[size=+1]
2011 SEASON[/size]
[size=-2]
Final Record: 8-5 (6-2)
Final Ranking: None
Sun Belt Second Place
Godaddy.com Bowl Winners[/size]
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SCHEDULE
[table="head;width=45em"]Week|Opponent|Opp Record|Result
1|@ FIU|2-10|W 31-14
2|#17 Houston|11-2|L 26-52
3|@ #13 Alabama|10-3|L 0-38
4|Indiana|4-8|W 31-24
5|@ Tulsa|8-5|L 21-51
6|FAU|4-8|W 24-17
7|@ UL Lafayette|6-6|L 14-21
8|UL Monroe|4-8|W 24-23
9|@ Arkansas State|10-3|L 14-34
10|BYE|-|-
11|@ Troy|6-6|W 31-28
12|Western Kentucky|4-8|W 28-23
13|BYE|-|-
14|MTSU|5-7|34-14
15|BYE|-|-
B|Toledo|10-4|W 24-14
[/table]
[size=-2]I started my career as an offensive coordinator at North Texas, running the Oregon spread offense. I felt that North Texas would be a good place to start out of all the 1 star schools because they had Lance Dunbar at running back, arguably the best player in the Sun Belt conference. While my spread offense was pretty effective in some games, I really feel like I underutilized what I had in Dunbar, although the stats won't show it. I still have a lot of work to do in developing this spread offense, but this was a pretty solid start to my career. However, despite the fact that we had a great year for a Sun Belt team, I still feel like our season wasn't that great. We really benefited from beating up on the crappy teams in our conference, only beating one team all year with a record above .500 which was in our bowl game against Toledo, the MAC conference champs. I really wish we could have hung around and tried to sneak in a win against Arkansas State, but they hammered us pretty good, as did Houston, Alabama, and Tulsa, the only other tough games on the schedule. Recruiting was really tough with this 1 star school, but I actually like this recruiting class coming in. I wouldn't mind staying here another year, but with Dunbar graduating, I might just have to leave if the right offer comes up.[/size]
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PASSING
[table="head;width=45em"]|Class|Name|Rating|Comp|Att|Yards|TD|INT|Comp %|Sack
|SO (RS)|Derek Thompson|109.2|155|321|2024|15|12|48|24
|SO|Brent Osborn|129.7|22|41|277|3|1|53|2[/table]
[size=-2]Quarterback play was very shaky for us this year. Derek Thompson was very good at times and very bad at times. In my wide open spread offense, he often had to make quick decisions, and that was something that sometimes proved costly for him. However, he definitely had the ability to make that big play and will certainly improve in the future. He is only a sophomore and is already a 76 OVR, (which is great in the Sun Belt) so the team is in his hands next year. Osborn came in when Thompson got a little hurt a couple of times and executed the offense pretty well. He may never start, but he will certainly be a more than serviceable backup in the future. [/size]
RUSHING
[table="head;width=45em"]Class|Name|Att|Yards|Avg|TD|Fumbles
SR|Lance Dunbar|265|1409|5.3|7|2
SR|James Hamilton|79|324|4.1|7|2
FR (RS)|Antoine Jimmerson|19|172|9.0|3|0
SO (RS)|Derek Thompson|93|121|1.3|3|4[/table]
[size=-2]Without a doubt, Lance Dunbar was the best weapon in this offense. He proved that he can run the ball with the best of him, finishing sixth in the nation in rushing yards this season. However, like I said before, I feel like we wasn't used as much as he should have been. Regardless, it was a great season for Dunbar. Hamilton came in when Dunbar came out, which seemed to be often as Dunbar was very injury prone. Hamilton was a bit of a touchdown vulture, equaling Dunbar's trips to the endzone. In the first game of the season, both Dunbar and Hamilton got hurt, and Jimmerson came in and shined, breaking off a 91 yard TD, which was over half of his total yards for the year. He will undoubtedly be the starter next year. Of course, in a spread offense, the quarterback will be running quite a bit, and Derek Thompson did just that. His yardage is low because he was sacked for a lot of negative yardage, but his running ability improved throughout the year. His scrambling ability is one of the biggest reason's we won our bowl game this year.[/size]
RECEIVING
[table="head;width=45em"]Class|Name|Rec|Yards|Avg|TD|Drops
JR (RS)|Tyler Stradford|43|526|12.2|3|10
JR|Breece Johnson|34|412|12.1|4|3
SR|Lance Dunbar|34|351|10.3|2|4
FR (RS)|Brelan Chancellor|27|422|15.6|5|5
SR (RS)|B.J. Lewis|15|370|24.6|2|2
SR|James Hamilton|9|116|12.8|2|0[/table]
[size=-2]We really had no one player stand out at receiver. Instead, we just spread the ball around the best we good. Stradford led the way, and was mainly a sideline receiver, totaling good yardage. On the other side, you had Breece Johnson who was pretty much just as good as Stradford had he caught a few more balls. Dunbar was a very explosive receiver out of the backfield. More than half of his yards were after the catch. Brelan Chancellor had an excellent freshman year out of the slot and is the future at this position. B.J. Lewis had great speed and was primarily a deep threat, as emphasized by his 24.6 yards per catch. Like Dunbar, Hamilton was great coming out of the backfield, with 97 yards after the catch.[/size]
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AWARDS
[size=-2]
HB Lance Dunbar: 1st Team All-Sun Belt
DT Brandon McCoy: 1st Team All-Sun Belt
P Will Atterberry: 1st Team All-Sun Belt
C Aaron Fortenberry: 2nd Team All-Sun Belt
RT Matt Tomlinson: 2nd Team All-Sun Belt
CB D'Leon McCord: 2nd Team All-Sun Belt
KR Brelan Chancellor: 2nd Team All-Sun Belt[/size]
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COACH G-MEN
[table="head;width=45em"]Year|Position|Team|Record|Bowl|Champ
2011|OC|North Texas|8-5 (6-2)|W Godaddy.com Bowl 24-14|None
TOTAL|
-|
-|
8-5 (6-2)|
1-0|[/table]
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AROUND THE NATION
RB Tony Gregory (Virginia Tech) won the Heisman. (264 Att, 1506 Yards, 15 TD, 26 Rec, 350 Yards, 7 TD)
#10 Georgia Tech beats Ole Miss in the Chic-fil-A Bowl, 31-20.
#8 Wisconsin beats #24 Florida in the Outback Bowl, 42-17.
#9 Ohio State beats #13 Alabama in the Capital One Bowl, 26-0.
Georgia beats #22 Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl, 37-17[/b].
#2 Oregon beats #6 Michigan State in the Rose Bowl, 38-35.
#4 TCU beats #14 West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl, 24-22.
#3 Virginia Tech beats #12 South Carolina in the Orange Bowl, 45-17.
#7 Oklahoma beats #11 Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, 56-28.
#1 Boise State beats #5 Mississippi State in the NCG, 38-30.
Final Top 25:
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LOOKING FORWARD
I was offered the offensive coordinator job, and I took it. I might have a offered a head coaching gig at a bad school, but I felt like this was the best route for me. I'm not sure if I will be able to get Robert Griffin III to return or not, but I'm really hoping I can because next season could be a great one with him at quarterback in my spread offense.