, Brett Vito! Outside of that, he mentioned a "stealth" recruit that we were saving for later in the process to spring on everyone. Not sure if I just read it wrong, but I couldn't tell if he thought we did have someone like that coming down the pipe b/c he'd heard some insider info or if he was just saying that that was part of the excitement of the recruiting period and just speculating that we "might" pull something like that off?

Even if he's not, in this offense, it is imperative to have a capable backup. I don't think we saw as much running from the QB position last year as this offense really needs to be successful. Even from just 2007 our rushing attempts by the QB in 2008 went way down---with yardage gained getting cut by more than half: 2007: RUSHING GP Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G Vizza, Giovanni 10 133 511 212 299 2.2 2 38 29.9 Meager, Daniel 5 36 127 110 17 0.5 0 24 3.4 2008: RUSHING GP Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G Vizza,Giovanni 12 95 342 226 116 1.2 2 38 9.7 Tune,Nathan 6 12 34 9 25 2.1 0 8 4.2 Phillips,Matt 9 1 2 0 2 2.0 0 2 0.2 Meager,Daniel 2 3 4 4 0 0.0 0 4 0.0 Riley REALLY brings the threat of the run with him when he gets on the field. That's one of the biggest reasons why I think this offense will be better next year. Riley is a serious home run threat running the ball and I think that'll be something that the offense focuses on when he's on the field.

a.) NCAA football is what I believe really got DD fired. The 2005 season with Jamario and Cobbs in the same backfield was literally unstoppable. When DD failed to live up to this even remotely....he was out the door---which explains why he was fired mid-season the following year. You can't get fired mid-season unless people already want you gone, right? Think back....how many people screamed from the stands to just get them on the field at the same time? Lots. I was one....and I KNOW it would have worked b/c it worked on playstation! b.) You have to change your screen name. I demand it. How dare you. c.) True. He was a black Irish ninja. d.) Brian Waters was possibly underused here at NT....and I think he played 3-4 positions. All at the same time. He was a monster.

See....I have to disagree with this thought. I know ebone has been prodding people lately about a perceived "double standard", but I think it's pretty clear that too much blame has been placed on our DC's over Dodge's first two years. You have 2 different coordinators producing roughly the same results and I think you can begin to see a pattern and question the overall plan that is being worked toward. That said, I do think that DeLoach had to break in too many young and inexperienced players this past season to get a real feel for exactly how he's going to put his stamp on this team. If we see more of the same, though I'd be more inclined to question just how much freedom the HC is allowing for our DCs to operate in----based solely on DeLoach's past here at NT; right or wrong, that's how I see it. So, to answer the original question....Riley has those numbers and the defense/ST are just as miserable as last season, then Dodge is more in question. Simply put, Dodge will never be a successful coach here at UNT if the defense and special teams don't dramatically improve from here on out. He's the guy in charge so HE has to see to it that these areas are addressed.

well....technically the legislature may not even get to this bill in the limited time that they meet (90 days). Correct? Seems like that is the biggest concern left and it's not something we have any control over. Keep your fingers crossed....

Interesting that Gio, himself, never talked to the coaching staff. His father made the call.

Perfect, well timed, post from a North Texas legend. Thank you, Mitch Maher!!

Well, damn. There went my last ounce of hope. I've been on gmg before it was gmg.....to hear GEO this down is certainly alarming. Now if OT and Harry quickly follow suit.....????

I don't know....seems that if the coaching staff was the main reason for his leaving, then that leaves open the possibility that the REASON the coaching staff was a problem with this specific kid was the handling of the previously stated situation.....you know, the one where I never worked in the food industry to understand?? A player could sit there and say all day long that they don't believe the coaching staff can win games and be somewhat credible.....where the gray area comes in is that THIS player has reason to have a completely different beef against the coaching staff that has nothing to do with the product out on the field. All this and we have yet to even consider the Riley Dodge factor.... You all could be right. Our coaching staff could be complete and total morons.....the problem is that the ones doing a lot of the Dodge bashing also happen to be the ones who have relationships with the disgruntled players/parents. Kind of hard to sort that out for those of us more on the outside. That, and trying to remain positive, I WANT all the negative talk to be incorrect....you know, as a fan who'd like to hold on to some hope for the future.

Follow up question: Did the chef fail a drug test along the way that might have changed his point of view?

Well, if your observation were true then I'd certainly question his leadership. A GOOD leader doesn't witness his team lose, then just decide that that's acceptable. Maybe that's not what you meant, but your example certainly implies it. Look, losing a 2 year starting QB is NOT a good thing. This is bad for UNT football....unless he was a cancer in the lockerroom (which I have absolutely no idea about but assume that he was not) he was a talented player that will be missed. But at no point do I look at any one player on our squad and determine them to be better than UNT deserves. That's the attitude of someone who's resigned themselves to losing. Don't make me quote the prom queen speech from 'The Rock'....cause I will.

That about sums it up for me, too. Only thing I'll add is that I get the feeling that a few of the more "influential" posters on this board are a tad bit too tied in to all the "drama" on this team to see things clearly. To say that someone is "too good" for UNT is just one ridiculous example. Screw that. If a player (in this case Vizza) really believes that this is a program that cannot win, then it cannot. It's a self-fulfilling prophesy. B/c of that, I'll have to agree with this post and Flyer's, "no big loss" comment.

....oops, me neither. I shouldn't have posted anything in the first place. I am sorry.....please, carry on.

Wow....never thought I'd see it on this board. A post that breaks down our QB depth with more than just hate-filled outrage over JUST the possibility that the coaches son might take the starting job. Nevermind that the coaches son might actually end up being the best QB on the team....he shouldn't be eligible to take the position b/c it'd be obvious that Dodge just handed his son the job. Seriously, though....why all the outrage over this? Gio is a good player and seems to be a good leader. Questions abound about Riley's durability, but it seems that most here simply think that benching Gio would cause an uproar in the locker-room and would split the team. ....and I was under the impression, all season, that we already had a split locker-room!!??

I give you the South Carolina Gamecocks. For DECADES they were losers with first class tailgating....which eventually propelled them up and into the SEC realm b/c the fanbase just kept growing in spite of the losses. I'm not saying I want to follow that blueprint, but we have continued to grow our tailgate even during such a sour 4 year run on the actual football field. I mean, we constantly lament the fact that not even half of the tailgate crowd makes it into the stadium for games. Well, lots of them do....and you have to think that as the tailgate grows, so will our attendance as a percentage of that. I mean, when you really look at it....probably the ONLY reason our attendance has not dropped off the map is b/c our tailgate is so popular. So, in summary....as long as we can continue to throw a good party, North Texas does deserve college football!

Sorry....that doesn't work. Who won CUSA? MAC? I don't think most people would even know who won the Big East and their rep gets an auto bid to the BCS. You can repeat this for just about any conference in a year when one of the 'really, REALLY big schools' doesn't win the conference that particular year. People follow brands, not conference champs. If anyone outside OU, Texas or Nebraska wins the Big 12....most people would guess wrong b/c they only really know a few of the brands in that conference. Same goes for the entire NCAA FBS. Big brands: USC Notre Dame (who sucks now but the brand is still huge) Texas OU Ohio St Michigan Florida FSU Penn State ... Boise St (yes, they are developing a brand that is nationally known) I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but there are probably not more than 10 schools that are KNOWN nationwide.....sure, regionally different teams will be known to some extent....but your original argument is flawed. Most people (non die-hards) can't name the conference champs from year to year unless they just guess one of these "brand" teams and the team happened to win that year. So...to answer your question. Do not drop to IAA....stay the course. Get the stadium built. Keep scheduling like our 2009 schedule is shaping up (ie---cream puff) and put together a team that is capable of winning the Sun Belt every year. Wins build a fanbase (as evidenced by our 2001-2004 run). Here's a question that I haven't heard asked. If Boise State were to be offered an invite to the MWC (as it currently exists as a non-AQ conference), should/would they take it? BSU would not run the tables against that schedule upgrade every year and the luster of their impecable record would be tarnished.....they already sell out nearly every game they play at home so improved attendance isn't really a carrot being offered by the better recognized teams in MWC.

Totally agree....forgot how that last schedule for DD looked. Can you imagine, though, what might have been if we had played that schedule in 2002? 2003?...even 2004? 2 or 3 10+ win seasons would have been HARD to screw up, no matter how boring the offense. Not trying to defend DD, but our program has GOT to open it's eyes to what this game is about (big picture) and see that scheduling for success is how the little guys that are moving up are getting there. That schedule and this upcoming schedule are definitely signs that we are starting to get it. Now we just need to put a team out on the field that can take advantage of it....

This team WILL be better next season. The offensive line will be the catalyst. We finally have more upperclassmen than underclassmen on the oline and we have a stable of stud running backs to run behind them. I think Vizza will be better, and if he's not Riley will come in. Not sure why everyone is so ticked off that a new QB might be playing next season. If the backup was anyone other than the coaches son, this board would already have mobilized a "Bench Vizza" militia. I'm not saying that I support either guy....but we HAVE to get better at every position next year, QB included. Our defense could still be bad, but our special teams cannot possibly be worse than this last season. Add it all up and I find it hard to believe that this team will be as bad next year as this last year.

Damn. I would have loved to see this schedule about 4-5 years ago. We might have gone 11-1. You know, what Boise does every year against eirily similar schedules. Maybe we're finally getting our sh!t together on the scheduling front? Putting an a home game against an FCS team as a season opener would be the final icing on this cream-puff cake...