Search the Community

Harry gets a follow-up visit with the Executive Director of the North Texas Light The Tower NIL Collective Rick Villarreal. Rick discusses the latest updates and emphasizes the importance of continuing to build momentum with the collective heading into the American Conference. Direct audio link: https://traffic.libsyn.com/gomeangreen/RV_NIL_Pt_2_mixdown.mp3 Direct link to Light The Tower Collective Site: https://www.lightthetowercollective.com/

Gary Patterson was busy. After leading TCU to back-to-back top-10 seasons, the head coach was constructing his masterpiece. It featured a 47-7 win at No. 6 Utah. It concluded with a Rose Bowl victory over Big Ten champion Wisconsin. It ended with the Horned Frogs ranked second in the nation, having gone undefeated for the first time in 72 years. In the midst of the coach’s magnum opus, Austin Aune caught his eye. The star quarterback at Texas’ Argyle High School — roughly 30 miles north of Fort Worth — committed to the rising program. In June 2012, as an incoming freshman, he moved into Moncrief Hall to begin summer conditioning with the team. “I had been there a day, and I went through an awful workout where they just ran us in the dirt and I was throwing up everywhere,” Aune recalled. “I was like, ‘College football is gonna be tough.’” Aune awoke the next morning, ready for Round 2. The next workout began at 10 a.m. Around 9, his phone rang. Brian Cashman waited for him to pick up. When Aune’s name wasn’t announced in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft, he assumed his future was at TCU. One day later, the Yankees selected the standout shortstop in the second round (89th overall). The slot money for his draft position was $548,000. The Yankees offered Aune a signing bonus of $1 million. read more: https://nypost.com/2022/09/29/how-ex-yankees-prospect-became-college-footballs-oldest-qb/

The Florida Atlantic University Owls (2-3, 1-0 C-USA) will take on the University of North Texas Mean Green (2-3, 1-0 C-USA) in Denton, Texas, on Saturday, Oct. 1. FAU looks to bounce back after dropping the first of their two-game road trip last week against Purdue. FAU is currently 0-2 in road games this season with losses to Ohio and Purdue. As the team resumes conference play, the hope is that the familiarity with their opponents eases the team’s road woes going forward. “We just have to go win the game,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “It’s football, no matter if it’s here in Boca or on the road, it’s a 100-yard field with hash marks and numbers and a goal-post. That’s all it comes down to. There’s no secret or anything like that, we just have to go and play winning football.” High-scoring offenses and lackluster defenses characterize both teams. Sophomore running backs Oscar Adaway III and Ayo Adeyi lead the way for North Texas, combining for 704 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 123 carries this season. “[Adaway and Adeyi] are big backs that can run. They’re going to commit to the run offensively… They don’t have to change up what they do because of the back that’s in the game, they continue to run their offense,” Taggart said. “You see who and what their identity is as a football team, and they’re going to try to run the football. We have to do a great job of trying to stop the run in this ball game.” read more: https://www.upressonline.com/2022/09/fau-football-owls-take-on-north-texas-as-conference-play-resumes/

It helps that MTSU has a pretty good track record in those games, too. The Blue Raiders are 9-5 all-time in their annual Blackout game, including a 34-28, rain-soaked win over Marshall in 2021. "Every day, you get accustomed to the silver helmets, the blue jerseys, the silver pants, the white pants," said wide receivers coach Shane Tucker, who won four Blackout games during his playing days as a Blue Raider. "But black, it just kind of moves you a little different." All three position coaches that played in Blackout games as players on MTSU's staff (Gilstrap, Tucker and quarterbacks coach Brent Stockstill) all pointed to how, for whatever reason, the black uniforms the team has worn over the years have often brought out the best in the players. Whether that was from just the novelty of wearing new kicks, the fact the Blackout game is always a prime-time contest, or the fact that it's usually scheduled against a pretty tough opponent. The quality of the games itself, whether it be Beyah's Hail Mary catch, Ed Batties 2015 walk-off, triple overtime touchdown against WKU (a favorite of Tucker's) or last year's six-takeaway game in the Monsoon in Murfreesboro against the Thundering Herd, certainly helps keep the game in the front of the program's eyes. "2016, we were down 27-7 on a really good LA Tech team with some NFL teams," Brent Stockstill recalled, remembering the 34-31 comeback win he helped engineer over the Bulldogs. "In 2018 (a 25-24 win over Lane Kiffin's FAU), we had a two-point conversion to win it at the buzzer. It's just a cool atmosphere to create with everybody involved." Gilstrap, who made his collegiate debut in 2009's Blackout game against Memphis, forcing and recovering a fumble on a second quarter kickoff that led to MTSU's second touchdown in the Blue Raiders 31-14 win, noted that the Blackout games also serve as one of the longest running institutional memories from players in his era to the ones currently on the roster. "I was here when Coach Stock surprised us with black socks," Gilstrap said. "I remember when we played North Texas at home Coach Stock pulled out a black helmet. The game's changed! It comes from the foundation that Coach Stock laid and the guys that I played with, the foundation that they laid here." This week, that foundation is laid just a little bit thicker, as the defending C-USA Champion, UTSA, heads into Murfreesboro for a Friday night kickoff as MTSU returns home after, perhaps, the biggest win in program history over then-No. 25 Miami. The coaches, Gilstrap notes, don't need to hype up their guys any further about the importance of this game. They fully understand not only the in-season meaning of the game, but the meaning it has for the campus and the program. Read more: https://goblueraiders.com/news/2022/9/28/football-it-comes-from-the-foundation-former-mtsu-players-turned-coaches-take-pride-in-annual-blackout

1 UNT_FB_Game_Notes 2022 6_FAU MON.pdf

I didn't get to watch the game but I understand he suffered a nasty shoulder injury this past weekend in his game against Texas A&M Kingsville. I pulled this from the game story: LINK: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/javelinas-hand-hounds-43-10-035900768.html

The Florida Atlantic Owls and North Texas Mean Green meet Saturday in week 5 college football action at Apogee Stadium. The Florida Atlantic Owls look to get back to a .500 record. The North Texas Mean Green also look to get to a 3-3 record. The Florida Atlantic Owls have lost 7 of their last 8 road games. N’Kosi Perry is completing 58.2 percent of his passes for 1,217 yards, 13 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. LaJohntay Wester and Jahmal Edrine have combined for 574 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns, while Je’Quan Burton has 12 receptions. The Florida Atlantic Owls ground game is averaging 215 yards per contest, and Larry McCammon leads the way with 433 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively, FAU is allowing 26.2 points and 401.6 yards per game. Eddie Williams leads the Florida Atlantic Owls with 51 tackles, Jayden Williams has 2 sacks and Dwight Toombs has 2 interceptions. The Florida Atlantic Owls are coming off a competitive game against Purdue they could have easily won, and now 2 of their 3 losses have been decided by 3 or fewer points. The North Texas Mean Green haven’t been nearly as competitive through 5 games, and they’re 122nd in total defense, 118th in rush defense and 119th in scoring defense. FAU should be a confident team based on last week and should have a field day on the offensive side here. I’ll gladly lay the field goal with the Owls on the road. Randy Chambers's Free Pick: Florida Atlantic Owls -3 read more: https://sportschatplace.com/cfb-picks/2022/09/26/north-texas-vs-florida-atlantic-10-1-22-college-football-picks-predictions-odds/

Football lost its final non-conference game of the season 44-34 to the University of Memphis on Saturday. “I still believe we can make a great run in conference [play],” head coach Seth Littrell said. “I think we made a big step today — we’ve got to clean some things up.” The North Texas (2-3, 1-0 Conference USA) defense began the game by forcing a turnover on downs in Memphis (3-1, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) territory, which led to a 26-yard field goal by senior kicker Ethan Mooney. After both defenses forced punts, the Tigers put together a scoring drive. Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan connected with redshirt junior tight end Caden Prieskorn for an eight-yard touchdown, making the score 6-3 after a missed extra point. The Mean Green responded with a 20-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Jyaire Shorter to take a 10-6 lead. Shorter finished with two catches in the game for 38 yards. Henigan threw another touchdown pass with 11:50 left in the second quarter to redshirt junior receiver Javon Ivory. Henigan finished with 141 yards and a pick to go, after throwing for 360 yards and 415 yards the previous two weeks. Junior quarterback Austin Aune led North Texas down the field with 56 seconds left in the second quarter. Senior kicker Ethan Mooney kicked a 36-yard field goal to put the team within seven points at the half. Aune tallied 371 yards and three touchdowns through the air in the contest. read more: https://www.ntdaily.com/football-ends-non-conference-play-with-a-loss/#share

4. MEMPHIS (Differential: + 11.45) SM PR/ESPN FPI Average: 44.45 Effective YPP Power Rating: 55.9 Next game: 11.5-point favorite at home vs. North Texas on Saturday Steve's analysis: With Cincinnati, Houston, SMU and UCF garnering most of the attention in the American Athletic Conference, Memphis could sneak through the cracks. The Tigers have been somewhat forgotten in the early going, especially after a 49-23 loss to Mississippi State to start the season. However, they have rebounded nicely in the last two games, particularly defensively, and have posted Effective Stats befitting a much more respected team. In fact, their Effective YPP PR of 55.9 would be worse than just three current Big Ten teams’ Power Ratings. One thing to be wary of at this point is Memphis’ + 1.7 turnover differential. However, their time of possession rank is 125th in the country, so they could improve there. The jury is out still, but the Tigers could be an underrated favorite this week against a North Texas team that has lost its last three games ATS while allowing 133 points. read more: https://www.vsin.com/college-football-teams-better-or-worse-than-perception/

This could have been awkward. For Seth Henigan. For Ryan Silverfield. For the entire Memphis football program. Grant Gunnell could have come to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium this week as the North Texas starting quarterback, just a few months after transferring from Memphis, an exit indirectly shepherded by Silverfield, who gave Henigan the first team snaps in spring practice over Gunnell. It could have been a referendum on Silverfield’s choice ‒ and Silverfield – if Gunnell returned to Memphis with North Texas and out-played Henigan. But it’s none of that, and not simply because Gunnell isn’t expected to be the North Texas starting quarterback Saturday. Henigan is playing too well to play the what-if game. Read more: https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/columnists/mark-giannotto/2022/09/21/memphis-football-seth-henigan-grant-gunnell-transfer-tigers-north-texas-preview-ryan-silverfield/69499984007/

On Sept. 15,2014, then-University of North Texas football coach Dan McCarney addressed the media about a disease few knew about, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, in an effort to draw attention to it with a passion and commitment that was soon to become the norm for thousands of college football coaches and their staff. McCarney began, “For those of you [who] don't know what Duchenne muscular dystrophy is, it is an incurable disease right now, and we got to try [to] find a cure for it. And I've got a young man over in Argyle, Texas, which is pretty cool, right in our backyard; his name's Corbin Fanning. ... He's 10 years old, and he'll be at our practice tomorrow.” As is the custom with all the colleges that participate in the Coach To Cure MD, North Texas made Fanning its honorary captain for a week ahead of the annual final Saturday of September game that has more than 10,000 coaches and their staff wearing Coach To Cure patches on their arms on game day — which this year is Sept. 24. Corbin Fanning, then-North Texas coach Dan McCarney, and Michael Hope. The two boys, stricken with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, were adopted by the Mean Green as team members eight years ago. Courtesy photo It was clear Corbin Fanning and the entire Fanning family had already had a profound impact on McCarney before the then-10-year-old had even joined their team for the week. “He's got more courage than probably all of our football team coaches and players alike, blended together, put together,” said McCarney, his voice faltering. “What he's battling, life expectancy for anyone that has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the average is about 25 years old. And we hope that by the time he gets before that age, we can find a cure.” McCarney added. read more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/as-college-football-has-blossomed-so-has-coach-to-cure-md

North Texas: Both the Mean Green and head coach Seth Littrell have a lot of respect for each other, which is why this long-term relationship might end gracefully. UNT was whipped by a moribund UNLV program last weekend, and it’s unlikely they’ll create the bounce-back season the end of 2021 seemed to hint at. Now a significant step behind C-USA/American transition programs like UTSA and UAB, this marriage is likely over. If UNT moved now, they’d only owe Littrell around $1.9 million, although that number could go down if they fired him at season’s end or later. UNT is aspiring to Houston-levels as they enter the American, and this will be a sought-after job. LINK: https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-football-hot-seat-watch-picking-up-pieces-at-arizona-state-nebraska-whos-next

“It’s a tough deal. I feel really bad for him and his family,” said Eric Nielsen, who played left guard on the Eagle team Frost quarterbacked. “A few years ago when he was hired, I was pretty sure things were going to work out. I thought Scott would wind up retiring from this job.” “Mostly what I feel bad about is it just didn’t work at Nebraska. I know he poured his heart and soul into the program,” said another former teammate, Matt Gideon. Frost “sort of gave a lot up at that time of his career to come here and to try to make this work. And there’s no doubt in my mind that he did everything he could. Unfortunately it didn’t fit. I don’t know why. That’s probably the thing that hurts the most for me,” said Gideon, one of Frost’s wide receivers at Wood River. “From the outside looking in, I just can’t figure out why it wasn’t a fit and why we couldn’t turn things around and win six ballgames a year, or eight,” Gideon said. “That’ll just be something I’ll always scratch my head about. It is what it is. Scott’ll always be a Husker, and I appreciate him for who he is.” Jim Skeen shot video of every game Frost played at Wood River, and every game his late father, Larry, coached in Skeen’s hometown. When Frost was fired on Sunday, Skeen was stunned. Nielsen is confident that Frost will rebound. “The thing is with Scott, Scott’s very smart. He’s going to wind up landing on his feet. He’ll be either an offensive coordinator at a major school again or he’ll be a head coach at a lower level for a while. I honestly, truly believe that he’ll wind up as a head coach in Power 5 in the next 10 years,” Nielsen said. Read more: https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/scott-frosts-former-teammates-others-in-hometown-of-wood-river-react-to-firing/article_dacc2d10-254c-5ee3-8a5e-40fb5d864d4c.html