MeanGreenD

As the "other" person who ran the flag for Talons in 2002, I'm a bit taken back by your indication I didn't run. Anyway, HALLOWEEN IS GOING TO BE EPIC. Costume is ready, friends have confirmed their attendance, 2 of which will be there first game. I don't plan on sitting or shutting up the entire time. Except, of course, when we have the ball. I know a lot can't make it, and understand completely. However, for those in attendance, we have an obligation to rock the house, make noise and create an atmosphere that will be entertaining for all the alumni & recruits watching on TV.

Derek has been the target of scrutiny throughout his career at North Texas. It was just a couple of weeks ago that someone referred to him as our "Matt Schaub." He has shown leadership and commitment to winning but is still prone to make mistakes. His relentlessness to get back after he does is truly admirable. No one, and I apologize if you did, would have thought that coming into his senior season, Derek Thompson could throw for the most passing yards in the history of North Texas football. In 1994, Mitch Maher set the bar at 3,103 passing yards for the season. Through 7 games, Derek has thrown for 1,680. He is averaging 240 pass yards per game. If he stays on that pace, he will throw for 2,880 in the regular season, needing 223 in a potential bowl game to top Maher by 1 yard. He would need to average 285 yards per game to eclipse the mark in the regular season. Hats off to Derek for persevering and best of luck in chasing a record that I think he would be happy to miss if this team accomplishes its overall goals.

D in the early 2000's was epic. No doubt. I thought I would take a look at the numbers, and share. This D is the worst passing D out of the 5. Not surprising as the big pass plays have been the Achilles' heel of this group. Run D is 2nd worst, but the game has evolved into the age of mobile QBs, read-options, etc. Not bad considering I believe we have contained guys like Tettleton & Wenning. Hopefully we can do the same against McHargue on Halloween. So, this group gives up more total yards than any D but the 2004 group. However, they are forcing more TOs and are #1 in the nation in fumbles recoveries. Also, they have allowed the least amount of points with the exception of the 2002 group. What is also interesting to note is that their strength of schedule is at #69 right now. The SOS in the glory years was outside the top 100, with the exception of 2002. It was unfair of me to say this squad is better, no disrespect to Booger & the Boys. Clearly, it is the best thing we've seen since then and we all can be excited about that! 2013 2001 2002 2003 2004 Passing 253 226.8 171.7 219.6 241.3 Rushing 147.3 127.4 118.9 104.7 172.8 PA 21.3 24.4 14.8 21.9 29.8 TO 2.9 2.5 2.3 2.5 2.2 SOS 69 104 78 102 104

Too highly!? Too highly!? We thought too highly of the basketball team last year. They stumbled right out of the gate and never showed any ability to live up to the hype. This North Texas came out the gate and smashed Idaho. Gave it everything they could against a good Ohio team on the road. Handed Ball State their ONLY L. Hung around with Georgia and proved they weren't scared. Beat themselves, with some help from the refs against what has proven to be a legit Tulane team that will go bowling with the great Joe Montana's son. Since then, put together a 2 game win streak, which is HUGE if you've been following this program for many years. Those 2 wins have been decisive victories. I would be stunned if they lose to Southern Miss. They are starting 6 freshman on offense, and more on D. Coach Mac won't let em look past this and the seniors know every game is an opportunity to build their legacy.

I agree with everything both of you said. From the first episode, it has given me a great appreciation for this group of players & coaches. It is fantastic to be able to get behind the scenes and see how they are approaching each game. I find myself watching each episode multiple times. My favorite segment so far was the very last on the latest episode. This D is something else. I was a student in the early 2000's and believe this D is better than that squad. Turnovers and BIG hits are what seperates them, and that segment really cemented that. On Halloween, let's make so much noise that those Frogs and Ponies can hear us from their campus!!!

Green & Black costume is ready. Be there. Be loud. It's halloween for goodness sakes, if not then, when?

I'm going to Frankie's in Lewisville. Ran into the same problem there a couple weeks ago that everyone else had w/ Tulane, but this game is on a different channel (CBS Sports vs. Fox College Sports) that just about every sports bar will have, since just about every sports bar has DirectTV. I did appreciate the manager of Frankie's being there to greet customers and ask which game they would like to watch, just too bad they didn't get that channel.

I hope they will let me in the stadium since I have a white shirt, green underneath, and black just doesn't work for my costume.... But very excited with how my Mean Green Halloween costume has come together, and even more so for the game.

ULM has 4 wins on the season....50% of those wins are againt us. Things cannot get any worse, but mercifully, the season is almost over.

Bravo CBL. It's clearly mental right now. The Cameron game, I felt like every time he put up a shot we would all breath in anticipation to go nuts for it to go down, only to have it clank off the rim. His body language showed he was frustrated, he was getting good-looks, but something is off in rhythm, timiming, stroke, etc. Good news for Overlander, I think he has heart. Leading a team to a championship at any level demonstrates that. I think the best thing for him will be the 8-day break after today. Get away from the gym for a couple of days, then put in some serious work to find his shot again before the UTA game.

I got some Papa Johns Pizza for being on the (second) craziest row, so I guess I'm in the 10%. But this really grinds my gears, so what if someone like my wife or our friends' 3 year old daughter isn't going nuts. I was more disappointed in all of the empty seats. Creighton fans were not making noise the enitre game, but there were 16,000 of 'em. Student section was pitiful. 3 sections should not be that hard to fill, especially if greek row would show up. Regardless, I'm one of those who likes to go to the game and watch. Breakdown the gameplan, see what our strategy is, when Tony throws a no-look alley-oop to J-Will, I'll cheer. When CJ gets his head taken off on a dirty screen that it seemed like no one saw, I'll yell. But I do need to save my voice for my job, especially being in sales, and I did more than my share of going crazy during games as a student. As long as alumni showup, I don't care what they do. That's what really needs to improve, poor showing.

36-6 with 5:11 left in 1st half, yea.... Announcer said earlier "this is the difference between D1 & D2" UAH just hit a 3, 1 for 11 on the night. Just missed one, 1 for 12, now 43-9. No explanation for losing to UAH

ESPN has the Armed Forces Classic between Miich. St. & UConn then the Barclays Center Classic between Maryland & Kentucky. So I get that. ESPN2 has college football, so I get that. ESPNU has Duke at 6 than the opening round of the 2k sports classic, so again I get it. What I don't get is why ESPN3 isn't offering it when they show a ton of games including Sun Belt's own S. Alabama vs. #25 Florida State. So even though it was a last-minute booking, they still could have gotten a crew there to cover it. Is this link legit or should I pay the $5 for the Creighton feed and tune my radio to KNTU?

I'm with you, even told my wife this morning I don't think I've been this excited about a game, any game, ever. Part of the reason is I don't know what to expect. Could be a blowout, where you are depressed throughout think 'we're better that this'. Could be close, where you say 'we let it get away' or 'we made the plays to win, unbelievable!' Could be that we run em off the court and really shock the Jays while going nuts from the tip to the end of the second half. Anything is really possible, but the beauty is we get to watch the Big 3, the role players, the players we have all come to love, respect, and cheer for. Win or lose, it'll be fun. Yes, even if it is a blowout, at least the season has begun and the team will learn what it needs to improve on. This could be a big coming out party for the Big 3, but I hope fans keep some perspective and come out a week from tonight despite what transpires through the first 3 and show up in force for a team that cares about its fans as much as we care about them. GO MEAN GREEN!

http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20121109-mens-basketball-humble-superstar.ece According to this article, at the very bottom, Patton might not play at all in November. Maybe against UTA, I didn't realize 2-4 weeks meant from the time the season started, thought it was from the time of the injury. What's more disheartening is that Jacob Holmen might not be able to go tonight. On a brighter note, great player profile story by Brett Vito.

Me too. Basically Vegas is saying Creighton will win 81-67. Jays D won't contain us that much. Their strength is scoring, I'd take the over and the Mean Green. This game will be closer than 14. Upset special could be brewing.

Last I heard it was 2-4 weeks, and that was nearly 2 weeks ago. Will JP be able to go tomorrow night? If not, any hope at the preseason NIT?

Is this the issue with Cody Zeller on the cover? I was in an office that had this in their waiting area today and flipped through very quickly while waiting. I missed that section, but I noticed they ranked all D1 schools and they had UNT somewhere in the 90's. I was a little taken back as I thought people on here were saying we were on the outskirts of being in the top 25. Guess it really doesn't matter, preseason rankings mean squat. We will jump a whole lot of those teams with a win tomorrow night!

I was too. Same motivation as our season tickets are a few rows back but since it was open seating, we thought we might as well sit front row. My friends had the little girl who was obsessed with Scrappy if you noticed. Saying that, I was really impressed with how Coach Benford ran the game, talked to his players, and really emphasized playing smart. What has always bothered me watching Tony Mitchell, the mopy attitude he seems to carry after a play doesn't go his way. Whether it's a foul, goaltend, whatever, he gets way too upset and needs to focus on the next play. When he threw the ball off Roger's head last night resulting in a turnover, he started huffing and puffing his way down the court. Coach Benford was not having it as he was yelling "Tony! TONY!!!" as if to say, 'get your head in the game'. Lotta love for Coach Jones, but never saw him approach this problem Tony has. T-Mitch said one of the reasons he came back was he needed to mature on and off the court. If he can stop getting upset so easily, it would accomplish the on-court part of the equation. I think Coach Benford will help him immensely in doing so. I was also looking forward to seeing the big man play, and could not understand why he did not until this morning. Did like that Coach Benford broke some things down with him, explained situations, and what he wants from him in those situations. Saw the word "doghouse" thrown around, but definitely was not the case. I could understand that impression if you were not there and just heard he was not in the game, but Coach really gave him a lot of attention and reassuring gestures. I noticed that we had a larger margin of victory than #1 Indiana & #3 Kentucky did in their exhibitions. For those with season tickets but were unable to make it, they are awesome. Actually professional looking with logos and whatnot. Much better than is year's past. I hung around for autographs afterwards since it will only get more crowded as the season goes on. Don't worry too much about the offensive rebounds, it's gonna happen when you miss as many shots as they did. More than once, they would get a few of the time in one possession just because they couldn't put it in and it kept bouncing right back into their hands. One final thought, Niko has really improved his game. Really liked what I saw from him on both ends.

Not gonna lie, got goosebumps reading through a lot of the observations. Don't worry Coach Benford, I'll be at all the games to help contribute to the home-court advantage. I don't think chemistry will be a problem as these guys seem real close (at least through Twitter observations) and they have spent the summer together. Heck, Tony was not even allowed to practice this time last year. Ready for this exhibition game in a couple of weeks so I can see it first-hand! Should be a little more defense played, even though the competition won't be anything like what Creighton will bring.

I can understand the motive they would have for not putting on UNT basketball in past years, but this is situation is different and different for UNT. Nation's #2 ranked player in McD3 vs. #7 in Tony Mitchell. 1st team All-American going against 2nd team All-American. #1 Mid-Major vs. #2 Mid-Major. They should be open to "flex-scheduling". Oh well, UNT can force their hand by beating K-State, because even the consolation game at Madison Square Garden is on ESPN2. I believe the opening games at MSG are on ESPN3.

I, like others who cannot make the trip to Creighton, was hoping the game would air on ESPN3. It's definitely a must-see matchup of 2 top players so why not show it on, at minimum, ESPN3. Well, it doesn't look good... http://www.gocreighton.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1000&ATCLID=205705341 "Creighton's games that will be shown by ESPN and its networks include Nov. 23 (Wisconsin), Nov. 24 (Arkansas/Arizona State), Dec. 1 (Saint Joseph's), Nebraska (Dec. 6), Northern Iowa (Jan. 15), Wichita State (Jan. 19), Southern Illinois (Jan. 27), Illinois State (Feb. 9) and Evansville (Feb. 16). Four of the games will air on ESPN2, three on ESPN3 and one on ESPNU. The Jan. 27 contest at Southern Illinois will air on either ESPNU or ESPN3, with a decision made in early January." Any chance there could be a last-minute addition? If not, is there any other way to see what will be an epic game other than getting score updates on a boxscore?

#4 on the top 10 was Jeremy Brown's 48 yard TD run. "This might be the run of the year" Of course we had to be outdone by our national television opponent, ULL, as they landed the #1 spot...

Whoops, purely a coincidence, I assure you. This was my first gamertag back when I was in college when Xbox Live first came out. Does it help that I'm holding a giant D in my avatar?

You're welcome, and I agree. Great read. Jeff Eisenberg did another article for his Sun Belt Preview on Middle Tennessee which has his predictions for leage standings (spoiler alert: UNT #1 in West division and Tony Mitchell for Sun Belt player of the year) http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/sun-belt-preview-middle-tennessee-state-vies-ncaa-130003500--ncaab.html He also got the #1 must-see game correct, in my opinion. North Texas vs. Creighton is HUGE!