GoMTBlue

Tanner had 2 more touchdowns in one game against you than Dodge has had wins since being at North Texas, no wonder you want to talk about the past. The present and future isn't looking too bright down in Denton......look out, I think Tanner just scored another TD.

Of course, Tanner being out is good news for Mean Eagles fans. Considering how many TD's he scored against you last year, he may not even make the trip to Denton and still score 3 TD's on your defense.

We are very fortunate on the injuries. I don't think anyone was injuried in the Maryland game. We did lose our starting tailback (and Texas native) Phillip Tanner against Memphis. No official word on him, but many think he is out for the season. We lost WR Michael Cannon in fall practice. Besides that, I think we are very healthy.

That's the type of stuff I was referring to. I can't tell you how many good player's parent decided to move into this one school's district. Is that recruiting? No one can prove it but when it happens a lot you know there has to be something going on. The point I was making about Dodge is I suspect he had better players on average than the majority of other schools they played. Unfortunately in the Sun Belt, we usually have less talented players than our out-of-conference opponents. Anyway, I am disappointed with the Dodge experiment so far. I like beating North Texas, but I really wanted to see the Dodge experiment work out. Dodge received a lot of national attention when he was hired. If he could get North Texas on the winning track it is good publicity for North Texas and the entire Sun Belt.

I see. That makes sense.

Like I said, I'm not sure of the background. Recruiting is against the rules in Tennessee HS football also, but there are a few guys across the state who do it. Everyone knows they do it just no one has been able to come up with enough evidence to prove it.

On the MT post-game broadcast the announcers talked about all the conference championship, national championship, and Super Bowl rings our coaching staff has. They made the point that our staff has struggled to put together an upper tier SBC team. Then they made the comment that it must be a very difficult job for a staff that has virtually no college experience to build a competitive team. I know very little about Dodge's past, but we had a HS coach here in Murfreesboro who put together a HS dynasty. He was a decent HS coach but the reason why he was successful is he went out and recruited good players to move into his school's district. I've got to think Dodge did that at SLC and it played a huge part in his success.

I just updated the poll for All-SBC running back on www.BlueRaiderZone.com. Come to our football forum and vote for your pick as the top running back in the SBC.

Thank you.

Who will be your starting tailback?

Hey all, We are continuing our annual tradition at BlueRaiderZone.com of letting the fans vote for their All-SBC team. Today we start with the quarterback position. Please feel free to drop by and place your vote. Here's the link: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s...8&t=2685121

According to RaiderInTheZone, he is no longer a MTSU fan or a fan of any SBC school. Something pissed him off and now he takes every opportunity to bash MT and the SBC. What's funnier is he now is singing the praises of an OVC school, Tennessee State University. He only visits SBC forums to stir the pot.

Next year the fans should jump in and help them. Here's what the Blue Raider players and fans did Saturday. It was a lot of fun. MTSU football team flying the colors By ADAM SPARKS sparks@dnj.com John Marc Stephens has a different perspective of MTSU football than nearly all of his Blue Raider teammates. A life-long Murfreesboro resident, Stephens has seen the popularity of MTSU football rise and fall and rise again. He certainly recognizes the current upswing. ADVERTISEMENT "It's completely different from what it used to be," said Stephens, an MTSU junior tight end. "We're bigger now. Football is (Division) I-A. We went to a bowl game last year. "Everything is on the rise, and I think the community and local businesses are a little more eager to hop on board." But just in case some area businesses aren't yet anxious to board the bandwagon, a parade of MTSU fans and players did the leg work Saturday for the third annual Paint the Town Blue event. Rest of story Photo Gallery

To my knowledge there is no NCAA regulation. It's usually a state or local regulation that bans alcohol sales in the stadium. The Cajuns sell beer at their basketball games. The Blue Raiders sold beer at their game against Louisville, but that game was played in Titans stadium. I know Akron has a "Beer Garden". It is seperated from the stadium by a fence. The gate remains open and is only accessable from inside the stadium. You can buy beer and drink it inside the fenced area. You can still see the game just fine from there. I think a lot of your Big 10 schools sell beer at games.

Last season one of the guys in our tailgate area took it upon himself to countdown to kickoff. Starting about 2 hours before the game he would ring his cowbell until everyone in the area was quiet. He would then shout "It's 2 hours until kickoff" and everybody would cheer. He did this counting down every 30 minutes. I'm surprised, but it did work. When he announced 30 minutes until kickoff you could see all the tailgaters start putting their supplies away and getting ready to head to the stadium. I have never lost time when it comes to kick-off because I look forward to it so much. It just made me wonder if people just sit out there and drink and lose the time. Then after they realize tey missed kick-off they don't get in a hurry because they know they are already late.

Here's the link to the Wade Phillips thread. It just was moved our Sun Belt forum: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?S=349#S=349&a...99&T=645094

I want them to stick. We need all teams in the SBC to improve. We also need to make sure we have players who want to be in the SBC, not players who feel like they are settling. I hope the players are good players and I hope they stay true to their word. Dodge could be setting a trend that could benefit all SBC schools.

You are doing the same thing. Been thru this before, it's getting old. Agree or disagree that's the way the rules are set up. You are claiming North Texas has 4 SBC Championships. According to the rules North Texas has 3 championships and 1 co-championship. You insist that MT call it a co-championship, but you don't follow your own logic. If you claim North Texas has 4 championships you will have to agree that MT has 2 championships based on the same logic (it's not debatable that the SBC says any team ending the regular conference season with the same record will be co-champs, it's in black and white. I actually disagree with the rule, but that is the current rule set forth by the SBC.). FYI, if you think the rule stinks I understand. MT fans thought the rule stunk when NT went to a bowl game in 2001 with a losing record. Since then the rules have been changed. Agree or disagree with the logic of the rule, it is the rule the SBC has set up.

This all started with our new AD when he was hired a couple of years ago. Every year MT host Spring Fling which is the state high school championships for track, soccer, baseball, and a few more spring sports (we also have the state basketball and football championships on campus as well). Our AD went to the city and said that they city benefits from the "tourist" dollars coming in during that week (which ironically Spring Fling" is taking place this week) and that MT went thru a lot of trouble but received no benefit. He basically told them if they want to keep having these events on MT's campus then they need to shell out some $$. Of course, he did it in a nice way, but you get the point. Up to that point the city was receiving all the money and shelling out very little money or time. It was MT shelling out the time and the use of the facilities. I was shocked when the city decided to give 5 mil towards upgrades and some of the city's citizens were outraged, but the city thought it was worth 5 mil to keep Spring Fling in town. Every hotel is booked this week, every restaurant is slammed. I'm not sure how much money Spring Fling brings into our economy, but it's a sizeable amount. Anyway, that's the story on how we got the city involve with facility improvements.

I will have to reserve judgement until after this season. I have made it to Jonesboro and Troy, but I haven't made the full circuit yet. I was not very impressed with ASU's stadium. It was ok and the jumbotron is nice. I did think the tailgating atmosphere was good. Troy has a nice stadium. Besides the overall look, I like the way te concession stands are set up. They are against the back wall, so while you are standing in line you can still get a glimpse of the game. One point of clarification. MT's stadium is a two-tierd stadium as well. I do share an open-air box with KAjun and I agree with his sentiments about the open invite to North Texas fans. www.BlueRaiderZone.com

I think a lot of misinformed people may be underestimating "Dodgeball". I thought it would take our new coach (Stockstill) some time to build his program, but he got us to a bowl game in his first year. I can see Dodge having similar success. I know he may not have the recruits that he wants right now, but there's no doubt he will get the best out of them. Personally, I am excited to see what Dodge can do, but I am also a little concerned. With all the talent in Texas and all his ties to the Texas high schools, I look for Dodge to once again make the Mean Green a force in the SBC. On the Blue Raider Zone we actually have a thread talking about what type of impact Dodge will have. Here's the link: Dodgeball www.BlueRaiderZone.com

I was hoping that you guys could help out a fellow SBC school. Vote Damon Nickson. Your school’s athlete has been chosen as a nomination for NFL.com’s Davis Dandy of the week. Please log on and vote for your nominee. In addition, the winner from each week will be voted on for Dandy of the month and the month’s winner for Dandy of the Year. NFL.com will recognize your school’s winner each week. Davis Dandy Poll

Congrats on the win. I must say that I was listening to the game online. I started laughing every time either team lined up for a FG. I can't believe how many field goals were missed by either team. Anyway, way to stick it out to the end and get the "W".

Isn't college football a funny sport? Last week MT plays probably it's worse game ever in a 59-0 loss to Oklahoma. The very next week they are on the winning end of a game that a North Texas fan says is the most embarrassing loss in 46 years. I guess the phrase"on any given Saturday" really applies to college football. FYI, as badly as our loss to NT hurt us last year, we still had plenty of chances to get back in the Sun Belt race.