Greendylan

The last two weeks I predicted the Mean Green to lose and felt guilty about my lack of faith. They proceeded to lose both by even more than my pessimistic gut I had guessed. While I would love to see a magical turnaround this week, I fear that at this point any team with a pulse will blow out North Texas. 49-10 Rice

McNulty may not exactly be a dynamic QB, but he performed just fine last night. He was not the problem. What worries me the most is that the defensive line is visibly regressing from week to week. I fear that the coaches have lost this team.

19000

Do you wish it were 70?

How about Dajon "cursed by unrealistic fan expectations after one game against the worst FCS team in the nation" Williams?

Is it tough to beat out a Big XII program for a recruit? Yes, but it's not impossible. However, that's not what concerns me. This is what troubles me: We are lower in the Rivals rankings than schools such as South Alabama, Texas State, UTSA, Western Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Toledo, and well, just about everyone else in the nation. We are currently 106 and tied with Louisiana-Monroe. Is this acceptable? Are we shoulder to shoulder with ULM regarding assets to offer recruits? Do we have WAY, WAY less to offer than Western Michigan that is currently 50 spots ahead of us? They have a modest stadium built in 1939, 1 winning season in the past 5, MAC membership, and a location in Kalamazoo. They too are in a state that is a feasting ground for a major conference. I know I'm cherry picking the most extreme example at present, but those Rivals rankings reveal all sorts of "Group of Five" programs with no significant recent tradition of winning that are absolutely torching us at recruiting. We can either twist facts around for each one of them until we come up with an excuse for why that school just might have some slight advantage here or there. Or, we can admit that we suck at recruiting and address the problem.

We are really, really bad. I have been in denial for some time now, but it isn't some cruel coincidence that every team we play has a master defensive game plan. We are a bottom ten team with wins over two HORRIBLE teams. I hate to say this . . . but last year was an aberration with a senior-heavy team. We are headed for a losing record for the third time out of four McCarney seasons.

Yes we should be worried, and this is not new. Year after year after year we are ranked by both Rivals and Scout in the bottom half of our own conference. You don't build programs with recruiting rankings consistently in the 100s.

45-27 UAB

Yeah, I get what Vito meant. A win on the road over a two-TD favorite that hails from a better conference would really be a solid upset--and the Dajon Williams hype would reach the stratosphere. But . . . would it be a "monumental" win for the program? I have a hard time seeing it that way, considering we've already beaten Indiana in the only other meeting.

Lil Dajon and the Eastside Social Club Boyz

The Southland Slayer The Colonel Killer

Man, I'm starting to really respect you guys who survived that era and are still fans today.

I think one under-appreciated aspect of Thompson's game was his ability to take a step or two away from the pass rush and then quickly release the ball. He helped the offensive line minimize their sacks allowed totals and maybe inflated our expectations of them going into this season. Don't get me wrong; our OL is one of the strengths of the team. But, they are far less effective when we are in obvious run/pass downs.

Is there a banner in Denton for each North Texas player and coach like Fort Worth does for TCU?

Someone will win 10-7 . . . . . . after 7 OTs

For what it's worth, there's an even bigger spread for the Alabama-West Virginia game.

Let me clarify one point about my above comment. When I say that we need a "more than competent QB" in order to have a chance against Texas, I fully believe that either McNulty or Greer could potentially be that QB who could lead us to a win. But, we need to acknowledge that we will be asking a lot of a relatively inexperienced QB in hostile territory, if the ground game isn't consistently working.

Solid points. I don't think many teams will be able to run the ball effectively against UT's DL this year. A really good, experienced OL will not be enough to open up running room without a formidable passing threat as a complement. That's what worries me. If McNulty/Greer and a revamped WR corps don't play over their heads, then we are conceivably looking at around 100 yards of total offense and probably between 0-6 points. I don't even want to think about their point total in that scenario. I'm not saying that this is what will happen, but this is a plausibility if we don't come in with a well-crafted, balanced game plan led by a more than competent QB.

Sorry, meant to +1 you and accidentally hit -1.

This is one of the most objective previews of this game that I have seen.

I agree. However, I suppose that is the risk when coach speaks runs amok.

This thread was derailed in record time. Happy Fourth!

Well, we're moving up the CUSA preseason rankings on this list. At worst they have North Texas as 3rd in the West and 4th overall.

Very true. And, for those who think this list is being unusually forgiving to the good old Mean and Green, keep in mind that he very well may still place us below both UTSA and Rice. Predicting us to finish third in the West and fifth overall in CUSA seems plausible, no? These write-ups are pretty meaty and well-informed. I too was surprised to see Vanderbilt appear before North Texas, considering the similarities in record and personnel losses shared by the two. But, if you notice, he places a heavy emphasis on the coaching change and consequent whole-scale shift in defensive philosophy as being the factors that will hinder Vandy even more than their player turnover.