The Countdown - #12

[Matt Cotcher]

Chris Flanagan is counting down through all 12 games of the upcoming season in order of importance. Here's the first installment in the series - #12 UNT.

 

[Capn Hook]

While I agree that we should win this handily I do not agree that it is the least important.  This is our first game with Strong at the helm and it is vital that we get off to a running start  Screw ups here might have a lasting effect on the season.

 

[BudreauReye]

Longhorns gonna sit on they Mean Green punkin' haids an squissh them!

 

[echeese]

I remember the angst when Mack "struggled" vs UNT .. .so I went back and checked how DKR did (think he scheduled them 3 or 4 times) .. . 

Frankly not as well . . .

Just an FYI. .. transitive property doesn't mean jack within a given year much less over decades but interesting none the less.

But how do you not list Mean Joe Greene under famous UNTers??????

 

[Chris Flanagan]

While I agree that we should win this handily I do not agree that it is the least important.  This is our first game with Strong at the helm and it is vital that we get off to a running start  Screw ups here might have a lasting effect on the season.

While I do agree it's an important game in the sense that it can't be lost but a running start I don't think is crucial to the season. 

For instance, we beat up on New Mexico in 2012 but get whooped by OU 62-21. No one cared that we beat New Mexico when reviewing the season in it's entirety.

I am a firm believer in this line of thought. College Football is all about perception. Okay not ALL about perception but it's 75-25 perception/reality. Why? Because there are only 12 (at most 14) games in a season all in the span of 3 months. Bowl games are meaningless but the common perception is a strong bowl game can propel you into a high preseason ranking. However, you had to have big wins during the regular season to get that praise. 

Texas A&M's win over Alabama not just a win, it was a program changing win. It propelled them to new heights and got them in the living rooms of bigger recruits. It gave Johnny Manziel the Heisman. It gave them tons of media attention and a high preseason ranking. It got them Speedy Noil and Kyle Allen. Yes the SEC helped but it was because Texas A&M had the chance to play Alabama that was the difference. Beating North Texas won't change the perception around Texas, beating UCLA would. That's why I believe the North Texas game is the least important because winning it would do nothing to help the perception of Texas. A loss would really hurt the perception of Texas so the question I posed with these games is "How would a win help build up the perception of Texas football?" North Texas was the least important in that aspect. 

 

[java]

Agreed. I think it is important in the sense that we need to work out any issues, depth chart and scheme, and we need to keep everyone healthy. We need a good showing and a decisive early win.

 

[Duke C #11]

"Famous alumni of UNT include Roy Orbison, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Lorene Lane Rogers, and former US Congressman Ray Roberts."

Mean Joe Greene would like a word with you.