collegefootballtopten.com

You can check out my write up at Pegasus News here.

And thus, I will start with UNT.  It has been a tough year for the Mean Green, and one win over a team stuck between Division I and I AA will not erase all of the damage.  However, it gives a much need jolt of confidence and momentum into a program that has face all kinds of adversity this year.  Ironically, it came the Saturday after it was revealed that 15 players tested positive for recreational drugs.  (Incedentally, it also came right after I wrote an article on how to turn around the Mean Green football team this year.  Maybe Coach Dodge read the article and used my advice.)

The offense got 51 points and the defense got 4 turnovers including a 97 yard INT returned for a TD by Tobe Nwigwe.  Even though the defense gave up 40 points, they had several big plays to preserve the victory.  This doesn’t mean that that UNT will rally and win the rest of their games, but a win in the remaining games gets them back to last year’s 2-10 record.  And, considering all of the problems that this team has faced this year, that doesn’t look so bad right now.

UNT 51, Western Kentucky 40

TCU

What can I say about the Frogs?  They went in to Vegas to play a tough and gritty UNLV team who has given teams fits and knocked off Arizona State in Tempe earlier this year.  I thought it might be hard-fought since TCU has the Utah game coming up.  Never mind.  The Frogs dominated the game 44-14, and right now, look like they might be the best of the non BCS schools.  I guess we’ll find out on Thursday night as they travel to Salt Lake City, UT to play the Running Utes.  Utah, however, struggled on the road against New Mexico to win 13-10.  Find a way to watch that game Thursday night.  TCU is on a roll.

SMU was idle.

What are they saying?

UNT

Brett Vito–Denton Record-Chronicle

Brett Vito–Denton Record-Chronicle

TCU

Josh Harvey–Big Purple Nation

Mercedes Mayer–FWST

Mercedes Mayer–FWST

Once again, TCU won and UNT and SMU did not.  You can read my write ups at Pegasus News here and here.

TCU

TCU played a Thursday night game against BYU on national TV (sort of, it was on Versus) and really drummed eighth/ninth ranked BYU 32-7.  TCU had not done so well on Thursday nights lately, but this time, they got the job done and looked good doing it.  They showed the nation that they have a very good defense.  For some people, the BYU/TCU game was more compelling than the Florida State/NC State game on ESPN.  Kudos to the guys from the Northeast (or the “mouse ears” as Randy Galloway calls them) for picking the best game ahead of time.  I suppose they thought this was the year that Florida State would be good again.  Of course, those are teams from the ACC, a BCS conference.  At least that game was closer.  TCU gets a couple extra days to rest, and then they get a hapless Wyoming team at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

SMU

SMU is playing competitively.  They have been close to getting wins the last three weeks including a near upset of Tulsa.  I really do believe that a team has to be able to run the ball and stop the run to be a championship level team.  There defense doesn’t seem to be getting the job done.  They can’t hold the leads that their offense gets for them, and the Pony offense is still too young to complete the come-from-behind victory.  By young, I mean young in the system and at QB.  They have some mature, older players such as Emmanuel Sanders along with the emergence of Aldrick Robinson.  SMU’s offfensive line has had injury problems too.  I think that Mustang coach June Jones is about a year away from a significant turn around.  He will need to get help on both sides of the line as it seems he has been able to find guys to step in to the skill positions and make plays.

UNT

The students have approved a referendum which will allow a Athletic fee to be charged so that the Mean Green Athletic programs can experience improvement.  One of the areas of improvement needed is a new football stadium.  Fouts Field, the UNT home, is old and deteriorating.  The facility was not kept up very well, and the Mean Green stadium and its facilities are among the worst in the Sun Belt.  Just imagine that your a young man being recruited by UNT and you visit their facilities.  Every where you turn you see outdated facilties that are falling apart.  Then, you get a phone call from SMU or TCU with their nice facilities.  Is there any doubt where you would rather go play?  I have been in the TCU’s Justin Athletic Complex.  It is brand new, and it is awesome.  The first step is to get the stadium up to par and then build athletic facilities for tutoring, meetings, etc.  You can check out the concept drawing at GoMeanGreen.com.  Unfortunately, the Mean Green football could not match the referendum’s success on the football field.

What are they saying?

TCU

Matt Zemek–BigPurpleNation.com

Mercedes Mayer–FWST

Trae Thompson–FWST

Gil Lebreton–FWST

SMU

Bobbi Roquemore–DMN

PonyPride.com

UNT

Brett Vito–DRC

Brett Vito–DRC

The Horned Frogs successfully ran out the last 6 and a half minutes or so taking a knee on the last play of the game.  The victory snapped BYU’s 16 game winning streak which the longest in the nation.  It also snapped BYU’s conference winning streak that dates back to 2005.  The Frogs have an upset win over a top 10 team, but I am not sure how long it has been since they have done that or if they have done that.  The upset really wasn’t a close one either; TCU dominated from the beginnning.  BYU began to get their passing yards in the second half, but TCU stopped them on BYU in the red zone a couple of times.  I don’t think that it would be wise to be any where near the TCU campus tonight.  And, tomorrow, I’m not sure anyone will go to class.  Congratulations to TCU.

There is a big game tonight in Fort Worth, TX between the 8th ranked BYU Cougars and the TCU Horned Frogs.  Collegefootballtopten.com will be live blogging during the game tonight.  If you’re going to be watching the game from home, log on to Collegefootballtopten.com to join in the conversation.  My big question, since the Andy Dalton question has already been answered, is, “will the Frogs make use of the “wild frog” tonight?  The “wild frog,” which we named here at Collegefootballtopten.com and in an article I wrote for PegasusNews.com, is a formation where Jeremy Kerley, who played QB in high school, lines up as a QB in the shotgun formation and runs the zone read.  I am sure TCU has other options for him out of the set.  I can see it being a real “change of pace” at just the right time.

Tuesday night at the Gary Patterson Show at the Railhead Smokehouse in Fort Worth, I had Brian Estridge to ask Coach Patterson about if the Frogs have a name for the Kerley package and if TCU was going to use it more.  First, Patterson liked the “wild frog” name for the Kerley package, and second he said that they would be using the package more.  This is the right time to use it.  I think the perfect time is when the Frogs have a short field and want to take advantage of getting points.  It could likely confuse the defense and TCU could score before they really knew what was going on.  We’ll keep an eye out to see if TCU uses the “wild frog.”

By the way, if you are ever in Fort Worth, you should check out the Railhead Smokehouse for some of the best BBQ in the country, certainly in Texas.  My friend Manny will take care of you.  Of course, during the week the Railhead hosts the Gary Patterson Show, and it’s a lot of fun to grab some BBQ and watch the show live.  The next show will be on October 29, 2008.

Another week and another loss for SMU and UNT.  Could there have been improvement?  Check out my write up at PegasusNews.com.

UNT

The Mean Green’s offense finally woke up after its season long slumber putting up 30 points on Louisiana-Lafayette.  Too bad the needed to score 60.  The Ragin Cajun beat UNT 59-20.  There does seem to be some hope for optimism according to GoMeanGreen.com.  UNT’s defense has some work to do, and it probably starts up front.  They are going to have to find some guys who make plays in the front four during recruiting season.  That being said, Eddrick Gilmore has been playing, but had to move inside to DT due to injuries.

SMU

The Mustangs let an upset slip away against Tulsa for the second year in a row, but the fact that they had a lead in the fourth quarter against one of the most explosive offenses in the country is good news for the Pony faithful.  The Mustangs seem to be close to getting their first Conference USA win.  They have been competitive the past couple of weeks.

TCU

In case you haven’t heard, there is a big game in Fort Worth on Thursday night.  Ninth ranked BYU comes to town to play TCU.  Both teams are undefeated in conference with TCU’s loss to Oklahoma as the only loss among the two.  Both team were sloppy in their wins last week.  TCU needs to find its offense.  If Andy Dalton can come back and play well, and the running game is clicking, then this game will be a great one.  However, as Spitbloodtcu rightly pointed out, there are some problems with the offense.

What are they saying?

UNT

Brett Vito–DMN/DRC

Brett Vito–DMN/DRC

SMU

Bobbi Roquemore–DMN

Bobbi Roquemore–DMN

TCU

Josh Harvey–Big Purple Nation

Michael Hicks–DMN

Mercedes Mayer–FWST

Mercedes Mayer–FWST