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Well, that didn’t go well. The UNT men were hoping to bounce back from a 30-point beating at BYU at home against SFA today, while the UNT women were looking to build on a win over rival UTA in a game at Northern Colorado. The UNT women fell 75-69, despite 27 points from Janis Peterson (we’ll get to that). The real zinger was that the UNT men were hammered by SFA 87-53. UNT has had some tough losses over the years, including during the high point of the Johnny Jones era, but this one just felt different. This was at home and it came at a time when faith in UNT’s hopes for a bounce back year seemed to be fading. Tony Benford called it the most embarrassing game he has ever been a part of. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/12/sunday-night-hoops-thoughts-benford-comments.html/
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I received a text message from UNT quarterback target Josh Greer late tonight. Greer is mulling his options and will likely make a decision tonight or tomorrow. I hope to get a heads-up when he makes the call. Just reading the tea leaves, but to me that has to be a good sign for UNT. I haven’t talked directly to Greer, but did chat with his father, who said that he has a good relationship with UNT offensive coordinator Mike Canales, who recruited him out of high school. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/12/late-night-josh-greer-update.html/
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Northeastern Oklahoma A&M linebacker Akii Smith will headline a group of about a half a dozen junior college prospects who will visit UNT this weekend, just days before the beginning of the midterm signing period on Dec. 18. Smith took an unofficial visit to UNT in the spring and recently took an official visit to Texas State. “I’m excited,” Smith said. “North Texas was the first school to offer me. I like that they are in Conference USA and the teams that they play. They are doing well this year. The coaches are great and the facilities are fantastic.” Smith, who is 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, is a middle linebacker, and can also play on the strong side. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/12/smith-talks-about-upcoming-unt-visit-other-recruiting-tidbits.html/ -
The Heart of Dallas Bowl had its media call tonight. Here are a few highlights: – The real zinger was that Rick Villarreal and Dan McCarney talked a whole lot about how important it is for UNT fans to show up on New Year’s Day. “The fan base challenged us,” Rick Villarreal said. “Now we are challenging them.” Villarreal believes UNT has put the product the fans asked for on the field. Now he is expecting UNT’s fans to show up and support the team. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/12/hod-press-call-notes.html/
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More than three weeks have passed since North Texas had its last chance to show that it can hold its own against a nationally renowned opponent. UNT hung early with Oklahoma on Nov. 11 before falling 95-82. The Mean Green has been on an upswing since and has won its last three games. UNT (5-3) knows that streak will mean much more if it can have another good showing tonight at BYU, its second high-profiled opponent of the season. “We have not had as many chances to show people how good we are,” UNT forward Colin Voss said. “That makes this game more important for us. If we can go over there and get a win, it would be a statement game before conference play.” UNT won’t open Conference USA play until the second week of January. UNT wants nothing more than to enter its first season in what looks like it will be a tough C-USA with momentum and has moved toward that goal in the last few weeks. UNT broke a two-game losing streak with a double-overtime win over Portland in its final game in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Nov. 23 Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20131202-men-s-basketball-another-high-profile-opponent-awaits-unt.ece
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A lot of UNT fans are down in the dumps following a loss to UTSA over the weekend. Its important to remember that all is not lost. The sun will come out tomorrow. I have that on good authority from multiple sources. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/11/the-sun-will-come-out-tomorrow.html/
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We are fortunate today to have Jerry Briggs of the San Antonio Express-News on the blog with us to discuss UNT’s game against UTSA this weekend. Jerry is the go-to guy for coverage of the Roadrunners. Case in point, Jerry is reporting that UTSA will be without its leading rusher David Glasco II this weekend. One can find Jerry’s stories that appear in the paper on the Express-News website’s UTSA section.Here is a link to Jerry’s UTSA blog 1. UTSA seems to be on a bit of a roll late in the season. What has changed? The UTSA defense has started to force turnovers and the offensive line has played well. UTSA had forced only two turnovers during the 2-5 start. The defense and special teams have now forced ten during a three-game win streak. A veteran offensive line led a pretty potent rushing attack against Rice in a loss, and then again in wins against UAB and Tulsa. Limited to 126 rushing yards against Tulane, UTSA nonetheless broke a 68-yard TD run by Brandon Armstrong. UTSA won 10-7. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/11/qa-with-jerry-briggs-of-the-san-antonio-express-news.html/
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I have been holding on to this little tidbit until this morning after all the smoke cleared from the early signing period in basketball. We can go ahead and count Red Oak cornerback Garrett Davis among UNTs commitments. I talked with Red Oak coach Mike Shields late yesterday afternoon and he confirmed that Davis has committed to UNT. He hadnt talked to him about the decision until yesterday. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/11/thursday-morning-recruiting-notes-unt-lands-two-more.html/
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There were a few interesting tidbits as usual from the Dan McCarney press conference. McCarney was particularly animated today and reiterated his frustration that UNT can’t seem to sell out Apogee Stadium. UNT is getting better, there is no doubt about it, and McCarney called on fans to show up. I will have quotes for the paper tomorrow. And in other news: – Quenton Brown and Daniel Prior will likely practice this week and could play against UTEP. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/11/mccarney-presser-notes-video-coming-2.html/
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We have been talking a lot over the last few days about the importance of UNT’s game against Rice on Thursday, and justifiably so. The Mean Green can become bowl-eligible for the first time in seemingly forever with a win over the Owls. It would be a milestone in program history and, in theory, a huge momentum boost. But there is a lot else going on around the UNT athletic department on Friday. Consider: Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/10/thursday-shaping-up-to-be-big-across-the-board.html/
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Desmon White, a quarterback from DeSoto who committed to UNT earlier this month, has backed out of that pledge and now plans to sign with TCU. White confirmed his plans via text message this morning. “Just the competition of playing in the Big 12, and TCU has always been a school I wanted to attend,” White said of his reasoning for committing to TCU. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/10/white-explains-decision-to-flip-to-tcu.html/
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A few months ago, Saturday’s game between UNT and Louisiana Tech looked like it would be a referendum on whether or not Dan McCarney and Mike Canales went after the right transfer quarterback. UNT took Kansas transfer Brock Berglund after talking with former Ryan and Texas Tech quarterback Scotty Young, who ended up at Louisiana Tech. Now it looks like neither will see the field in a significant capacity. Berglund never made it off the bench when Derek Thompson improved during the off-season and held down the starting job for the third straight year. Young began the season as Tech’s starter, but has since been surpassed by redshirt freshman Ryan Higgins. Higgins led Tech to a win over UTEP last week and has thrown for who has thrown for 776 yards on the year. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/10/qb-matchup-against-tech-who-would-have-seen-this-one-coming.html/
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UNT head coach Dan McCarney had his weekly press conference today, and as always there were a few interesting tidbits. Here were some of the highlights: – McCarney thanked UNT’s fans for showing up for the Mean Green’s game against MTSU. He also mentioned that getting the fan base back has been a longer and more difficult process than he anticipated. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/10/mccarney-press-conference-notes-video-coming-2.html/
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One of the more interesting comments from Dan McCarney today was on attendance at home games. Hence, I led my notebook with it. I wont spoil the whole story, but here is a part of the statement: We need our fans, McCarney said. Its easy to say, Win, Mac; Win, North Texas; Go win, but Im not coming to the game this week. How about come to the stadium, help support us, and together lets keep moving forward with this program? That is what Im asking, and I dont think its too much to ask. We have 100,000 graduates right down the road in Dallas and Fort Worth. We need to start getting those people who dont come to games to support us. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/10/pretty-strong-statement-from-mccarney-on-attendance.html/
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It’s time for our semi-regular Sunday night thoughts on the weekend that was in UNT athletics. My thought? Well, that didn’t go very well. And I’m not talking just football. UNT lost in heartbreaking fashion at Tulane, dropping its seventh straight road game when the Green Wave kicked the game-winning field goal in a 24-21 win at the gun. We’ll get to that in a moment, but for those of you scoring at home, UNT: – Saw its soccer team that is always really good fall at both Rice and Colorado College, the only two teams picked to finish ahead of the Mean Green in Conference USA. UNT was drilled 4-0 at Rice and then came all the way back from a three-goal deficit only to fall 3-2 to Colorado College. UNT is 1-2-1 in conference play and might be toast as far as the conference title chase. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/10/well-that-was-a-tough-weekend-for-unt.html/
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I had a few minutes to swing by today and talk to Tony Benford about UNTs basketball schedule. First off, here are a few news tidbits: UNT will face Oklahoma on Monday, Nov. 11 instead of Tuesday, Nov. 12. UNT will also play Columbia on Nov. 21 and Idaho on Nov. 22. Again, minor switch. The dates for the two games in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament were changed. UNT is working on adding another home game this season. Creighton will play at the Super Pit next year. UNT is working on landing a spot in another tournament next season, one that will be close to Denton. UNT has been in talks with Texas Tech about scheduling a home-and-home with the Raiders. UNT has also been in contact with New Mexico. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/09/unt-basketball-notes-benford-on-schedule.html/
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Joining us today on the blog is Ben Breiner, who covers Ball State for The Star Press in Muncie, Ind. The paper is the go-to place to catch up on what is going on with the Cardinals. You can find his work that appears in the paper on its website here. You can also follow him on Twitter Brian provided us a couple of real good news tidbits in this Q&A that he also covered in the paper, including the fact that star running back Jahwan Edwards remains questionable for Saturday’s game after missing the Cardinals win over Army, a story he covered in the paper. Do you think the heat affects Ball State? It’s supposed to be about 95. I can’t see how that doesn’t have some effect, especially since the temperature was only 82 at kickoff last week with what I assume will be comparable humidity. Cardinals coach Pete Lembo sounded a bit concerned about that aspect during his weekly press conference. It will certainly force Ball State to use their depth on defense. That’s an area the staff has focused on since it arrived, and while that depth is one the younger side, it’s certainly there more than in past seasons. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/09/qa-with-ball-state-beat-writer-ben-breiner.html/
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UNT will face one of the nation’s most productive pocket passers — at least at this point of the season — on Saturday when the Mean Green takes on Ball State and Keith Wenning. Wenning has thrown for 665 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions in two games. Yeah, he’s pretty good. He’s 6-3, 220, and will sit in the pocket and try to pick UNT apart. And that begs the question: Just how well has UNT fared against top pocket passers the last few years. I went back through the record books and came up with a rundown. Now, I might be splitting hairs here on who counts as a pocket passer and who is more of a dual-threat guy, but the list still worth looking at: UNT has faced Idaho’s Chad Chalich and Ohio’s Tyler Tettleton so far. Both are dual-threat kind of guys, so we have to dig a little deeper. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/09/unt-vs-top-pocket-passers-a-look-back.html/
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Dan McCarney talked a lot about change in the days leading up to North Texas’ season opener two weeks ago now. And UNT’s head coach wasn’t the only one. Players and school officials hinted at this year being the beginning of something new for UNT, which switched everything from conferences to uniforms, well at least for one game, in its 100th anniversary season. In the end, that was the toughest aspect of the way UNT’s game against Ohio unfolded late Saturday night. UNT had a chance to show that it is indeed a new era, and let it slip away in a 27-21 loss that had an all-too-familiar feel for the Mean Green. UNT had an opportunity to knock off a nationally respected opponent late in the second half, had a shot to win back-to-back games for the first time since 2004 and couldn’t capitalize — again. The Mean Green is now 0-23 in games following a win in the last nine seasons. “We are really close and are closing the gap on some really fine programs, but we won’t accept it,” McCarney said following the loss. “It’s not OK to lose. It’s a horrible feeling.” The situation made that feeling even worse for the Mean Green. UNT is desperate to show the program isn’t what it has been for the past several years. The 10 wins UNT has posted over its past 26 games, including a 40-6 shellacking of Idaho to open the season, show that the Mean Green is improving. UNT is just working its way out of a really dark era in its history. Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20130908-brett-vito-unt-again-cant-capitalize-on-opportunity.ece
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I’m back in town after a quick night and an early return flight from UNT’s loss to Ohio. Here are a few thoughts. First a few quick-hitters: – Ohio really shut down UNT’s running game, limiting the Mean Green to 104 yards on 38 carries, an average of 2.7 yards a pop. UNT’s longest run from a running back was 10 yards. Considering the running game is supposed to be a strength, that has to be a concern going forward. – One has to wonder if the book isn’t out on UNT offensively, especially after Ohio limited Brelan Chancellor to one catch for 33 yards. Take Chancellor away, stack the line and make someone else beat you. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/09/morning-after-thoughts.html/
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Quenton Brown may be back sometime in October. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/09/mccarney-presser-tidbits.html/
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One of the side benefits of being out from under our football magazine is that I have had a chance to chase a few other items of interest in other areas of the UNT athletic department. First item on the list: The rumor that UNT is hosting a men’s basketball tournament this year. Tony Benford said that is not the case. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/08/thursday-afternoon-basketball-notes-no-home-tourney.html/
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A few days ago, I had started to second-guess my assumption that somehow, some way, Derek Thompson was going to end up starting the season at quarterback for UNT. Dan McCarney talked about freshman Dajon Williams like he might be the second-coming of Scott Hall (and he still might be). No one would rule Brock Berglund out of the race (at least not publicly) and I kind of wondered if UNT might shock everyone and roll Andrew McNulty out there. Well, its looking more and more like my original assumption and the guess of a lot of people is coming to fruition. McCarney said today that Thompson answered the bell in the key scrimmage of fall practice and (in so many words) indicated that he is in position to start the season as UNTs starting quarterback. Let the gnashing of teeth begin. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/08/thoughts-on-derek-thompson-back-on-top.html/
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We have talked a lot about the quarterback situation at UNT over the last couple of days and with good reason. Derek Thompson is taking the snaps with the first team and is in position to begin the season as UNTs starter, although Dan McCarney hasnt totally ruled out Dajon Williams. With practice closed, its hard to get a really good read on what UNTs plans are, which is part of McCarneys plan. Nothing wrong with that. What I will be very interested to see is how the depth chart looks behind Thompson, who I am pretty sure at this point is going to be UNTs starter. UNT has already said it wont redshirt Williams. Will UNT stick with that plan? Is he going to start the year as UNTs backup quarterback? Will he see time this year? While the focus is on this year, the answers to those questions could tell us a lot about UNTs plans for the future. Thompson is gone after this year, which will leave a pair of juniors in Andrew McNulty and Brock Berglund. Williams will be either a sophomore or a redshirt freshman and Connor Means will be a freshman. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/08/thoughts-on-what-the-depth-chart-will-tell-us-at-qb.html/
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Dan McCarney said today that Derek Thompson is taking all the snaps with the first team. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/