There’s no shame in going 5-7

[Arkstfan]

Context is everything.

What had Vegas set as the win total?

Looks like it was 6, so ballpark but below.

Looking at the schedule before the season with clear glass rather than green lenses what was your worst case, best case, and most likely predictions.

Where did you finish vs the pre-season predictions?

The coaches picked UNT 7th. Actual finish 8th again at least in the ballpark.

I think in your shoes, I'm unhappy but cautiously optimistic.

From an outsider standpoint, losing to a bad FIU is the difference between nailing the expected win total and falling short.

[NT93]

4 minutes ago, 97and03 said:

We lost to Navy and FIU ffs. How much easier does an opponent need to be? 

Navy was 4-4 in conference and gave Memphis and Air Force good games, so I guess there are lots of easier opponents.  FIU is unexplainable, but I have no doubt we beat them later in the year as they regressed and we got better.  

[Arkstfan]

4 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Yes there is.  There's plenty of "shame".

NT was preparing for the C-USA Championship game and then a bowl game at this time last year.   We got there in a rocky way, but we got there.   That finish was deemed to be not good enough last year, and changes were made... TO MAKE US BETTER.    NT regressed.   

TX St. finished last year with 4 wins.  That finish was deemed to be not good enough, and changes were made to make them better.    TX St. improved. Vastly.

While there are bright spots to look forward to next year (along with plenty to worry about, especially defensively), this season was definitely not a success.
 

 
 

Texas State went 2-2 in non-conference last year, they went 2-2 this year. Last year 2-6 in Sun Belt losing three of those by a combined 10 points, this year 4-4. Last year lost at ULM 31-30 this year beat them 21-20. Last year lost at Troy by 6 this year at home by 18.

Texas State improved, no argument, but it wasn't a vast improvement.

[MeanGreenTexan]

39 minutes ago, Arkstfan said:

Texas State went 2-2 in non-conference last year, they went 2-2 this year. Last year 2-6 in Sun Belt losing three of those by a combined 10 points, this year 4-4. Last year lost at ULM 31-30 this year beat them 21-20. Last year lost at Troy by 6 this year at home by 18.

Texas State improved, no argument, but it wasn't a vast improvement.

They were 7-5 this year.   Your stats total 6 wins.   
Looks like they went 3-1 in non-conference.   
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/326

Either way, they went from 4 wins last year to 7 this year.   That's almost double, despite struggling down the stretch (including the curbstomping y'all gave them).
...Whereas NT stepped backwards when we were supposed to be rid of the problem and primed to improve.

[jtm0097]

If you're apathetic to winning there is no shame.

This sucks, and it pisses me off. We should have never lost to FIU or Navy. 

Time to hit the portal and forget this season (plus every other losing season) happened.

[NT80]

4 hours ago, Arkstfan said:

Context is everything.

From an outsider standpoint, losing to a bad FIU is the difference between nailing the expected win total and falling short.

FIU was actually not too bad in this game.  UNT split QB time in this game, still searching for a starter.  FIU started a true Freshman dual threat that I believe did well in limited work the week before (Jenkins).  He torched our secondary for 300 yards, helped by several fluke catches and penalties.   I think he got injured later in their season.   Our defense gave up too many big plays in this game.  It was last team to have the ball wins.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore/_/gameId/401520189

[BBA1989]

This team should have beaten FIU, Navy and Memphis instead of falling apart at the end.  Had a good chance to beat Tulane as well if it wasn’t for Caponi’s defense.

Edited November 29, 2023 by BBA1989

[Pavlovs Eagle]

10 hours ago, NT80 said:

and fan communication

Is this the progress of going from Littrell saying "We need to get better in all three phases" to Morris saying "Caponi is my guy"?  Because both suck. 

But yes, it's easy to find the pregame coaches shows on ESPN+ 🤮

[NT93]

10 minutes ago, BBA1989 said:

This team should have beaten FIU, Navy and Memphis instead of falling apart at the end.  Had a good chance to beat Tulane as well if it wasn’t for Caponi’s defense.

I’m not sure if you mean this as a positive or a negative, but it illustrates the fine line between 5-7 and 9-3.

[BBA1989]

Just now, NT93 said:

I’m not sure if you mean this as a positive or a negative, but it illustrates the fine line between 5-7 and 9-3.

Disappointment in not winning games that were winnable.  

[97and03]

3 hours ago, NT93 said:

I’m not sure if you mean this as a positive or a negative, but it illustrates the fine line between 5-7 and 9-3.

If by “fine line” you mean “defense that was so bad couldn’t make one stop when it needed to, even with only :40 seconds left in the game” then I completely agree. 

[southsideguy]

SL usually won against teams we should beat but fell flat with teams that were equal or a lot better.  We had many blowout losses.  Our offense keep us in games this year but the DC has to go.  If they are asking players to leave they need to show him the door as well.  When you are worst in the country I dont see how you will have a great improvement next year.

[NT93]

10 hours ago, 97and03 said:

If by “fine line” you mean “defense that was so bad couldn’t make one stop when it needed to, even with only :40 seconds left in the game” then I completely agree. 

By “fine line” I mean that we lost 4 games that were one possession games very late in each game.  You can pinpoint the reason(s) we lost those games, but the fact is each of them were very winnable.  

[Bobby679]

You’re drunk! There is!

[Cougar King]

On 11/27/2023 at 7:19 PM, NTSU52 said:

I can think of a lot of seasons in Denton that we would have been ecstatic to get 5 wins. In the 90s and mid to late 2000s especially. I know it’s not the season we wanted but alot of y'all need to look at where we came from before attacking Coach Morris and his staff.

Typical UNT fan with low standards.

[NTSU52]

On 11/27/2023 at 7:34 PM, MeanGreenZen said:

Playing in a bowl game is my minimum expectation. 
Breaking into the Top 25 is my realistic hope for this program. 

You realize we haven't been in the Top 25 since 1959, right? At that point it was actually the Top 20. And in our 111 seasons of football, we have played in 13 Bowl Games. I feel like some of y'all have unrealistic expectations. We can build all the athletic facilities we can and hire all the coaches we want, but this is still North Texas, folks.

Edited November 30, 2023 by NTSU52

[Professor Lambeau]

On 11/27/2023 at 7:19 PM, NTSU52 said:

I can think of a lot of seasons in Denton that we would have been ecstatic to get 5 wins. In the 90s and mid to late 2000s especially. I know it’s not the season we wanted but alot of y'all need to look at where we came from before attacking Coach Morris and his staff.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Old Denton

[greenminer]

31 minutes ago, NTSU52 said:

You realize we haven't been in the Top 25 since 1959, right? At that point it was actually the Top 20. And in our 111 seasons of football, we have played in 13 Bowl Games. I feel like some of y'all have unrealistic expectations. We can build all the athletic facilities we can and hire all the coaches we want, but this is still North Texas, folks.

Our expectations should be dictated by our current budget/spending, and not our past.

The amount of money we are dumping into this is NOT like the North Texas of old you are trying to remind us of.  Stop trying to normalize/continue mediocrity.

Edited November 30, 2023 by greenminer

[Green Lantern]

2 hours ago, NTSU52 said:

You realize we haven't been in the Top 25 since 1959, right? At that point it was actually the Top 20. And in our 111 seasons of football, we have played in 13 Bowl Games. I feel like some of y'all have unrealistic expectations. We can build all the athletic facilities we can and hire all the coaches we want, but this is still North Texas, folks.