GrandGreen

The offensive line got manhandled in my opinion against Alabama and for the first half of the Muts game. They also only had 115 yards rushing against Ohio. However, Ohio only had 63 yards rushing against NT; so obviously by your logic their offensive line also is devoid of talent. That is going to happen occasionally to almost any team. Overall the numbers just don't support your contention. NT is 59 in the country in total offense, 41 in rushing offense, 39 in passing offense, tied for 4 in sacks allowed and 67 in tackle for losses allowed. Those numbers indicate that the offensive line is doing a pretty good job. Glad to know that Vizza left because of poor offensive line play. I have been wondering why he make that decision. As for as me playing QB, I assure you that would be apocalyptic, no matter who played offensive line.

Enjoyed your comments as always. One correction, Kyle White had his redshirt burned inexplicably against Alabama. I say that because I don't think he played in the next two games. I wonder why they would have played our only underclassmen dt if they were not going to give him significant playing time. Agree this team does have a lot more talent than any team since the championship years. Unfortunately few of them are going to be recognized beyond the loyal fans unless NT starts to get some wins. I think Royce Hill, Cook, and Dunbar are already playing at an all conference level. Add Akpunka and Dodge to the list and it is easy to see that the 2008 class is something special.

I see members of most of the teams at the football games. Unfortunately, I havn't noticed a lot of support from fellow athletes at the BB games. At last year's bb game with a half time presentation for the student athletes, I noticed and posted my disappointment that most of the athletes left after the half. Obviously, you can't mandate attendance and you should not even if you could. I do hope that NT has a much better student attendance as well as total attendance at this years, basketball games. This could be a very special year for the men's team. Unfortunately, a horrible home oc schedule will not help in this quest. I still find it increable that only a few hundred students usually make it to the basketball games.

Obvious, all five offensive linemen are starting on a FB level and have done so for at least two years. I wonder how you would know what the weight totals and 40 times are? I also see you disagree with Dodge who has on several times this year cited Santiago as having the best performance among the ol. There are multiple facets of NT's game to complain about, I just don't see the offensive line play very high on that list.

I watched the first half of the Texas Tech and New Mexico game, which was actually very close. I could not believe that it was a DD game plan, lots of different sets with most plays out of the spread. It sure didn't look like anything DD ran here.

You must have watched a different telecast. The only replay I saw was the players going up for the ball with minor contact. The penalty was for holding which had to take place before the ball was thrown, otherwise I think it would had to have been pass interference. I did go back and replay the action several times and it appears there was contact before the ball was thrown, however the referee threw his flag after the attempted catch and made no motion for the flag earlier. In any case, I didn't find it clear at all based on the television view.

Typical; fire the coach, bench the quarterback. It was a hard loss and Riley definitely had a horrible first half, but lets add just a touch of prospective. NT played well enough and in fact should have won this game as well as the Ohio game. There was not a game last year including NT's one win that I thought that about. Any speculative why no one attended that game. From a tv view it appears that 12,000 was a very generous attendance count. I suppose ULL just can't compete against a LSU tv game. Like any close games there are a number of plays that could have turned around the outcome. In this game: Riley's turnovers, awful punting game, and untimely penalties. The official really either blew the call or threw the game with that blatantly bad call on Hill at the end of the game. I don't think there was any foul but it was obvious that there was not enough contact to call a penalty at that point in the game. If it was hold at the line of scrimmage than the flag should have been thrown then not seconds after the play was over. Great play by the Defense for most of the game, but they still continue to falter late with the game on the line. For the most part, NT completely dominated a touted ULL offensive line. The offense played well other than the turnovers but also couldn't mount that late drive that could and should have won the game. Obviously, a great game by Dunbar. Back to the coach and the QB, Riley is the quarterback and Dodge is not going anywhere. Riley has had a couple of bad games in a row, but is the future of the program. Those that think that NT has better options at this point are mistaken. Riley has got to learn not to throw in heavy coverage. Someone opined that he is much better than ULL's young QB and I agree, but ULL's QB did not make the mistakes Riley did. I think most would agree that Todd Dodge was not ready to be a FB division head coach when hired. However, he has demonstrated enough of a turn around now that he is probably the best option going forward. I guess it is great to let of steam and demand a coaching change but he is not going to be fired during the season. As far as changing the offensive coordinator, do you think that Dodge doesn't really fill that position? NT has lost two games this year that were all but won. While this is tremously dissappointing, it does demonstrate progress. I don't think anybody is happy with the record, but it is still way to early to give up on this team. This team has talent and probably as much depth as any NT team. What it does not have, is a winning attitude. I saw a team Saturday night, that looks superior to ULL in almost all facets but when the game was on the line, folded; good teams don't do that.

Tyler was fired for off the field issues after one year so he may be the worst coach in history but his one year record was great compared to Dodge's first two years. I am not sure why an one year coach is brought up as a comparison to Dodge. 1981 (2-9) 9/5 ........L .....Kentucky ............................. 6-28 9/12 ......L ..... SMU # .................................. 7-34 9/19 ......L .....Texas .................................. 10-23 9/26 ......L ..... UL Lafayette ...................... 11-34 10/3 ......L .....OKLAHOMA STATE % ..... 0-9 10/10 ...W ...NEW MEXICO STATE .. 38-16 10/24 ...L .....UT-ARLINGTON % ........... 6-7 10/31 ...L ..... S. MISSISSIPPI .................. 0-22 11/7 ......L .....Auburn ................................ 0-20 11/14 ....W ... UL Monroe ....................... 17-14 11/28 ....L ..... San Jose State .................... 16-28

You may want to go back and check the results from the 2001 to 2004 years. I think there has been some improvement in the league mainly due to more teams, but this substantial improvement everyone keeps referring to is more wishful thinking than real. There have been more home games against more respected programs than in the earlier years and that has let to a few impressive victories. However, to tout a few victories and close games with highly favored teams and ignore the usual routs that happen when the Belt plays the Auto 6 conference teams and a woeful 1-3 record against the mighty MAC this year; does not make a strong case for the Belt being better. The fact is that the Belt is generally rated the worst conference in the NCAA this year as it has been through most of it's existence.

What conference would that be? Sorry, I don't think there is a big demand for teams in minuscule markets with questionable academics.

Massey Composite Ratings 67 MUTS 76 Troy 84 ULM 87 ULL 98 ASU 107 FIU 109 FAU 110 UNT 118 WKU Others: 96 SMU 115 Ball State 77 Ohio 2 Alabama

I predict Troy will win easily.

I guess I love to nitpick, but only six seniors going to Lafayette? Which of Montgomery, Seidle, Dickerson, Hollovay, Bailey, Gilmore, Nwigwe, Adams, Hill, Knott, Bush and Christian are not going?

See interview with Jones on official site. Alzee Williams is mentioned and is obviously part of team.

Well, I am glad we are looking at one of the most favorable polls for NT. Massey which is a composite of most of the polls has NT in the usual three digits rating at 111 and next to the bottom of the Belt. The sad fact is thus far NT has only moved up nine spots from last in the nation based on a consensus of the polls. I think NT has a possibility to substantially improve but having a discussion based on improvement in one poll that is clearly favorable to what the vast majority of polls indicates comes across as desperate.

Well, it seems that Riley is the goat in many opinions. 4 turnovers, I guess gets you that moniker. However, I think few are considering that he was running for his life most of the game. To go with his four turnovers, he had 313 yards passing and 57 running for a mere 370 yards. Outside of the great run by Dunbar that was about all the offense. I wonder what all those calling for Riley's head, think about NT veteran line who got manhandled most of the game. The offensive line looked totally intimidated in the first half. A lot of this criticism reminds me of the last game with SMU, with Meager passing for nearly 600 yards and getting blamed for the defeat by many of our fan base. Riley was not why NT lost, the total domination of the offensive and defensive lines by the MUTS for most of the game is the reason that NT faltered. Dunbar had a breakout game and where did those kick off returns come from. Atterberry's punting is almost unbelievable. Knotts kickoffs were deep. The special teams took an overall step up but a blocked kick and several stupid penalties on kickoff returns negated a lot of the improvement. It happens on every team, but why even block someone behind the play if there is any chance of a penalty. The defense played well at times, but where totally shredded in the first half. Tackling was improved but still not good. The Green actually did a good job stopping a lot of the MUTS passing offense but still gave up too many easy first downs by the corners giving up way too much cushion on the sideline coverage. The defensive line looked totally gassed at times despite having a large rotation of players. The offense had the same problems, lots of offense but too many missed scoring opportunities. A lot of receivers got into the mix, but IMO NT is still lacking the development of a go to receiver or receivers. Way too many first down penalties. It appears that the MUTS defense's constant movement really confused the offense. Overall, MTSU came out an dominated NT in the first half. NT rallied to outplay them in the second half but couldn't over come an awful first half. I hate to alarm many, but I don't think MTSU is as good as many believe. They are a very one dimensional offensive team who relies on their QB's running ability. The MUTS will definitely be in the conference race but I don't see them in the top couple of positions. NT has two weeks to regroup and hopefully improve. The team that played last night will be fortunate to get a couple of conference wins. A more focused confident team that works on their mistakes could still finished in the upper part of the league.

Yes, Riley made some mistakes he also kept UNT from getting completely blown out. What a knee jerk reaction, so I am firing away. Do you really think that NT has another QB that can come close to making the plays that Riley did? I do agree that there was an Alabama game hangover, you cannot instill confidence by giving up. However, I am not sure how you blame the game plan on Riley, wrong Dodge. Also you may want to note that there was a lot of positive offensive yardage to go along with the turnovers. Riley is still learning and to suggest that a change needs to be made after three games is plain crazy. I actually thought Dodge had an overall good game. His first throw for an interception was a bad decision and he made several others, but the MUTS defense and I thought a very bad performance by the NT offensive line had a lot to do with the play selection. Based on three games, I think Riley is doing as well as most could expect and I think he will continue to progress.

Yes, and don't throw ether.

There are problems especially if you have a slower computer. However, $10 a month is not a whole lot to risk. My biggest complaint last year was that they had many events mostly girls basketball on their schedule which they did not show. This is a big problem because you never know whether it is actually on or that you have a computer problem with the connection. It is very infuriating to spend time trying to figure out a problem only to find out the event is not broadcasted.

I wonder why they just didn't leave the center score board in place. Maybe it would not work with the new system, but it sure is easier to look at than the side score boards. It did not have video or other improvements, but it provided the basics and it is not nearly the distraction looking up as to the sides.

Yes, I would hate for that game to get out of hand. It is obvious that Dodge gave up before the opening kickoff much like the Kansas State game. I personally hate this strategy no matter who the coach is, the only advantage a big underdog has in a game like this, is an emotional edge. When the superior team is more emotional than the underdog, bad things happen. Not to mention that Dodge has proclaimed he would not go into any game just playing to survive, which is exactly what he did in this game. I actually think it backfired this time, Alabama weakest link is their pass defense and NT played right into their hands. Personally, I had rather have a team lose by 70 points and put up a fight instead of this football equivalent of the stall. A few have compared Tulsa's loss to NT's but there was a big difference,Tulsa actually played to win. However, NT had next to no chance anyway. Dodge did get to look at some different players and combinations that may prove to be beneficial down the line. My real disappointment was the defense who I expected to offer a bit more resistance than they did. The real test begins this week and I expect good things.

Apparently a lot of posters thought that NT really had a chance against one of the best teams in the nation at their stadium missing their QB and two of their best players from the offensive and defensive line. I assume this, because there are so many posts about money games, going back to 1-aa, and the lost season ahead. Geez, after the last 5 seasons I would have thought all the fair weather fans would have been weeded out. I was hoping for better results, but frankly the game played out as I expected. The season is far from over, and I predict a very good game next week. The Alabama game is over and will be quickly forgotten if NT can beat MTSU next week.

Not unless he can redshirt two years.

The defense played awful, of course the offense didn't help by keeping them on the field most of the game. The offense was just as bad, with very conservative play calling: I assume to shorten the game. Running up the middle on Alabama is something I doubt any team in the NCAA can do. Oh yes, the special teams on kickoffs and punts coverages were awful. I thought that Tune actually didn't play bad and the offensive line although overpowered on run plays, actually did fairly well on pass blocking. Good returns by Smith and Dunbar and Carey make some great catches. Hamilton actually looked good late aganst the reserves. I am sure someone on the defense had a decent game, but I didn't see it. Our punter did a good job but I am sure his average suffered as he started punting out of bounds in the last half as our coverage could not contain. I though I saw White in at defensive tackle. I hope NT didn't waste his redshirt because of this game.

How predictable, an expected blow out loss to the number 4 team and a chorus of no more money games from many of the fan base. No matter, that NT is only playing one guaranteed game this year and every team in the Belt plays one or more of these games. It is a fact of life for underfunded lower tier football programs. I don't think you would care as much, if NT would actually be competitive in the game as NT has been in the past and many other lower tier teams are able to do. By competitive, I don't necessarily mean close to winning but to at least not let the other team score on the vast majority of their possessions and have something close to an offense. The only more predictable response to these games is the ever popular take your money and avoid injury refrain. As it appears now, those fans expressing that wish should be satisfied.