Side.Show.Joe

I haven't had much to say about this year's team. I've had concerns, but wanted to refrain from negative comments. But, today's loss was beyond terrible. With the game on the line, there is no good reason to try and throw a runner out at second, when a runner is standing on 3rd. That was completely stupid. This team is mentally weak, and has regressed from where it was just two seasons ago. Like last season, our bats are struggling. The only difference from last season, is our pitching is a little worse too. Yes, we played a stronger OOC schedule, but we didn't beat any of those ranked teams either. From what I've seen so far, this team won't win the conference title or make a regional. And that is just sad considering where this program was just two seasons ago. Something has to change. I'll ask this question again..... Has DeLong taken this program as far as he can?

Back to back to back walk-off winners. I doubt I'll ever see that again. Very proud of the way the girls fought against great pitching in this series. Tulsa is going to be a tough out in the conference tournament. Coach should take the girls out and celebrate this series sweep. Remember, Tulsa was tied for the conference lead heading into the weekend. We moved them down to 4th place. Co-leader, FAU got to feast on a 3-25 Memphis team this weekend. Right now, UNT looks as good or better than any program in the AAC.

This team is senior heavy and should be much better. Pitching is not as good as it was just a few years ago. And, our bats are continuing to struggle. Overall, this team looks much like it did most of last season. That is not a complement. I'm beginning to wonder if De Long has taken this program as far as he can? Personally, I expected this program to be competing with Top 25 programs by now.

I trust Morris to find a QB that can run this system. He reminds me a little of McCasland, and the way he was always able to find another point guard to run his offense.

This was a good recruiting day for North Texas. We may not have pulled in the top recruiting class in the AAC, but we certainly improved the talent on our roster today. According to 247Sports, we finished the day with the 6th best AAC class (in the top half of the conference). That is better than every recruiting class in the Sun Belt & C-USA today. We also finished with a better class than all but 1 MAC program and all but 3 MWC programs. I hate that we lost some really good talent in recent weeks, but this haul seems like a big step towards rebuilding our plundered offense. But, I think defense remains a big question mark until we actually see improvements on the field next season.

While I wanted the AAC to earn the last access bowl spot, I always rejoice in seeing SMU get screwed. FSU might feel like they've had the worst day ever, but SMU has a strong case too. Today the ponies not only got passed over for a less deserving Liberty team, but also watch their future conference get demoted. SMU is ponying up $500 million and losing 9 years of revenue to join an ACC whose undefeated champion wasn't deemed good enough for the playoffs. Imagine how worse it will be once FSU, Clemson, North Carolina, & Virginia all leave and the ACC features a lesser lineup. Today the playoff committee ushered in the new age of the P3. Congratulations SMU on getting left out again... and paying for it. 😁

The simple truth is that this coaching staff needs a big defensive recruiting win to appease the fan base. Morris kept Caponi, and fans are going to remain skeptical of the leadership until they are given a reason to actually believe things are getting fixed. So right now, any defensive recruit that backs out of his commitment is going to be a bad look for our staff. Morris' honeymoon period is over. A large segment of our fans are not interested in hearing what will be done to fix our defense. And many aren't interested in cryptic assumptions regarding what might be going on behind the scenes. They want tangible evidence, like a big-time defensive player committing to the Mean Green.

But not this season.

Yeah, and that Liberty offense would have dropped 77 on Caponi's defense.

I've found the guy we need. Nate Reiling- New Mexico State DC. Current Salary: $195,000 In Dreiling’s first season in Las Cruces, the NM State defense turned heads across the nation. Dreiling inherited a defense that ranked 127th in total defense among FBS schools. The ‘22 Aggies were the most improved defensive unit in college football, climbing 98 spots to 29th in the nation. https://nmstatesports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/nate-dreiling/3334 His NMSU defense looks solid tonight against Liberty's high-powered offense (5th in the FBS). That game is tied at the half.

If not, this is a perfect opportunity to reassign Caponi and go get a better DC.

I totally agree. Votes for or against fellow posters really mean anything. Most won't even come with a comment. But, I also see no need to direct a negative reaction towards a newly minted recruit.

Yeah. We all want to see some beef added on the fronts, and LB's too, but we should never disparage a recruit that has committed to represent our university. I'm happy this young man chose to play at North Texas. We all should be happy about that.

Nope, I wasn't there. I decided not to attend after watching Morris' UAB press conference last Tuesday. His blind support of Caponi despite all the data surrounding his failure was too much for me to overlook. I watched the game on ESPN+. I watch every game. Having said that, I did expect UNT to win the game. UAB was already locked into a sub .500 record for the season. They were not good. But, Caponi's defense sure made it interesting down the stretch. Since you asked, my season tickets are located in 205. I've had the same seats since DATCU/Apogee opened. I'm sure my comments above will trigger a few downvotes, eyerolls, & vomiting eagles, and that's okay. As I've stated before. I really don't care. I will still be here long after the coaches and administrators are gone. And most of the fans that are irritated by my outspokenness too.

Ha! I got 2 eyerolls and a downvote for posting actual facts about the AAC Title game. I guess some just don't want to hear the truth.

Yeah, I have no interest in hearing Morris talk about how anything will improve defensively until Caponi is replaced. I have no confidence in Caponi. And the longer Caponi remains, the less confidence I have in Morris. There are a lot of good offensive Air Raid coaches that fail as head coaches because they can't field solid defenses. So right now, Morris is looking a lot like Littrell, and we don't need more of that.

That's just an excuse for failure. The offense didn't have what they needed either. We haven't had a real QB since Mason Fine graduated. But, those coaches did their job and went out and found the right pieces and we ended up with the 8th best offense in the nation. Rogers wasn't just sitting on the bench for the past 3 years. No, our offensive coaches evaluated our needs and went and got him from the portal. Our special teams coaches went out and grabbed Rauschenberg from the portal. Caponi didn't do his job. He didn't adequately evaluate his players and he didn't go get the players he needed to field a successful defense. He failed at his job. And he was paid more than ever other assistant coach in the Group of 5. That's an embarrassment. And, that's entirely on him. Caponi doesn't deserve another year at UNT. He should be fired.

Funny how the two teams playing in the AAC title game, feature the top 2 defenses in the conference. (1st & 2nd in fewest yards allowed & fewest points allowed). Defense wins championships. Fire Caponi!!! https://theamerican.org/stats.aspx?path=football&year=2023

There is nothing Morris can say that will sell me on wanting Caponi in Denton for another season. Caponi's defense is the worst in the FBS. His defense sh!t the bed for an entire season. There is no excuse for that ever. And no Mean Green fan should be expected to accept those results as deserving of a second chance to fail at UNT. Fire Caponi!!!

Morris laid to rest any hope of him firing Caponi at his UAB press conference last Tuesday. He clearly stated he supports Caponi's direction leading our defense into next season. I'm pissed about it. Caponi was paid more than every other G5 assistant in the FBS, and produced the worst results in the FBS. And those that are paid to lead our athletics believe this is good enough. You can't make this crap up. Ever with clear data of Caponi's complete failure, Morris won't let him go. It's irritating and sad all at the same time. How can we as fans be expected to be excited about next season when our program is being held hostage by pure stubbornness. Nothing in the stats or results support Caponi returning. But here we are. Someone in the athletic department needs to step up and make this right. If more fans and students walk away from our program, those at the athletic department will only have themselves to blame. This is an issue only because those with the power to fix it refuse to do so. You can listen to Morris' comments supporting Caponi in this press conference..........

1. Show me one post or comment where anyone was calling this defense a rebuild before the season started. You can't. Because no one expected our defense to be this stinking bad. 2. I never read where Morris put our cap at 5 to 7. In fact the preseason media poll ranked UNT 7th, predicting a 7-7- record, that means UNT was expected to play in a bowl. https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2023/7/25/23806619/tulane-ranks-atop-2023-aac-preseason-media-poll-newcomer-utsa-places-second 3. The line had issues, but some of those pass protection issues were due to the RB's not picking up their blocks, or even at time Rogers holding the ball too long. But they did allow far too many sacks. I could see why some might grade them lower than I did. I thought the WR's were solid, especially considering how Sides developed this season, once defense took Maclin away. When the WR's are averages over 300 yards receiving a game, the WR's are doing a great job.

The negative juju is not a result of our players effort, it is a result of our DC's poor job performance, and the inability of Morris to fix it. Last night Caponi's defense gave up a touchdown on their final defensive stand of the season (a 5 play 75 yard drive resulting in a touchdown that allowed UAB to tie the game with 2:46 left in the game). If not for our outstanding (8th ranked in the FBS) offense, we probably would have lost. I like Morris and want him to be successful, but the first deficiency that next to be addressed is our defensive coordinator position. We need a guy smart enough to evaluate our talent and get the right players,.... and then teach them how to tackle. People can downvote or eyeroll this post all they want. I don't care. I'm not going to toe the party line around here and accept the new "rebuilding" narrative, or excuse our defense for being the absolute worst in the entire FBS. We all love this program, but we obviously have different standards about what success means. I have no desire to idly watch our program repeat the last 4 years of the Littrell era, or watch the same posters make the same excuses for the same failures. Too many around here stay quiet when they should call it like it is. Caponi doesn't deserve to keep his job. That's just the truth.

Since you missed the explanation..... His offense is amazing. And, his ability to find outstanding QB's is unquestionable. But at the end of the day, we are staying home for bowl season. This team played for the conference title last season, and was picked to be a bowl team this year. In school you need a 70 to pass. I'd have given him a passing grade if we had just won 50% of our games. Defense matters. He still needs to learn that. The fact that he's content to bring Caponi back next season doesn't help his grade either. We are what our record says we are... a team that won about 42% of our games. I can't give him anything but an F for that. And, if you want more fans next September, it would be a good idea to get a real DC before December... which Morris doesn't seem motivated to do. When 70% of the fans that actually care want Caponi gone, bring the guy back won't get fans excited for next season. Or help sell tickets.