As the night sky darken the scenery behind the Fouts Field Pressbox and all but one row of lights inside the pressbox poured light on the stadium seating, we watched from the RV as the tailgaters were beating it out of the parking lot after another loss this time to Troy 35-41.

By all accounts it was a good game, North Texas was close most of the game and with around three minutes left in the game had a chance when they got a turnover. The problem was, the offense could not move the ball.

The “Lock the Gate” Tee-Shirts were seen everywhere and the logo was flashed on the big screen during the game but to no avail. Seems the only thing locked out was the road to a victory.

Rumors swirled around about who the new coach would be. Some said Dennis Franchione was on the campus Saturday. In talking with different fans everyone had their favorite and why he should be the favorite.

After the night’s defeat, some thought Mike Canales should still be the next coach.  Afterall the team played pretty good. Some thought otherwise about his choice, he had been the offensive coordinator this season and the offense did not work under him and did not work last night. In otherwords, same old stuff and maybe a whole new system needs to be installed.

Visiting with some of the fans during tailgating it seems some of the first year players are having a hard time with the losing. They have come from winning programs and now are forced to endure losing seasons. It is something they do not like.

Robertson’s dad was extremely proud of the hits his son laid on Troy’s ball carriers. He got in a good stick or two. 

On the other side of the ball Victor Gill’s mom was extremely happy with her son who block sprung Dunbar for a touchdown.

The Dunbar family was on their feet when Lance broke through the line a time or two.  While their enthusiasm was high it was not as high as it was during the first game or two during the season. They were happy with Lance’s performance but they were more interested in the overall performance of the team.

With around three minutes left in the game North called a timeout on a second and eight for Troy with drew a lot of applause. In passed several games timeouts were not called until the final minute or two.

The student section was basically empty and not much could be said about the pressbox side.  Several of the fans that sit around have not come to a game or two and when asking their friends why, it basically was they were not going to show up to seen North Texas lose.  Most will buy next years season tickets but have written off the football season and waiting for basketball to begin.

Need to give a shout out to the girls softball team.  They sell the programs before and during the game.  They work the tailgating section and are fun to talk to. They feel they are going to have another great season and have asked out group several times to show up to the softball games. Way to sell your program.

Troy brought their band but they did not perform at halftime. However, they gave the much bigger Green Brigade a run for their money.  A time or two I would have to give them the nod over the Brigade. They had more enthusiasm in their playing whereas the Brigade seemed to be playing as if they were because they had to be.

No matter what, it was nice to see a battle of the bands. It brought back the memories of the old time football games when the bands were the major part of the game day experience before the cutbacks forced bands to stay at home. Which leads to another question. Since most teams do not bring a band with them, why do the home bands still have a halftime performance that is only half of the halftime? Can’t they plan for a full halftime performance and cut out a performance or two if the other band is going to play?

Troy brought a very good crowd with them and their band made it seem like they even brought more. That is impressive if you are going to move up to a better conference.