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09/04/2010 -
DENTON, Texas (AP) -Todd Dodge is no longer the hot shot high school coach hired to energize the North Texas football program.
After 31 losses in three years, he's just trying to hang on to his job and avoid becoming another case study in why it's so rare for a coach to be plucked from the preps and put in charge of a major college team.
The athletic director who grabbed Dodge after he went 79-1 in five years at Southlake Carroll High School expects a winning season, which means at least seven victories when Dodge has just five in his college career.
Clemson, nearly a four-touchdown favorite Saturday in the season opener, inadvertently illustrated how far Dodge has fallen, referring to him as ``Tom Dodge'' in pregame notes.
``It's been very disappointing at times, with not being where I thought we'd be,'' Dodge said. ``We've taken a lot of black eyes and bloody noses.''
Dodge's first two years were tough and tougher, marked by routine blowouts on the field and sticky issues off it. Players kicked off the 2007 team accused him and his staff of racial bias, although the coaches were cleared by administrators. A year later, Dodge suspected some players were using drugs and tested every one of them during the season. Fifteen came back positive.
Perhaps the biggest setback came next, when two-year starting quarterback Giovanni Vizza left the team after the 2008 season. Not only was it critical to lose experience at the most important position in a four-receiver spread offense, but Dodge was hearing from others that Vizza figured the coach would start his son, then-redshirt freshman Riley Dodge.
``I recruited my son because he was the best possible option,'' Dodge said. ``But that didn't mean he was going to start over a guy that started for two years. When you go 1-11, everybody on the football team has to compete. But still, I'd invested 20 starts in a guy.''
With Vizza gone, Riley Dodge started 10 games, but the results were about the same. Now the coach's son - who won a state title in his dad's last high school season - isn't a full-time quarterback thanks to shoulder and arm injuries. He is listed as a receiver and just hoping to contribute for the next three years as a utility guy on offense.
``It's just different going from winning all the time to kind of struggling,'' Riley Dodge said. ``It builds a lot of character. It has humbled me and my dad a little bit.''
Nathan Tune is the quarterback now. The fifth-year senior with just two career starts holds the keys to a pass-happy offense that will go a long way toward determining whether Dodge stays or becomes Gerry Faust, the last coach who went straight from the prep ranks to the highest level of college football. Notre Dame fired him in 1985 after five mediocre seasons.
Defense will have to play a role, too. North Texas was last in the nation in scoring defense Dodge's first two seasons, another setback for him because he was criticized for bringing too many high school coaches with him, including his defensive coordinator. That coach was fired after the first season when the Mean Green gave up more than 70 points twice and 66 in another game.
All four former Carroll assistants are gone, leaving Dodge surrounded by assistants with more much college experience.
``We need a very experienced staff that has been at this level and understands some of the things at this level,'' athletic director Rick Villarreal said. ``And I think today Todd understands more about this level. I don't think he could have imagined that when he first took the job.''
Dodge was hired to help create a buzz and complete a push for a new stadium. The stadium part of the plan succeeded, but the buzz among alumni has been replaced by doubt. There's a chance Dodge won't be around when the new stadium opens next year.
Such circumstances are nothing new to Dodge, the former Texas quarterback who endured stinging criticism when he led the Longhorns in the 1980s. He knows what his athletic director expects, and he's ``fine with it.''
``The tough times here have not gotten in the way of me believing in how I can lead a football team and what our football team can do,'' Dodge said. ``When my time is over with, there won't be any excuses. Would I have done things differently? Sure.''
The victory count isn't likely to start against Clemson, but the Tigers should be the toughest opponent on the schedule. While last year's 2-10 record was the second in three years under Dodge, the Mean Green were much more competitive. Six of the losses were by a touchdown or less.
North Texas also has hope of a strong running game to complement Dodge's pass-first scheme. Lance Dunbar finished among the national leaders last year with 1,378 yards and 17 touchdowns rushing in just eight starts. Six of the team's top eight defenders return, including Craig Robertson, the leading tackler.
``Are we going to go 12-0? No. I don't think so,'' Dodge said. ``But we do have the potential to win seven or eight ball games. We're in a window of the 2010-11 seasons where we can really flip this thing and not look back.''
If not, it's probably back to high schools for Dodge.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< A's blank struggling Angels behind Gonzalez
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Pennington and Kevin Kouzmanoff each
homered during a six-run seventh, as the Oakland Athletics dominated the
Angels, 8-0, in the opener of a three-game series.
Gio Gonzalez (13-8) tossed si
<< Giants trade for Sage Rosenfels
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants have found a
backup quarterback after acquiring Sage Rosenfels from the Minnesota Vikings
on Friday.
The trade also saw running back and return specialist Darius Reynaud h
<< D-Backs edge Astros
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Augie Ojeda's sacrifice fly in the bottom of
the eighth delivered the winning run as Arizona downed Houston, 4-3, to start
a three-game set.
Adam LaRoche went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and Gerardo Pa
<< Billingsley does it all as Dodgers down rival Giants
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Billingsley was strong through eight
innings of work on the hill and drove in the game-winning runs to carry Los
Angeles to a 4-2 win over San Francisco in the opener of a three-game series.
Billi
Tuberville's Texas Tech to debut vs. improving SMU >>
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -June Jones knows the order is a tall one for his improving SMU squad.The Mustangs will open the season Sunday in Lubbock as the first opponent for new Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville, who vowed when he took over in January not
Sisk keeps lead at Mylan Classic >>
Canonsburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Geoffrey Sisk remained atop the leaderboard
Saturday when the second round of the rain-delayed Mylan Classic was
completed.
Sisk played the final three holes of his round and finished off a four
Georgia holds A.J. Green out of opener >>
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -Georgia star receiver A.J. Green is being held out of the Bulldogs' opening game against Louisiana-Lafayette.Georgia spokesman Claude Felton says Green will miss Saturday's game for the No. 23 Bulldogs pending a ruling from the NCA
Scorching Yanks seek eight straight win in test with Jays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The New York Yankees have solved just about all their
problems during a seven-game winning streak that matches the team's longest of
the season. The defending world champions will now turn their attention
towards getting Jav
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
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Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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