SLCoutsider

STE, not to pick on this particular post, but this is one of the themes that motivated me to start this thread. If we're going to give Schnellenberger accolodes for his national championship and put D1 coaching on a pedestal, let's also give Dodge some credit for his accomplishments and not describe his HS coaching experience as "District Play". Over the past 5 years, his teams have extended their seasons through long playoff schedules beating the best non-district 5A programs in the state. Everybody knows this, but yet some folks seem to think it doens't really count for much since it was only HS and the college game is so much more sophisticated. The best 5A programs in the state are pretty sophisticated and coached by smart people. From a scheme and sophistication aspect, I don't think going from 5A state championship caliber opponents to the SBC is quite as big a jump as some folks are making it out to be.

I had heard alot about the guy but had never seen him play. It was exciting to finally see him and I wasn't sitting down and clapping during the big run. I hope TD is tweaking the system around him. It would be nice to see something like a split-back shotgun with Jmo and Mosley.

"House Of Pain": The Mean Green are last in the nation in scoring defense, so they are feeling the pain at home and on the road. I thought the defense showed alot of improvement against FAU.

Folks, I apologize for the condescending tone of my post. I got a little caught up in my expressive writing. While I stand by most of the points I made, the embellishment was unnecessary. I have alot of respect and appreciation for UNT (in both academics and athletics) and the Sunbelt conference. Nobody is doing you a favor by taking the head coach job. Back to the points, I still don't understand how D1 ball is so much different and more complex than 5A ball. That's why I ask if anyone has seen Southlake (or any other top HS program)? Sure, adjustments have to be made because the athletes are bigger, stronger, and faster in D1. But what else is so different? I've watched a bunch of HS ball besides Southlake and it's gotten pretty darn sophisticated. What do we think SMU and FAU did that Dodge and Mendoza haven't seen before? And how is expecting .500 or better a reasonable expectation when they only won 2 games last year? Considering the coaching staff changes and new system learning curve, it seems like a reasonable expectation is to win 2 games this year. Any more would be an aspirational target. The fact that some other new D1 coaches have started off better, doesn't mean that we should expect this one to.

Geeze, I can't believe the high expectations that some folks have. Isn't this the team that only won 4 games in the past two years? All this griping about high-school coaches and somehow D1 ball is a completely different game that they can't grasp. And UNT should be winning right now. I don't get it. This is UNT and the Sunbelt conference whose highest aspiration is the New Orleans bowl. It's not like TD is going from 3A to the SEC. You're lucky to get an up and coming coach who is excited about the opportunity and has a vision for improving the program at many different levels. Would you rather have a seasoned "D1" guy that has already made his way around numerous mediocre teams and is just settling for the UNT job? I would even argue that TD is more seasoned than most D1 coaches. He's been studying the game for over 30 years. He started on a UT team that was ranked #2 in the nation for awhile. Just because he cut his coaching teeth in HS doesn't mean he's some kind of babe in the woods now that he's in the big-time Sunbelt. Enjoy these next few years because he'll probably move on to a more big-time program after he's cleaned up this mess. Also, I don't get this notion that the TD offense is all about passing and the RB only blocks. Have any of the folks saying this actually seen a Southlake game? It's a balanced offense and they take what the defense gives them. Tre Newton had 274 carries and 2,010 yards last year. Aaron Luna had similar numbers before him. Not bad for guys who only block for their QB. I'm not saying that UNT is going to be just like Southlake, but TD understands the value of the running game and he understands how to tailor the system to take advantage of the individual talent on hand. I know everyone wanted to see more Jmo in the 2nd quarter, but I'm sure there's a logical explanantion for why we didn't. Back to the original point, I think Mizzou's style of offense is still the best vision of what UNT might become.

Geeze, I can't believe the high expectations that some folks have. Isn't this the team that only won 4 games in the past two years? All this griping about high-school coaches and somehow D1 ball is a completely different game that they can't grasp. And UNT should be winning right now. I don't get it. This is UNT and the Sunbelt conference whose highest aspiration is the New Orleans bowl. It's not like TD is going from 3A to the SEC. You're lucky to get an up and coming coach who is excited about the opportunity and has a vision for improving the program at many different levels. Would you rather have a seasoned "D1" guy that has already made his way around numerous mediocre teams and is just settling for the UNT job? I would even argue that TD is more seasoned than most D1 coaches. He's been studying the game for over 30 years. He started on a UT team that was ranked #2 in the nation for awhile. Just because he cut his coaching teeth in HS doesn't mean he's some kind of babe in the woods now that he's in the big-time Sunbelt. Enjoy these next few years because he'll probably move on to a more big-time program after he's cleaned up this mess. Also, I don't get this notion that the TD offense is all about passing and the RB only blocks. Have any of the folks saying this actually seen a Southlake game? It's a balanced offense and they take what the defense gives them. Tre Newton had 274 carries and 2,010 yards last year. Aaron Luna had similar numbers before him. Not bad for guys who only block for their QB. I'm not saying that UNT is going to be just like Southlake, but TD understands the value of the running game and he understands how to tailor the system to take advantage of the individual talent on hand. I know everyone wanted to see more Jmo in the 2nd quarter, but I'm sure there's a logical explanantion for why we didn't. Back to the original point, I think Mizzou's style of offense is still the best vision of what UNT might become.

Does anyone else around here follow the Missouri Tigers? What do you think? If you haven't watched a game, I highly recommend that you check them out. Chase Daniel is the most talented QB to come out of TD's system. Pinkel actually changed the Mizzou offense, with some help from TD, to fit around him. The Missouri offense may be the best example of what UNT could resemble in a couple years. Their next game and conference opener is Oct 8 against Nebraska (who knocked them out of Big-12 North contention last year). Kickoff is at 8:15 on ESPN. I'm planning to have this on the TV while listening to UNT-ULL on the radio.

Will there be a podcast like last time?

The links to the article and Gundy video were included in the first post in this thread. Here is Jenni Carlson's blog link... http://blog.newsok.com/jennicarlson

Well put. Although, I thought that a few players went straight to the locker room. It should be obvious that TD has more of a positive reinforcement type of mentoring style. Losing hurts, but be a man, hold your head up and show some respect to the folks that came out to support you. It's kind of a life lesson thing that can prepare young men for other challenges they will face after football.

Sure, the reporter has a right to publish her editorial no matter how shoddy or amateur. Just like Gundy had a right to express his opinion. I agree that he was a little over the top with it. I went and read her blog and some of her past articles. It's like she's trying to be a Jennifer Floyd Engel but she doesn't have anything interesting to say about football so she tries to create some soap opera controversy BS.

Not quite the same, but he has seen his share of D1-bound defensive talent and big game situations. That Miami Northwestern team they played a couple weeks ago was just scary. He got a broken nose in the 3rd qtr and kept playing. He also showed a ton of grit in last year's playoff game against Trinity. Anyone that wants to see the "IT" for winning at the HS level should watch that game. He made several clutch plays in that final go-ahead series when everything was on the line in front of 50K+ folks. He does run track for Southlake. I think he's on the relay team with some of the receivers.

I can see RD backing up Vizza for 2 years, but he won't be holding a clipboard on the sidelines. He's got speed and hands. At Southlake, he was a great 5th WR during his Sophomore year (when he was also backup QB). His ability to pass created some interesting options. A common play was to line him up wide in the backfield, lateral the ball to him, then let him run or pass depending on what the defense gave.

Is the new stadium design posted anywhere?

The segment with TD came right after a report on OSU coach Gundy's post-game tirade. When asked what he thought about it, TD said "I respect coach Gundy for standing up for his player". When asked about the QB situation he said he wanted to avoid creating an atmosphere where the QBs are always looking over their back thinking that they are only as good as their last series. He did say that Vizza will get more time as the season progresses. That's why they haven't redshirted him.

I don't know why Jmo didn't get more carries. He looked awesome last night. At Southlake, the offense has always been balanced and TD has been happy to run the ball when the defense commits to stopping the pass. 36% of Jmo's yards came on that 42yd touchdown run in the 2nd qtr. I'd like to see his numbers for the 2nd half. I'm not trying to take anything away from him, but I'm sure there is a good reason for him not getting more touches.

Are you referring to a specific post or thread from yesterday? I hadn't heard that much negativity about RD on this forum. He's about the same height as Chase Daniel who is a top QB in the Big-12. Although he's not the prototype 6'2 - 6'4 QB frame, RD has all the other attributes... quickness, speed, accuracy, good knowledge of the system and opposing defenses, ability to recognize opportunities and call audibles, etc... He could use a little more weight and muscle for D1 ball, but I imagine that is already a priority in his training. If the other pieces are in place, I think he could definitely be a top Sun Belt QB.

On the alumni side where I was sitting, I didn't see the cheerleaders doing much to organize any cheers. With the huge distance across the track to the sideline and the open acoustics of the stadium, the crowd needs all the help it can get.

I agree on all your points. But this statement is a little generous. Those endzone ints took 6 - 14 potential points off the board. Just as good as giving them to FAU. Not to mention the kick in the crotch to the team's morale. This was my first game at Fouts and it was definitely a great scene. The stadium isn't as bad as I was expecting. I'm looking forward to attending more home games. I thought the cheerleading was lame. They were totally out of the picture just standing around in the 4th quarter while the UNT dancers and the band were still working it.

What is the deal with the blocked punts? Was the protection that bad? Or does the punter need to line up further back? The pressure was pretty intense on all the punts. Seems like by the 4th quarter, somebody upstairs would have made an adjustment. I felt really bad for the D. They finally played a decent game and had to keep covering for the offense and special teams.

As a fan in the stands, it was so disheartening to see the endzone picks, especially the second one. It's not like they were picked off due to great defensive play. They were basically Hail Mary jump balls. I can only imagine how disheartening it was for the players. I thought the D played pretty well. How many times did they force a punt only to go right back on the field because of offensive mistakes in the 2nd half? I thought this game looked similar to OU. DM was indecisive, held the ball way too long, and made poor decisions while scrambling. Timing is everything in this offense and too often the designed play was never executed because he held the ball too long. Then the play would turn into some type of improvised disaster.

I want one of those throwback Darrell Dickey black farewell jerseys.

With Time Warner Cable, you have to order the "sports tier" at 5.99 per month. It gives you the Fox Sports regionals as well as ESPNU and some others. I'll be at the SLC game. If you haven't seen "the system" at the 5A level, you should check it out. It's very similar to what we saw at SMU, but with better defense and a more mobile QB.

One thing I've noticed in SLC games is that the passing success depends just as much on the receiver making a play for the ball as it does on the QB making a good throw. I know there's been some criticism of Meager underthrowing or throwing late, but I've seen alot of the same from SLC QBs where they appear to throw it up for grabs and the receiver makes the play. That's what Fitzgerald is really good at, despite his speed and size. I think he naturally plays the position like TD teaches it and so he's a good fit for the system. This is a great inspirational story and it's going to be fun watching Fitz rack up more highlight footage. BTW, Riley Dodge is also on SLC's basketball team.

I think the lower section at Ford stadium is metal bench seats on concrete floor and the upper section is all metal.