(09-01-2011 09:35 PM)Curtzilla Wrote:  Looks like MacCarney is stuck with some holdover players that are not buying in, especially on defense. Not the first coach that has happened to, hopefully Hudspeth can avoid that. Freeze shouldn't have a problem in that area, since he is not a newcomer to his team.

I do like that MacCarney's not redshirting anyone, lots of his freshmen playing. Nice warning shot for some under-performing upperclassmen.

Hudspeth will have similar probelms if injuries start to happen on the OL, LB and DB. We have 10 Fr or RsFr in the two deep. Not good brother! But he will play the best and if they are freshmen, then that's what we have to play with.

(09-01-2011 09:30 PM)ntmeangreen11 Wrote:  I don't even know what to say.

It's like watching a dog who used to play, run and fetch now walking only with its front two feet in a doggy-wheelchair. I was only 14 when we last won a conference championship(my 1st year to go to a game) and then it's been 6 years of getting ran through. FIU is good, I' not denying that, they looked really good, but this is the sun belt. This is a team who has had a program for 12? years, we have had a team since the 1920s. If they beat us, fine, but don't let them embarrass us, the way we have been embarrassed over and over again. Todd Dodge ran this program in to the ground. We looked scared, slow and intimidated from the get-go.

This team is in major trouble. Some less than competent people will come on here and try and say it was a bad game, FIU is a BCS buster etc. But I can see the lack of D1 talent on this team clear as day. This is not an overstatement, this is not a knee jerk reaction, we would not finish in the top half of the southland conference. I genuinely thought that Coach Mac could take the cupboard that was there, no matter how bare it was, and atleast make us a team that played to win, and could manage 3 or 4 wins this season. However, the players that were left when TD was fired, specifically in the trenches, are not D1 players, heck, I'm not sure if any of the juniors or sophmores are FCS caliber players, because two freshman started on the o-line tonight. Normally in that situation, the two freshman who beat out older players would be great talents, but it's not the case her at FCS NORTH TEXAS, it means that our offensive line is so horrible that two kids with no experience can beat them. I'm not blaming any of this on Mac, let me state that for the record. We lack in every area of the game, except running back. But what the hell is he supposed to do when every gap is plugged and he can't run outside the tackles?

There's no even an ounce of me that is positive about our situation. Stadium is cool, great, what's the point of having it? I might try and spin this and say that the younger players will be dominating in 2 or 3 years, and we got the best stadium, we'll bring in way better recruits than the teams that actually show up for their games. But I don't give a damn about that. 13-59 in our last 72 games. There is no tradition here at FCS NORTH TEXAS, the tradition is losing. I can't watch it anymore, I just can't, I get my hopes up every year only for this team to rip my heart in half. I don't have any other hobbies, nothing is more important(barring family) than my mean green. I didn't expect us to win, and I didn't expect us to beat Houston either. Beyond everything else, what scares me the most, is that in the first season in this new stadium, this is when we're supposed to draw people in, this is when we capture the 20k students than are in Denton and get them to show up, and want to show up. Now I don't even have the guts to go next Saturday, now just think about that for a second, if I don't want to go, why the hell would any students who had no interest before suddenly want to go watch a team get humiliated week in and week out.

I am not attending nor am I watching any game until we're done with the ass whoopings we'll receive from Tulsa, Alabama, Houston and Indiana. I cannot believe that we are so bad that Tulsa, FIU, Indiana and Houston will be considered body bag games. If we're gonna lose like this over and over again. Why not schedule Florida,Alabama,LSU and Texas in OOC, atleast we'll get 4 mil than can go to the basketball team that shows up for their games. I am embarrased to say I am a fan of this FCS school right now, and I am at a loss for words. Done...

Its early in the season, next week will give you an idea of where yer at. The biggest improvement for a team is typically from week 1 to week 2, especially with a new coach. It may be a long ride for you, and I think everyone was under the impression that yall would improve quickly, but, it looks apparent that Dodge did a Jerry Baldwin job on yall and it may take a few years for McCarney to get out from that hole.

Keep in there, and good luck the rest of the way, just not against the cajuns.

maybe north texas should have spent that money on a baseball stadium instead...

FIU Golden Panthers open on right note with win over North TexasBy David J. Neal
dneal@MiamiHerald.com

It started late and ended early. But FIU was right on time.

FIU’s 41-16 season-opening rout of North Texas at FIU Stadium lasted the regulation four quarters, but could have been called a TKO after the first quarter. The threat of lightning delayed the start of the game 21 minutes. Then, FIU struck lightning — up 14-0 after 4:02 on its way to a school record-tying 28 first-quarter points.

The 28-0 bulge turned the rest of the game into count-T.Y. Hilton-yardage time. Hilton rolled up 283 all-purpose yards, 12 short of his school record, and a touchdown. He even got involved in North Texas’ first score, when Andrew Power returned Hilton’s fumble on a punt return 29 yards for a touchdown.

In fact, FIU’s defense pitched a shutout while holding North Texas star running back Lance Dunbar to 35 yards on 17 carries. North Texas’ other points came off a snap FIU center Giancarlo Revilla fluttered back into the end zone that North Texas recovered for a touchdown and a late safety.

“We took advantage up front of what we are athletically,” FIU coach Mario Cristobal said. “We gave them different looks. We did our best to keep them off balance. And we played really hard. There is no substitute to playing with passion.”

Running back Darriet Perry ran for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries for FIU. Kedrick Rhodes picked up 77 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Quarterback Wesley Carroll threw for 193 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown to Hilton, on 16 of 22 passing. A Carroll pass didn’t hit the ground until there was 3:32 left in the second quarter, when his third-and-5 sling missed Hilton crossing short.

FIU’s first victory in a season opener didn’t take long to take shape. The players likened the delayed start to the first practice of training camp, when lightning took them to the field, then off the field, to the field, off the field, to the field … even then, they said handling such annoyances would come in handy.

Hilton took the opening kickoff, hurdled a few tackling attempts, then streaked up the right side for 62 yards. Hilton said it seemed like everybody was so ready to hit somebody else, they collapsed to the middle in a big pile of collisions, opening a hole on the right.

Two hitch passes later, running back Kedrick Rhodes would have had a touchdown around the left side, but for a blown block that held the play to 7 yards. So, Rhodes went back to the left side for the remaining 9 yards.

A pair of Winston Fraser tackles of North Texas’ running back Lance Dunbar, the second on fourth-and-1 from the FIU 40, was the highlight of a four-and-out on the Mean Green’s first possession. When you start late, there’s no time to waste. On the first play after Fraser’s fourth down stop, Carroll faked to Rhodes and saw Hilton deep behind North Texas’ Steven Ford, whose safety help had been suckered by the play action fake. We’re talking way behind Ford. So far behind Ford that Hilton had time to downshift for Carroll’s underthrown pass, then spin away from a frantic Ford to run the remaining distance.

Hilton had 131 all-purpose yards after 4:02. That put him on a pace for 1,965 yards — for the game.

Rhodes, Carroll and Hilton got FIU out of a hole on its next possession, which began at the FIU 7. Rhodes ran for 8, then Carroll painted an 18-yard parabola into Hilton’s arms down the left sideline behind an infuriated John Shorter. A play after Carroll hit Glenn Coleman for 11 yards as Coleman fell out of bounds, Rhodes authored a 19-yard essay on running.

Rhodes started inside to his right and disappeared beneath the mass of 261-pound defensive tackle Ryan Boutwell. A whirl somehow extricated Rhodes from Boutwell, and the running back sprinted to his left with linebacker Zachary Orr slapping the back of his jersey. Rhodes outraced Orr and the rest of the North Texas defense to the end zone for a 21-0 FIU lead with 2:16 left in the first.

Quarterback inexperience presented FIU the ball 1:15 later. North Texas lined up five-wide with no backs on second and 8. When FIU blitzed, North Texas quarterback Derek Thompson should’ve known he had about two Mississippis at most to get rid of the ball. Instead, Thompson tarried and freshman linebacker Luis Rosado tattooed him with a hit that dislodged the ball. Andre Pound recovered at the North Texas 32.

A reverse to Hilton, helped by a Carroll cut block, took care of the first 31 yards. Darriet Perry handled the last yard: 28-0.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/02/23...z1Wmr4zzzq

(09-02-2011 04:52 AM)FIU Panther Fan Wrote:  FIU Golden Panthers open on right note with win over North TexasBy David J. Neal
dneal@MiamiHerald.com

It started late and ended early. But FIU was right on time.

FIU’s 41-16 season-opening rout of North Texas at FIU Stadium lasted the regulation four quarters, but could have been called a TKO after the first quarter. The threat of lightning delayed the start of the game 21 minutes. Then, FIU struck lightning — up 14-0 after 4:02 on its way to a school record-tying 28 first-quarter points.

The 28-0 bulge turned the rest of the game into count-T.Y. Hilton-yardage time. Hilton rolled up 283 all-purpose yards, 12 short of his school record, and a touchdown. He even got involved in North Texas’ first score, when Andrew Power returned Hilton’s fumble on a punt return 29 yards for a touchdown.

In fact, FIU’s defense pitched a shutout while holding North Texas star running back Lance Dunbar to 35 yards on 17 carries. North Texas’ other points came off a snap FIU center Giancarlo Revilla fluttered back into the end zone that North Texas recovered for a touchdown and a late safety.

“We took advantage up front of what we are athletically,” FIU coach Mario Cristobal said. “We gave them different looks. We did our best to keep them off balance. And we played really hard. There is no substitute to playing with passion.”

Running back Darriet Perry ran for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries for FIU. Kedrick Rhodes picked up 77 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Quarterback Wesley Carroll threw for 193 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown to Hilton, on 16 of 22 passing. A Carroll pass didn’t hit the ground until there was 3:32 left in the second quarter, when his third-and-5 sling missed Hilton crossing short.

FIU’s first victory in a season opener didn’t take long to take shape. The players likened the delayed start to the first practice of training camp, when lightning took them to the field, then off the field, to the field, off the field, to the field … even then, they said handling such annoyances would come in handy.

Hilton took the opening kickoff, hurdled a few tackling attempts, then streaked up the right side for 62 yards. Hilton said it seemed like everybody was so ready to hit somebody else, they collapsed to the middle in a big pile of collisions, opening a hole on the right.

Two hitch passes later, running back Kedrick Rhodes would have had a touchdown around the left side, but for a blown block that held the play to 7 yards. So, Rhodes went back to the left side for the remaining 9 yards.

A pair of Winston Fraser tackles of North Texas’ running back Lance Dunbar, the second on fourth-and-1 from the FIU 40, was the highlight of a four-and-out on the Mean Green’s first possession. When you start late, there’s no time to waste. On the first play after Fraser’s fourth down stop, Carroll faked to Rhodes and saw Hilton deep behind North Texas’ Steven Ford, whose safety help had been suckered by the play action fake. We’re talking way behind Ford. So far behind Ford that Hilton had time to downshift for Carroll’s underthrown pass, then spin away from a frantic Ford to run the remaining distance.

Hilton had 131 all-purpose yards after 4:02. That put him on a pace for 1,965 yards — for the game.

Rhodes, Carroll and Hilton got FIU out of a hole on its next possession, which began at the FIU 7. Rhodes ran for 8, then Carroll painted an 18-yard parabola into Hilton’s arms down the left sideline behind an infuriated John Shorter. A play after Carroll hit Glenn Coleman for 11 yards as Coleman fell out of bounds, Rhodes authored a 19-yard essay on running.

Rhodes started inside to his right and disappeared beneath the mass of 261-pound defensive tackle Ryan Boutwell. A whirl somehow extricated Rhodes from Boutwell, and the running back sprinted to his left with linebacker Zachary Orr slapping the back of his jersey. Rhodes outraced Orr and the rest of the North Texas defense to the end zone for a 21-0 FIU lead with 2:16 left in the first.

Quarterback inexperience presented FIU the ball 1:15 later. North Texas lined up five-wide with no backs on second and 8. When FIU blitzed, North Texas quarterback Derek Thompson should’ve known he had about two Mississippis at most to get rid of the ball. Instead, Thompson tarried and freshman linebacker Luis Rosado tattooed him with a hit that dislodged the ball. Andre Pound recovered at the North Texas 32.

A reverse to Hilton, helped by a Carroll cut block, took care of the first 31 yards. Darriet Perry handled the last yard: 28-0.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/02/23...z1Wmr4zzzq

A brutal beatdown of epic proportions.

Congrats to FIU.

Z

(09-01-2011 07:11 PM)Mean Green Matt Wrote:  

(09-01-2011 07:10 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  does UNT have a defense?...jeeeeeze, this is embarrassing for them, and I'm not even a UNT fan.

You'll get yours. Thanks for the concern.

Easy Matt... you got the living sh$t beat out of you. Absolutely 0 positives. NONE.

If the same thing happens to UL Saturday...Im sure we will be dogged unmercifully.

Z

(09-02-2011 06:49 AM)zeebart21 Wrote:  If the same thing happens to UL Saturday...Im sure we will be dogged unmercifully.

Z

Z,

There's a huge difference in being pounded by an unranked conference foe than a Top 10 ranked team that averaged 44 points of offense in the Big XII.

Only one of these outcomes is a true surprise.

(09-01-2011 10:13 PM)CajunT Wrote:  

(09-01-2011 09:35 PM)Curtzilla Wrote:  Looks like MacCarney is stuck with some holdover players that are not buying in, especially on defense. Not the first coach that has happened to, hopefully Hudspeth can avoid that. Freeze shouldn't have a problem in that area, since he is not a newcomer to his team.

I do like that MacCarney's not redshirting anyone, lots of his freshmen playing. Nice warning shot for some under-performing upperclassmen.

Hudspeth will have similar probelms if injuries start to happen on the OL, LB and DB. We have 10 Fr or RsFr in the two deep. Not good brother! But he will play the best and if they are freshmen, then that's what we have to play with.

We played alot of Freshmen and redshirt Freshmen last year. Two Freshmen will start on the O line against FSU. Berry will play whoever is doing the best. It appears Hudspeth may have that same approach (didn't think ULL was that thin).

I like it.....you come in and win the job, it is yours. Keep your radar up because that guy on the bench may take it from you next week. Good selling points to recruits I think and it keeps folks from getting complacent. We will see if it pays off.

(09-02-2011 04:22 PM)InjunJohn Wrote:  

(09-01-2011 10:13 PM)CajunT Wrote:  

(09-01-2011 09:35 PM)Curtzilla Wrote:  Looks like MacCarney is stuck with some holdover players that are not buying in, especially on defense. Not the first coach that has happened to, hopefully Hudspeth can avoid that. Freeze shouldn't have a problem in that area, since he is not a newcomer to his team.

I do like that MacCarney's not redshirting anyone, lots of his freshmen playing. Nice warning shot for some under-performing upperclassmen.

Hudspeth will have similar probelms if injuries start to happen on the OL, LB and DB. We have 10 Fr or RsFr in the two deep. Not good brother! But he will play the best and if they are freshmen, then that's what we have to play with.

Unfortunately it will be ugly for both our schools this weekend. But at least it will be against top 10 teams and not FIU.

I'd be embarrassed if I were a UNT fan.

We played alot of Freshmen and redshirt Freshmen last year. Two Freshmen will start on the O line against FSU. Berry will play whoever is doing the best. It appears Hudspeth may have that same approach (didn't think ULL was that thin).

I like it.....you come in and win the job, it is yours. Keep your radar up because that guy on the bench may take it from you next week. Good selling points to recruits I think and it keeps folks from getting complacent. We will see if it pays off.

Unfortunately it will be ugly for both our schools this weekend. But at least it will be against top 10 teams and not FIU.

I'd be embarrassed if I were a UNT fan.

(09-02-2011 06:49 AM)zeebart21 Wrote:  

(09-01-2011 07:11 PM)Mean Green Matt Wrote:  

(09-01-2011 07:10 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  does UNT have a defense?...jeeeeeze, this is embarrassing for them, and I'm not even a UNT fan.

You'll get yours. Thanks for the concern.

Easy Matt... you got the living sh$t beat out of you. Absolutely 0 positives. NONE.

If the same thing happens to UL Saturday...Im sure we will be dogged unmercifully.

Z

It is certainly different to get a beat down from a top 10 team...but tomorrow won't be the only beat down you guys get this year...will there be "zero positives" from those?

Did we get out butts kicked? Yeah, but we played competitive the rest of the game after the 1st quarter. But FIU quit playing....blah blah blah. FIU ran the score up as much as they could until they took out their starter. Our offense will kick in a little more and NT will be fine, especially come conference time. I'm still holding out for 6-6.

Love always,

- Matt

(09-03-2011 01:20 AM)Mean Green Matt Wrote:  It is certainly different to get a beat down from a top 10 team...but tomorrow won't be the only beat down you guys get this year...will there be "zero positives" from those?

Did we get out butts kicked? Yeah, but we played competitive the rest of the game after the 1st quarter. But FIU quit playing....blah blah blah. FIU ran the score up as much as they could until they took out their starter. Our offense will kick in a little more and NT will be fine, especially come conference time. I'm still holding out for 6-6.

Love always,

- Matt

Conference time came Thursday night. You weren't fine then.

I saw 3 positives:
1. Brelan Chancellor
2. Atterbury (punter)
3. Dan McCarney instead of Todd Dodge on the sideline.

Edit: Special Teams for the most part did well, when TY Hilton wasn't returning.

(09-03-2011 02:12 AM)pantherondeck Wrote:  

(09-03-2011 01:20 AM)Mean Green Matt Wrote:  It is certainly different to get a beat down from a top 10 team...but tomorrow won't be the only beat down you guys get this year...will there be "zero positives" from those?

Did we get out butts kicked? Yeah, but we played competitive the rest of the game after the 1st quarter. But FIU quit playing....blah blah blah. FIU ran the score up as much as they could until they took out their starter. Our offense will kick in a little more and NT will be fine, especially come conference time. I'm still holding out for 6-6.

Love always,

- Matt

Conference time came Thursday night. You weren't fine then.

You know exactly what I meant.

We had to open the year, with a bunch of new players with very little experience (including a QB that had taken about 12 snaps in college football), PLUS we had to play a very good FIU team. I did say we got our butts kicked, and was also talking to the Cajun fans, so not sure why your are getting involved....but I'll say it again: Florida International is great team, and I'm looking forward to Hilton moving on.

I'm not sure I would say there are "zero positives" though, and a couple Cajun fans were sure quick to put in their two cents about how awful it was...I just figured I would put my two cents in right back at them (in good fun of course). I think people will be surprised with the NT team when the last 7/8ths of conference play rolls around.

We got our tail kicked. FIU has very good and fast team. There's just no other way to put it. I was disappointed. We UNT fans knew it would take time to get this program back to winning. We just thought the days of getting blown out left with Dodge. MacCarney will fix this and the team will improve. This game is just more evidence of the damage caused by the Dodge era at North Texas.

I guess we feel like we can talk, because we are still undefeated. At least until 9 tonight.