Win-loss For Unt In 2008

[Greigns]

Our defense will be better than last year, but it won't be able to stop Tulsa's offense.

6-6 is my prediction too

[KingDL1]

I WAS going to lurk and not jump in here but...what the hell. I commend ya'll for being realistic but IMHO this thread is a tad pessimistic. It IS hard to fathom a big leap in wins after where we've been. That said, my opinion is that our offense is going to rain points on people this year, which will cover a multitude of defensive sins. GD doesn't walk on water, but he knows where the rocks are and will mold our talent into a respectable defense. Special teams will be much better; we'll have speed on the coverage, a great punter, and offensively we apparently have a quality kicker. The offense is ready to explode on any given day.

My fearless prediction:

OOC - L K-State (competitive), W Tulsa, L LSU, W Rice = 2 & 2

Conf - W FIU, W LaLa, W LaMo, L Troy (competitive), W WKU, L FAU (competitive), W MUTS, W ArkieSt = 6 & 2

Season COULD easily be 8 - 4. With a few breaks and plays we could have been a bit better (record-wise) LAST season.

PASS the Kool-Aid!

I want some of what you are drinking, and you never know I think if we want a Cinderella season this would be a good year.

[akriesman]

My heart says 5 wins. But, my head says 4 wins this year. The losses at DE have reduced my earlier belief that we would pull out 5 or 6 wins this season.

I expect we will see some exciting football this season, with some really shockingly close games to larger competition. But, I just don't how how our D-Line is going to be able to hang with the more experienced teams as the games wear on.

The Belt is a much better league than it was 4 years ago. It will take longer to jump back into the top few slots this time around.

I cannot wait to see an even more exciting offense and a much better DeLoach led defense. That alone will be worth the price of admission (and then some).

FWIW, my prediction last year was 3 or 4 wins. So, I was a little off. But, not as much as most predictions here last season

Edited August 16, 2008 by akriesman

[mad dog]

Before August, I would have said 6-6 is a reasonable expectation. With the patchwork nature of our offensive and defensive lines, the mass exodus of players at virtually every position, and the overall youth of our team, I think that is probably out of reach. I would love nothing more than to be wrong, but I just have a really bad feeling about this year.

I fear a sophmore slump offensively. After our opponents have had a full year of tape on us, I do not believe our execution in the second year of the offense can keep pace with the other guys' ability to study film and exploit our weaknesses.

I also do not see how you can shrug off losing BOTH your probable all-conference defensive ends and expect to improve along the defensive line. Likewise, I do not see how you can lose Brandon Monroe, Maurice Holman, and Derek Mendoza, and get better as a whole at Linebacker. Finally, short of Antoine Bush, you have a bunch of potential at defensive back. Potential and a buck fifty will get you a cup of coffee. I expect Coach DeLoach to get a lot more out of his players than Mendoza, but, in his heydey, DeLoach was loaded at every position on the field - d-line, linebackers, and secondary. I cannot expect any rabbits being pulled out of hats this year.

We are young, and we are unproven. We have shown nothing in the past ten years that says we can consistently compete out of our conference. There is nothing that suggests we can even be competitive against the elites of our own conference. When was the last time we beat Troy or FAU? Heck, what about Arkansas State or Middle Tennessee?

Here's a nugget for you: since 2005, we have won exactly 3 (THREE!!!) conference (SUN BELT!!!) games against teams not named FIU. And last year, we lost to them.

So... all of this to say that I can't have any realistic expectations of being much better than last season. I'm saying 3-9 at best. Western Kentucky, Florida International, and one from UL-pick-em.

[PerryG2480]

Am I so beaten down from the past few seasons that I can't muster up a win prediction at Rice? I'm afraid so. 4-8.

[KRAM1]

I'll go with 5 wins and hope for 6...5 would be a nice improvement and will show some real progress...GO MEAN GREEN!

[mad dog]

Game by game (Thanks for the template, Lonnie):

Game 1 at Kansas State: KSU 52, UNT 10

No more 70 point blowouts, but this one will get ugly quick. Bigger bodies, quicker players, and higher overall talent make this one a by-the-books North Texas opener.

Game 2 Tulsa: TU 42, UNT 17

Tulsa shellacked us last time they came to Denton, and I expect more of the same. We might lead early, and make tack on a few later. We are 1-3 the past four years in home openers.

Game 3 at LSU: LSU 49, UNT 6

I don't think we will be able to get behind that ridiculously fast LSU secondary. We might get to the red zone a few times, but a shorter field will make passing harder. We will get a few field goals, but let's be honest: this is a body bag game.

Game 4 at Rice: Rice 35, UNT 21

This one will look like a shootout at some point, but Rice will pull away for a comfortable win.

Game 5 Florida International: UNT 20, FIU 17

Expect something like a field goal as time expires. We have won exactly one conference opener since 2004, but, hey, with FIU, anything's possible.

Game 6 Louisiana-Lafayette: ULL 31, UNT 24

I'm thinking this will be the heartbreak game of the year. Coming off an emotional win, this one will be hard fought. I see in my mind's eye giving up a 70+ run on a routine 2nd and 8 in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

Game 7 at Louisiana-Monroe: UNT 28, ULM 14

I could see this being a bounceback game. It'll look bad early, but we'll have a really great quarter and distance ourselves for the rest of the game.

Game 8 Troy: Troy 38, UNT 13

I think we'll put more than the 7 points we did last year. That being said, they are still Troy. I'm not going to project a win against them until we show we can do it.

Game 9 at Western Kentucky: UNT 10 WKU 7

Ugliest game of the year. Ejections, personal fouls, and maybe even a coach confrontation at midfield after the game. Let's throw in a driving rainstorm and cold weather. You know... like last year.

Game 10 at Florida Atlantic: FAU 40, UNT 21

See Troy.

Game 11 at Middle Tennessee State: MTSU 29, UNT 19

I guess this is still a rivalry game. But I think this will be a snoozer by historical standards.

Game 12 Arkansas State: ASU 31, UNT 27

Maybe some positive momentum going into next year. But I think all minds will be on next year as this season wraps up.

[LongJim]

KState: L (Expect a surprisingly good performance here)

Tulsa: L (Hmm. Much closer than 54-2)

LSU: L (mudhole)

Rice: L (but would not be surprised with a W)

Flinter: W

ULALA: W

ULAMON: W

Troy: L

WKU: L

Flantic: L

MTSU: W

ASU: W

Defense and special teams will win 2 games this year.

Edited August 19, 2008 by LongJim

[greenminer]

I'd like to see us score at least once off of 7 turnovers.

[woody82986]

I'm torn between 3-9 and 4-8. I'll lean on 4-8.

[Eagle1855]

Im starting to think its going to take longer than we expected to turn this ship back around. I dont have any expectations for this season and Im having a hard time seeing a silver lining for next. Of course, its the sun belt. A 7-5 record could win the conference. But my yearning for a crazy 10-2 or better season probably wont have much a shot til 2010.

[NT91]

6 to 7 wins...... hell we could have won 5 games in 07

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Game by game (Thanks for the template, Lonnie):

Game 1 at Kansas State: KSU 52, UNT 10

No more 70 point blowouts, but this one will get ugly quick. Bigger bodies, quicker players, and higher overall talent make this one a by-the-books North Texas opener.

Game 2 Tulsa: TU 42, UNT 17

Tulsa shellacked us last time they came to Denton, and I expect more of the same. We might lead early, and make tack on a few later. We are 1-3 the past four years in home openers.

Game 3 at LSU: LSU 49, UNT 6

I don't think we will be able to get behind that ridiculously fast LSU secondary. We might get to the red zone a few times, but a shorter field will make passing harder. We will get a few field goals, but let's be honest: this is a body bag game.

Game 4 at Rice: Rice 35, UNT 21

This one will look like a shootout at some point, but Rice will pull away for a comfortable win.

Game 5 Florida International: UNT 20, FIU 17

Expect something like a field goal as time expires. We have won exactly one conference opener since 2004, but, hey, with FIU, anything's possible.

Game 6 Louisiana-Lafayette: ULL 31, UNT 24

I'm thinking this will be the heartbreak game of the year. Coming off an emotional win, this one will be hard fought. I see in my mind's eye giving up a 70+ run on a routine 2nd and 8 in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

Game 7 at Louisiana-Monroe: UNT 28, ULM 14

I could see this being a bounceback game. It'll look bad early, but we'll have a really great quarter and distance ourselves for the rest of the game.

Game 8 Troy: Troy 38, UNT 13

I think we'll put more than the 7 points we did last year. That being said, they are still Troy. I'm not going to project a win against them until we show we can do it.

Game 9 at Western Kentucky: UNT 10 WKU 7

Ugliest game of the year. Ejections, personal fouls, and maybe even a coach confrontation at midfield after the game. Let's throw in a driving rainstorm and cold weather. You know... like last year.

Game 10 at Florida Atlantic: FAU 40, UNT 21

See Troy.

Game 11 at Middle Tennessee State: MTSU 29, UNT 19

I guess this is still a rivalry game. But I think this will be a snoozer by historical standards.

Game 12 Arkansas State: ASU 31, UNT 27

Maybe some positive momentum going into next year. But I think all minds will be on next year as this season wraps up.

That is some good thought, but it will be long season if we only win one more than we did last year. I think you could be right about the Rice game though. I think we will start the season 0-4. I think LSU will put some points on the board to the tune of more than 55.

[Greigns]

Wow, I can't believe the pessimism I'm seeing here. I came out of watching practices much more confident that 6-6 is reasonable, and it looks like the rest of you guys suddenly jumped ship. 6-6 was a common prediciton a few weeks ago (that was after losing Horton and Gilmore) and the major problems at D Line we were seeing then seem to be at least under control now. Our 2 starting DEs had sacks in the scrimmage and looked good. Franklin should be a standout. DeLoach seems pretty content with his linebackers, and I trust him. And who doesn't feel confident about our secondary? Offense looks strong again, Vizza has a year in his belt, we have what looks to me like a much stronger O Line, and a TON of talent at RB and WR.

Personally, I'm really looking forward to this season.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

This dead horse has been beaten over and over this off-season (and others), but the schedule, with our lack of depth along the lines and the number of new players on defense, doesn't set up well for us.

Of the first four games, Rice is really the only winnable game - which, believe me, would be great. It would be nice to see a road win over a non-Sun Belt school no matter who it is.

The middle four (games 5 through 8) are going to give a chance at consistency because three of them are at home, two back-to-back against predictably weak FIU and ULL. ULM and Troy are supposed to be good. If we can pick one off from that pair to go along with home wins versus FIU and ULL, that'd be great.

The final four games are tough because it's the teams that have high expectations in the league, and three of those are on the road. Really, you throw in Troy and our last five games are against five teams who could legitimately win the Sun Belt this year. Well, not WKU - but, you know what I mean. Their program is trying to log a 13th consecutive winning season. They're not going to be pushovers this year or next year when they get full membership.

The whole thing just doesn't set up well.

This is what I mean when I say Game #1 should always be at home and always against a winnable opponent. Yes, people pooh-pooh Texas Tech, Kansas and others for scheduling I-AAs for those games, but...you know what, they're BCS. We're not. We've got a ton of questions to be answered. It would be easier to get the young and inexperienced guys into the flow versus a Stephen F. Austin or Sam Houston or Southeast Missouri than to roll up to Kansas State and their 260 pound QB who has notched up the likes of UT twice.

I'd like to get to the point where we don't have three or four road games to start the season. But, if it has to be that way, at least try to work the the Belt so that we're not also playing three in a row on the road at the end of the season. It just doesn't make sense in building a program. It's not the way Tech, KSU, and Kansas have built their programs. I'd follow their lead and give ourselves more of a chance on the field - while also giving the fan base more opportunities to come support the team at home.

Edited August 20, 2008 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[Guest Aquila_Viridis]

I don't see anything good coming from dire predictions. We play in the Sun Belt; those are beatable teams on any day. I will admit, we had the WORST team in Division 1 (not counting AA or whatever you call it) last year. That does not mean we will have the worst team this year.

[JesseMartin]

Agreed. Like I said a few months ago, we had the most exciting 2-10 team imaginable last year.

Quite a few of our losses could have gone either way. With a few improvements and some fine-tuning here and there, I don't see why 5-7 wins is unrealistic.