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

Kudos. . . .  . Congratulations to the Texas Tech Red Raiders for their thrilling victory over the Texas Longhorns.  Most are saying that this win is the biggest win in Tech’s history.  Texas, of course, was ranked number one and Tech number five, six or seven depending on your poll of choice.  The Double T Nation was euphoric with the Raider win and stormed the field.  I even got a “guns up” symbol from a friend at church.  Ironically, this week, I was reading about another upset of Texas in Lubbock (2002) in the new book Rose Bowl Dreams by Adam Jones.  I hope Adam doesn’t think that I caused his Longhorns to lose.  Great win for Mike Leach and Texas Tech.  They did by stopping the run and running the ball, among other things.

BCS Busted. . . . . Another potential BCS Buster went down on Saturday.  I like to point this out because it was my Arkansas Razorbacks that knocked off the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in Fayetteville, AR.  That was probably another win that fans didn’t expect to get, but I know it was a tough blow to the Tulsa fans.  Maybe next year, huh?

Thursday night thunder. . . . . . . All year, upsets have happened on Thursday night.  TCU has been a part one of them.  This Thursday night, TCU fans hopes it will happen again as the Horned Frogs travel to Salt Lake City, UT to take on the Utah Utes.  As it stands, Utah has the best chance of being a BCS buster.  The Utes are undefeated, and if they win out, will have beaten three top 25 ranked teams.  But, TCU and its fans are doing some dreaming of their own.  The Frogs have only played one bad quarter in a loss at Oklahoma while upsetting BYU a couple of weeks ago and routing Wyoming and UNLV in consecutive games.  Beat Utah on the road, and beat Air Force a couple of weeks later, TCU will be 11-1 with its only loss at Oklahoma and wins over two ranked teams.

Gator High. . . . . . The Florida Gators may be the hottest team in Football.  The Gators have made LSU, Kentucky and Georgia look silly in consecutive weeks.  The Gator offense has averaged 55 points against those three teams.  The defense has only given up 15 total points in the past two weeks.  When I did my most recent top ten update, I ranked Florida ahead of the other one-loss teams.  Now you know why.

Rankings

AP Top 10

1. Alabama (46)
2. Texas Tech (12)
3. Penn State (6)
4. Florida (1)
5. Texas
6. Oklahoma
7. USC
8. Oklahoma State
9. Boise State
10. Utah

Coaches Top 25

1. Alabama (40)
2. Penn State (14)
3. Texas Tech (6)
4. Oklahoma (1)
5. Florida
6. USC
7. Texas
8. Oklahoma State
9. Utah
10. Boise State

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.

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

Check out TCU’s Kickoff Specialist.  Drew Combs booms the kicks into the end zone on every kickoff.  He’s also a special human being.

I have a hunch.  Call it a hunch because it may not be worth much.  I have a hunch that we will see TCU light it up on offense this year.  Not only that, but I have a hunch that Andy Dalton will pass for 3000 yards.  It’s just a hunch.  I have no real empirical evidence.  The Horned Frogs have always been fairly balanced in the Gary Patterson era, but a little more to the run (See Hobbs, Tomlinson, and Merrill).  Dalton is a good passer, and while we won’t accuse TCU of running a Spread Offense, we just might see it be much more explosive this year.  Therefore, I offer my Top Ten Reasons TCU’s Offense Will Be (More) Explosive in 2008.

10.  Blake Schlueter–For the Frogs, it all starts up front.  Don’t underestimate his importance.  He is the QB of the Offensive Line which returns 4 starters.  He makes all the calls.  And, he is the first guy to touch the ball.  Have you seen this guy?  I wouldn’t want him to be upset with me.

9.  Aaron Brown–If Brown is healthy, he has the ability to have over 1500 all purpose yards.  As a

Keith Robinson Photography

Sophomore he had 1256 yards.  Brown is not just a great back on the edge, he is a great receiver out of the backfield.  All you have to do with Brown is get him the ball in space and he can make plays.  I can envision Brown lining up in the slot with Joseph Turner in the backfield along with And Dalton.  Who would the defense focus on?

8.  Young Receivers–The receivers are young, but they are fast.  They also are carrying a little bit of a swagger into fall practice.  These receivers did play last year even though they were not starters.  Walter Bryant, Jimmy Young, and Jeremy Kerley will be looking to make a big impact.  Also pay attention to Bart Johnson, John Brown and Antoine Hicks.

7.  Marshall Newhouse–If Dalton is to pass for 3000 yards, it will be up to Newhouse to keep him upright.  Newhouse led TCU in Knockdowns last year.  He also will be Dalton’s first line of defense at the Left Tackle spot.

6.  Jason Phillips–If I practiced against a Jason Phillips led defense in practice every day, I’d probably get better too, and faster.  There is another plus too.  The TCU defense has the ability to get lots of turnovers.  In fact, in the Spring practices, the defense focused on that (see Dave Campbell’s Texas Football).  If they aren’t getting turnovers, then they will surely be getting stops giving the TCU offense plenty of opportunities.

5.  Randy Galloway–What other sports journalist could inspire that kind of success?  Galloway is a legend.  If Coach Patterson needs tips, all he has to do is call Galloway and he will lend him a hand.  He is always thinking about ways to improve each local team with his brilliant mind.  Who else would I list, Dale Hanson?

4.  Marcus Jackson–During the Gary Patterson era, TCU has always needed a second QB.  First it was Tye Gunn, then it was Brandon Hassell, and then it was Jeff Ballard.  Jackson doesn’t just represent that good second QB, but he also represents a change of pace.  Jackson is a better runner, and TCU can line up and run the option with him in the game.  Jackson has also been a fairly accurate passer.

3.  Shae Reagan–At 6-4 261 lbs., Reagan provides a big target for Dalton and Jackson.  If Reagan can remain healthy, he should be a mismatch in almost every situation.  Reagan has a TCU high of 19 yards per catch.

2.  Coach Mike Schultz–Coach Schultz has been a great Offensive Coordinator for TCU.  His offenses have been among the best in TCU history.  Coach Schultz offenses do not remain ineffective, and Schultz seems to have the players to work with to make this year’s offense explosive.

1.  Andy Dalton–Dalton set all kinds of records for TCU freshmen, and he is poised to become even better.  He had over 2400 yards passing, and became increasingly effective as a passer later in the season.  Many of the INT’s Dalton suffered were during the first half of the season, and Dalton had a great game at Stanford when he passed for 344 yards, 2 TD’s and 0 INT’s.  If TCU’s offense is to be explosive, Dalton will have to be the catalyst.

This week marks the beginning of the 2008 season for TCU, SMU and UNT.  Earlier today, TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson met with the media as a part of the Horned Frogs’ Reporting Day.  Among the things that Patterson talked about was the last minute addition of Atoine Hicks and the Texas heat.  The high temperature at DFW Airport on Sunday, August 3rd, was 107 degrees.  The Frogs will have their first practice on Monday, August 4th at 4 PM.  TCU will also host their annual “Meet the Frogs” on August 23rd beginning with Inflatable Games at 10 AM.  There will be an opportunity to meet players, coaches, cheerleaders and showgirls along with free posters and player trading cards.  To find out more about “Meet the Frogs,” visit GoFrogs.com.

In Denton, TX, UNT players report for the first practice of 2008 also on Monday, August 4th.  One of the interesting things in which the Mean Green website is doing is blogging the two-a-days workouts.  If you really want to know what is going at each practice during the next couple of weeks, you can log on to MeanGreenSports.com and follow the live blog.  That’s right, I said live.  Blogging begins at 7 PM Monday.  Check it out.

The Mustangs begin practice on Monday too.  SMU will begin practices for the 2008 season beginning at 9:30 AM.  Players report on Sunday, and the June Jones era will begin.  Fans are welcome to watch practices, but they are asked to watch from behind the “fence for practices on Pettus and from the stands for workouts held in the stadium.”  Jones will usher in a new era of “Pony Express”–by air.

According to the TCU Athletic Department, TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson has announced that Antoine Hicks of Arlington, TX has been added to the TCU Football team.

The following is from a statement released by TCU Athletics to the Media on Sunday afternoon.

TCU head coach Gary Patterson has announced the addition of wide receiver Antoine Hicks to the Horned Frog football program.

The 6-foot-2, 193-pound freshman, who originally signed with Texas, is from Timberview High School and Arlington, Texas.

Hicks was a versatile athlete used at several positions, and I am sure that the Horned Frogs will find a way to use his athletic abilities.  No word was given on whether or not Hicks would redshirt.  In July it was announced that Hicks would not be playing for Texas as speculation mounted about academic issues.  Whatever the issues were seem to be unnecessary at this point.

While Phil Steele has TCU’s schedule ranked number 85, it’s hard to believe the Frogs will have an easy time playing Oklahoma in Norman and hosting Stanford.  Add to that what I believe to be the toughest non BCS conference, and TCU will have a challenge to win 10 games.  But, for the Horned Frogs, it is possible that they return to double digit wins in 2008.  Here is TCU’s schedule.

@ New Mexico, August 30, 5 PM

They don’t seem to excited to see TCU in August out in Albuquerque.  And for good reason, the Lobos only return 10 starters from a year ago, including just one on the Offensive Line.  Also gone are the two leading receivers from 2007, both of whom had over 1000 yards receiving.  But the Lobos return Jr. QB Donovan Porterie (6-3, 206) who passed for 3006 yards and 15 TD’s.  They also return Sr. RB Rodney Ferguson (6-0, 229) who rushed for 1177 yards a year ago.  On defense, the Lobos return their top tackler Jr. Lobo Ian Clark (6-0, 210) and their unique 3-3-5 defensive scheme.

Stephen F. Austin, September 6, 6 PM
Not much went right for the Lumberjacks last year as they were 0-11.  SFA, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA), will need more than a few axes when they come into Amon G. Carter Stadium for their appointment with the Horned Frogs.

Stanford, September 13, 6 PM
One week after Stanford had the biggest upset of the year beating USC in the L A Coliseum, the Frogs overcame a 14 point lead in the second half to beat the Cardinals 38-36 in Palo Alto.  The Cardinals return 16 starters and look to improve on last season’s 4-8 record.  The Cardinals return their top three tacklers from 2007 including Fr. FS Bo McNally (6-0, 208) who recorded 114 tackles.  On offense the Cardinals return So. RB Tony Gerhart (6-1, 228) from a Medical Redshirt in 2007.

@ SMU, September 20, 7 PM
2008 is the beginning of the June Jones era in Dallas.  The Mustangs will have to improve dramatically, but with Jones in charge, SMU may make a big turn around.  This year’s game is being dubbed the DFW Duel:  The Battle for the Iron Skillet.

@ Oklahoma, September 27, TBA
The Sooners cannot forget 2005 when the Frogs went in to Norman and beat OU in front of 80,000 fans.  Not only did the Frogs beat them in 2005, but they beat them in 1996 as well.  The Sooners will run some no huddle Spread Offense this year, but I don’t know how well So. QB Sam Bradford (6-5, 213) moves.  The Sooners return 8 starters on Offense including Bradford and the entire Offensive Line.  The Defense only returns 5.

San Diego State, October 4, 5 PM
There is good news, bad news, and very bad news for the Aztecs which finished 4-8 last year.  The good news is they return 8 starters on Defense.  The bad news is that defense was not good as it gave up 242 yards rushing per game, 257 yards passing per game and 34.4 points per game.  TCU had 694 yards of total offense and 45 points against SDSU in 2007.  Now for the very bad news.  SDSU only returns 3 starters on Offense.

@ Colorado State, October 11, 5 PM
The Rams were really close to being a winning team last year.  They took Colorado to Overtime, the scared Cal when the Bears were ranked 10th, and would not go away against TCU.  On Offense, the Rams return 7 starters, including Sr. RB Gartrell Johnson (6-0, 227) and Sr. RB Kyle Bell (6-2, 231) who combined to rush for 1648 yards in 2007.  On Defense the Rams return 5 starters including 2007 leading tackler Sr. MLB Jeff Horinek (6-3, 234) who had 94 tackles.

BYU, October 16, 7 PM
Heading into 2008, it seems most people think BYU will be great.  The media has tabbed them as their favorite to win the MWC, Jr. QB Max Hall (6-1, 201) is the Preseason MWC Offensive Player of the year and has been added to the 2008 O’Brien Watch List, and Jr. DE Jan Jorgensen (6-3, 256) has been named to the 2008 Ted Hendricks Award Watch List.  Last year BYU began the year losing at UCLA and at Tulsa before going undefeated in the MWC.  The Cougars finished the year 11-2, winning 10 straight games including nail bitters against Utah, TCU and  UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl.  BYU only returns 3 starters on Defense, but 10 of the projected starters are upperclassmen.  The Offensive should be great, led my Max Hall who passed for 3848 yards and 26 TD’s they also return their top 4 receivers and So. RB Harvey Unga (6-0, 243) a big punishing back who averaged 5.0 yards per carry for 1227 total rushing yards in 2007.

Wyoming, October 25, 5 PM
This a game the Horned Frogs want to win to avenge last year’s 24-21 loss in Laramie.  The Cowboys return 8 starters on offense and 6 on deffense.  Sr. RB Devin Moore (5-10, 191) rushed for 965 yards in 2007 and Sr. RB Wynel Seldon (6-0, 219) added 554 yards.  Jr. QB Karsten Sween (6-2, 222) is back looking to improve on his 2028 yards passing.  The Defense returns 2 of its top 5 tacklers.  Sr. WLB Ward Dobbs (6-0, 230) had 98 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 INT.

@ UNLV, November 1, 7 PM
TCU has owned UNLV the past three years, but this Rebels team might be a dangerous one.  UNLV returns 9 starters on Offense that rushed for 141 yards per game and passed for 213 yards per game but averaged only 18.2 points per game.  The top two QB’s return, and that may be the biggest battle in Fall camp, and both are capable performers.  UNLV also returns their top RB, Sr. Frank Summers (5-10, 200) who rushed for 928 yards and 6 TD’s.  The Offensive Line returns 7 with starting experience.  The Defense only returns 5, but their projected starters include 9 upperclassmen.  The Rebels return their number two tackler from 2007, Jr. SS Daryl Forte (5-11, 185) who had 94 tackles.

@ Utah, November 6, 7 PM
The media voted BYU to be the preseason favorite of the MWC, but Phil Steele, the college football magazine guru, has the Utes as his favorite.  One reason may be the return of Sr. QB Brian Johnson (6-1, 205).  Johnson who redshirted in 2006 due to an injury, played much of 2007 injured and only passed for 1847 yards while rushing for 314 (net just 150 yds.).  As a starter in 2005, Johnson passed for 2892 yards while rushing for 690 yards in 10 games missing the last three games due to, you guessed it, an injury.  A healthy Johnson will mean a good Utah Offense as they return 8 starters on that side of the ball including Sr. RB Darrell Mack (6-0, 219) who rushed for 1204 yards and 12 TD’s in 2007.  Defensively, Utah returns 6 starters including 2 of it’s top 3 tacklers from a year ago.

Air Force, November 22, 2:30 PM
This another game the Frogs will want to avenge.  The Frogs,  just 5 days after playing Texas, lost a heart breaker in Colorado Springs 20-17 in Overtime where it seemed the Frogs just ran out of gas.  The Falcons went on to win 9 games and receive a birth to the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth.  The Defense returns 5 starters and the Offense just 3.  The Falcons have to replace a lot of offense from 2007.

Photo Credit:  Keith Robinson Photography