University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: Gut Check Time For North Texas
9/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
By Steven Bartolotta, September 27, 2009, 2:26 p.m.
This is why I never got into coaching. I don't have much hair to begin with but after last night I wouldn't have any left or it would be gray. There isn't much to dissect in the Sun Belt opener for the Mean Green after falling 37-21 to Middle Tennessee. It's easy, five turnovers. There's your game folks. You do that at any level of football and you will lose. Guaranteed.
North Texas meanwhile didn't create any turnovers. MTSU gave them three chances with fumbles, but sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way and it didn't.
You keep digging yourself a hole and it becomes harder and harder to get out of and last night was just that. Down 30-7 at the half, North Texas had that air of desperation about it in the third quarter but it wasn't enough. Fifteen minutes of strong play doesn't make up for the other 45 minutes.
The bye week comes at a perfect time for the Mean Green to heal up some bodies, but it also presents an opportunity. This is gut check time for North Texas. It has the next two weeks to prepare for what is going to be the toughest part of the SBC schedule. At ULL, home vs. FAU, and at Troy. It doesn't get any tougher than that in this league.
The schedule is done doing favors for the Mean Green. This team has to move beyond "moral victories" as Riley Dodge said after the game last night.
He's right. After four years, which has felt more like 40 years of wandering, North Texas is to the point where moral victories won't cut it anymore. I'm still president of the Riley fan club. Games like that come with the territory when you are playing a redshirt freshman quarterback, but that doesn't excuse them and he knows that.
He was pressing last night, but when you find yourself down like North Texas did in the blink of an eye, everyone was. I'm sure about 95 percent of you are thinking, "oh no, here we go again." I still don't see that though. Last season, through four games North Texas lost by 39, 30, 38, and 57.
This year it's a win by 10, a loss by 1, 46, and 16. There is improvement and progress is being made but the bottom line on what you are judged by is wins. As Coach Dodge said last night, everything is in. Offense, defense, and special teams. This is what you are going to get and North Texas has to be better in all facets.
The questions during these next two weeks are going to be plentiful. Can Riley bounce back? How does North Texas handle the next three games? Is this team's confidence shaken? Will the team leaders step up to stop the tide?
That's what the next two weeks will decide. It's going to be a long 13 days until Lafayette, but it gives the Mean Green a chance to dig into the gut and find out what they are made of.
