Ok, let's dispel a myth

emmitt01 · October 22, 2006

I see people time and again pose the question "What happened to the team that beat SMU?" or the revision of the same "How did we beat SMU if we are this bad?" Folks, we are that bad. What you saw against SMU was a team, from DD and RF down to the Diet Coke boy that had SMU circled on their calendars. They worked on SMU gameplanning all Spring and Fall. They knew that to our fan base SMU was the super bowl. When else , ever, have you seen the UNT bookstore with t-shirts advertising a football game 2 months BEFORE the season starts?

So, let's all collectively back away from the notion that if this team was able to beat SMU they should have a shot against everyone else. They don't. Our coaching staff lacks both the months to prepare and the desire to beat anyone else. Playing Woody Wilson against SMU was a calculated move, true enough, but let's also not proclaim it a brilliant one. SMU had never seen him play and, true enough, we left some doubt as to what they would face at the QB position. It would have been a brilliant move had it been followed with ANY attempt to show a new wrinkle to the rest of the teams on our schedule. Then it would look like a pattern of innovation and not just a one time fortunate turn of events.

Arkstfan · October 22, 2006

Emmitt, some SMU fans said they did not fully install their spread offense until

Sam Houston, if true that was a factor but from what I saw of most of their fans on the boards BS-U is a more accurate description of their football awareness.

Hunter Green · October 22, 2006

It is an unfortunate turn of events that Darryl has suffered all of the health problems he has, but lets be realistic. The coaching staff has failed miserably at getting Div. 1 talent in here @ all positions. That's the bottom line. Ark. St., Muts, and others are beating us at our own game. We can't stop anyone on defense and offense is a totally foreign concept to Darryl and Ramon, even if we had the players to execute. it, and we don't. Once the N.O. Bowl is "officially" out of reach, I say make the change and let's get someone in here who can make us competitive again and at least fun to watch. Watching NT is painful.

It's pathetic to watch a team and expect them to screw up when on offense, and they often do. They are woefully un-prepared, and why is that? Coaching and not near enough talent. RV, make the change.

Hunter Green · October 22, 2006

BTW Arkstfan, congrats on the win last night. You guys clearly have a better team than us, as does most of the conference. That QB is pretty special.

Arkstfan · October 22, 2006

BTW Arkstfan, congrats on the win last night. You guys clearly have a better team than us, as does most of the conference. That QB is pretty special.
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We've been encouraged by his growth each game.

GreenTiger_OriginalAcct · October 23, 2006

We've been encouraged by his growth each game.
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Seriously impressed by the fact that it sounds like a lot of your offense is coming from freshman!

Arkstfan · October 23, 2006

Seriously impressed by the fact that it sounds like a lot of your offense is coming from freshman!
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Every yard gained on the ground against Memphis came from a freshman (RB Arnold, RB Wilkerson, QR Tompkins, QB Leonard). We're using a lot of them.

jimmyjames_99 · October 23, 2006

Every yard gained on the ground against Memphis came from a freshman (RB Arnold, RB Wilkerson, QR Tompkins, QB Leonard). We're using a lot of them.
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Just in case anyone needed additional justification that recruiting is extremely important and can make a significant and immediate impact!

The teams we put on the field that won the first and second of our 4 conference titles were not recruited expecting to come in to a winning program and go to bowl games. The teams that were on the field last year and this year were... How is it then that we are where we are today complaining that we do not have the talent on the field.

I believe the two main things plague us are a commitment to recruiting and coaching. Both of which can be addressed by bringing in a new coaching staff. Bleil and the special teams coach, Russell, can stay.

pollock · October 23, 2006

Here are the two reasons that we beat SMU decisively, and have sucked since:
1. Our team, coaches, and fans knew how critical that game was and responded accordingly.
2. SMU was not prepared for Woody. All they had to go on to prepare for him was UT footage. Tulsa, Akron, MT, and FIU all had the SMU game film to watch, and knew how to stop Woody when we: 1) don't throw 10-yard passes; and 2) don't get good protection from the O-line.
You could also argue that the early blocked kick and touchdown took the wind out of their sails.
If we played SMU again this week, I think it would be a VERY different ball game.
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