Mean Green 93-98

It sounds to me like the game's being dropped had more to do with UNT's record than anything else. I don't think we can blame ASU for any of that, at least not yet.

Points onslaught makes mincemeat of national defense By Dennis Dodd CBSSports.com Senior Writer Link to story It was bad. Real bad for Ron Mendoza. At the end of The Week That Defense Died, North Texas' defensive coordinator was searching for answers. Along with perhaps a shot of Jack. Mendoza and his players were on the losing end of the highest scoring I-A regulation game in history, contributing to one of the highest scoring weeks in the sport in recent memory. Still, Navy only squeaked out a 74-62 victory. That's because Navy's porous defense was almost as bad as North Texas'. Almost. "On the record or off?" Mendoza said when asked what he did Saturday after his defense surrendered 70 for the second time this season. We told you it was bad. The offensive revolution that has taken over college football since roughly the beginning of this decade has been well chronicled. Another set of national records is being established this season in scoring, passing yards and total yards. Last week, more than a quarter of I-A teams scored at least 40 points. North Texas was one of 11 that scored at least 50. It was the only one of the group that lost. CBSSports.com decided to look at this scoring explosion from the other side of the ball. What is happening to defenses that are at such a disadvantage these days that games probably feel like ambushes? For those who love defense, will it ever be like 2001 again? That's the last year a defense (Miami) allowed less than 10 points per game. "We'll probably never see somebody holding people to nine points a game, 10 points a game," San Jose State coach Dick Tomey said. Never? Only 10 years ago, Michigan won a share of a national championship limiting teams to 8.9 points. If current leader Ohio State holds limiting opponents to 11.4 points, it would be the second-highest average to lead the country since 1995. "I will never fail to believe that you can't play good defense against somebody," said Tomey, whose 1993 Arizona "Desert Swarm" defense allowed 331 rushing yards in a season. "I believe you can, but obviously it's much, much tougher." Almost impossible for North Texas, which regularly plays I-A non-conference heavyweights (Oklahoma and Arkansas this season) in guarantee games. In the 916 games North Texas has played in its history, it has given up 70 points only four times. Two of those games have come in the past 11 weeks. The season started with a 79-10 loss to Oklahoma and went South from there. Mendoza soldiered on as the guy in charge of (statistically) the worst defense in the country. Worst, at least, in scoring D (almost 50 points per game). Second-worst in yards surrendered per game (518.2). "I got with my family, and my grandson, and they consoled me," Mendoza said, his only on-the-record comment regarding his Navy postgame depression. "It all falls back on me ... I'm ultimately responsible." A year ago, Mendoza was coaching in high school at powerful Southlake (Texas) Carroll. In fact, the past quarter century of his career has been in the preps. This is his first college since a year spent as a grad assistant with New Mexico Highlands in 1980. There have been better times to jump up into the big time. For this man of 51, 30 is the new 20. That is, 30 points per game, which is roughly the average points per team this season (28.4 points, up four from 2006). "It's tough," Mendoza said. "The offenses have gotten a lot better, a lot faster. You're having 6-6 receivers and 6-5 receivers who run like deer. That kid at Oklahoma makes a lot of folks look silly. The running backs at Arkansas? Gosh almighty." That exclamation would be in reference to Oklahoma's gifted receiver Malcolm Kelly and Arkansas tailbacks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. The trio accounted for six touchdowns against the Mean Green, which is four fewer than what Navy put up in North Texas on Saturday. Mendoza is not a lone victim. Even grizzled veteran coaches feel like they're chipping out of pot bunkers on most Saturdays. The NCAA rules committee has been passing rules in favor of the offense for years. The rise of the spread offense has taken advantage of one of the most difficult defensive skills to perfect: tackling in space. "You can catch a guy out of position a yard or two down the field," West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez said. "The hardest thing to do on defense is tackle in the open field." De facto holding has been legal for offensive linemen for years. "They acknowledge that if you have your hands inside (the shoulders) and are holding onto the jersey, it's OK," Oklahoma's Bob Stoops said. "I don't see it changing." Michael Clark, chairman of the NCAA football rules committee, is hesitant to do anything at the moment. In 2006, timing rules cut down the number of plays. Coaches howled and the rules were re-adjusted for this season. Game length is up 14 minutes from 2006 to 3:21. The average offense runs 72 plays, up an average of eight from last season. "You don't want to be reactionary," said Clark, the coach at Division III Bridgewater. "I thought two years ago we were reacting to game length. (But) competitive balance is always on the table. We always try to look for trends. Is this just a spoke in the road that is going to sustain itself?" Every coach talks about evolution. The defenses will eventually catch up, but how? Cornerback might be the loneliest position in football considering the height and speed of the modern receiver. Defensive linemen are harder to find than cheap gas. Linebackers are less likely to even play when coaches are forced to play more defensive backs to combat four- and five-receiver sets. "Defense is recognition," Tomey said. "The biggest thing is you've got to believe you can stop people. You've got to go in feeling like you're not going to give up touchdown after touchdown after touchdown." There already is a league like that. It's called Arena Football. One stop during the game by a defense can literally be the difference between winning and losing. Sometimes it seems that all college football needs is a roof to join the AFL. Tomey's old Arizona defense was in the top two in rushing defense three consecutive years from 1992-94. Now if a team is good against the run, it usually means the opponent is having an easy time passing. Currently, Oregon State is No. 1 in rush defense but 82nd in pass defense. It's depressing to learn the old tenet: Things will change because they always do. When? • In general, most coordinators still haven't figured out how to account for the quarterback being a runner. UCLA quarterback Patrick Cowan rushed for 108 yards last season, 55 of them in the upset of USC. The Trojans completely disregarded Cowan as a running threat during the afternoon that knocked them out of the national championship race. Ten years ago, a defense could dismiss most quarterbacks as runners. Now Tim Tebow dominates games because he has a rocket arm and the body of a linebacker. • There are only a handful of defenses that can generate a consistent pass rush with four players. Once a coordinator starts blitzing to compensate, he leaves himself open to the big play in the secondary. Defensive masterminds Nick Saban of Alabama and Bo Pelini of LSU try to mix up their blitzes, playing a game of cat-and-mouse, gambling that their defenders can reach the quarterback before he can throw. • Defensive linemen are still the rarest commodity in the sport. Unless some coach taps into a gusher on the recruiting trail, it's going to stay that way. • Normally we would look at the defense-rich SEC to show us the way, but as of this week, the league is the second-highest scoring in the country (30.7 points per team). Until something changes, guys like Mendoza will need more than a hug on most Saturdays. They'll need a therapist. "We told our kids it was going to be a high-scoring affair," Mendoza said, Navy still on his mind. "We made them punt two times. That's something other people haven't done."

It's still showing on ESPN Gameplan - Link.

Our athletic department is head and shoulders above where it was 10 years ago, and I look for it to be vastly improved 10 years from now. Kudos to RV and JJ for their contributions!

Boy, from those shots and the posts I've read, it sounds like it was an awesome gametime experience! Wish I could've been there. That second shot really shows the size discrepancy between Dove and Josh White.

Well, this will move Patrick down to the #3 spot on the roster. And I imagine unless the Dolphins trade someone, PC will be looking for a new team in the spring. Jesse Chatman just had a good game.

It has nothing to do with being a cultist. It has everything to do with challenging unsubstantiated and misleading claims, such as saying, "Dodge puts Dodge first," or such as branding everyone with whom you disagree a "cultist."

Thanks - I had just looked it up when I saw you had posted that. I had thought our 2 RBs did alright when given the chance. Why grade them an "F" with averages of 4.8 and 3.7, and a TD?

Does anyone know what J-Mo and Micah's per carry average was?

I'll be there. Of course, I live in northeast Arkansas (about an hour and a half away), and wouldn't dream of missing it when the boys come to Jonesboro.

I like the turn this thread has made! Much more entertaining than a civil greeting to fans of our upcoming opponent!

Perfectly stated.

Yes, it would be hard to beat. And yes, you're dreaming.

Sounds like an energy drink.

I am stoked about my first opportunity to see Vizza and this offense in person come Thursday night!

Welcome to the board, WarChief. Looking forward to a good game on Thursday. Yes, I believe the team's spirits were pretty down after Saturday's game, but hopefully they will be up in time for Thursday.

Correct. But their classification is currently I-A (or according to the new P.C. nomenclature, "Division I FBS").

Actually, WKU is not 1-AA--they are playing this year as a 1-A independent.

Cerebus, you do very impressive work. Thanks for the link.

Thanks for the post. There's only so much you can glean from an Internet-streamed radio broadcast.

Here's the link to the photos from the game.

Link to story + box score DENTON, Texas (AP) -- Navy and North Texas set a major-college record by combining for 136 points in the Midshipmen's 74-62 win on Saturday. It wasn't the highest scoring game of the season, though. Weber State and Portland State, who racked up 141 for the all-division record two weeks ago. Weber State won 73-68 in a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) game. The previous record for college football's top tier of competition was 133 points in San Jose State's 70-63 win over Rice on Oct. 2, 2004. Rice also had the highest score by a losing team in that game, a distinction the Mean Green missed out on by a single point. Navy, the nation's best rushing offense, set a school record by running for 572 yards with eight rushing TDs a week after snapping a 43-year losing streak to Notre Dame. The Midshipmen (6-4) tied a school record by scoring at least 30 points for the eighth straight game. They scored their most points in a game since beating Colby 121-0 in 1919. Zerbin Singleton ran for three touchdowns, including a 65-yard run midway through the third quarter that pushed Navy ahead 58-49. That was the fourth straight touchdown for the Midshipmen, a stretch that put them ahead for the first time. Singleton's 65-yard score was set up after Ram Vela intercepted a pass by Giovanni Vizza, who threw an NCAA freshman-record eight touchdown passes. Both of Vizza's interceptions came in the second half. A week ago, Navy beat Notre Dame 46-44 in triple overtime. The Midshipmen and North Texas combined for more points than that by halftime, when the Mean Green led 49-45. On Saturday, the teams combined to score 94 points in the first half and 63 in the second quarter to set two bowl subdivision records. North Texas led 49-45 at the half. The previous record for points in a half of a major college game was 76, set by Houston and Tulsa in 1968. North Texas led 21-10 after the first quarter, but Navy outscored the Mean Green 35-28 in the second. The Midshipmen had 325 yards of total offense in the second quarter, while North Texas gained 265. The old mark for points in a quarter was set Nov. 6, 1999, when San Jose State and Hawaii combined to score 61 points in the fourth quarter. Hawaii won the game 62-41.

Was it that bad a day in football? I was disappointed they didn't pull out a win; I was disappointed in the D's mostly no-show. But how many people, even among the Kool-Aid drinkers on this board, honestly thought we would make it a game with Navy? We did better than most people would have expected; and I am stoked to see what this team can do once this offense gets a D to go with it.

In all fairness, no one has stopped Navy this year. They have punted only 12 times this year, the fewest in college football. Yes, our defense certainly played poorly. Yes, improvements must be made. But let's not lose our heads on this.