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DENTON, TX - North Texas found out Thursday night just how difficult and demanding is the path to bowl eligibility. But the Mean Green repeatedly proved themselves up to the task with a gritty, extremely-hard earned 28-16 victory over Rice at Apogee Stadium to become bowl eligibility for the first time since 2004. The Mean Green, struggling to find its game on Halloween night, out-gained two to one and trailing 16-7, got a 42-yard touchdown run from Antoinne Jimmerson and a 65-yard punt return for another score by Brelan Chancellor in a dramatic 1:35 span late in the second quarter to take the lead. But it was the defense that made it hold up with one of the most stirring goal-line stands in program history. After a tipped-pass interception, Rice drove to a first and goal at the NT one-yard line. The Mean Green stopped the Owls four times, only to see Rice get an extra set of downs by way of penalty at the two. But North Texas stone-walled the Owls four more times, smashing the Owls for an 11-yard loss on the final fourth-down play. The stand turned back eight plays inside the North Texas six-yard line, seven of them snapped inside the Mean Green three. "I was just blown away by that goal-line stand," said North Texas coach Dan McCarney, whose team is now 6-3 overall and 4-1 in Conference USA play after knocking off the C-USA West Division co-leaders. "It was really representative of this team's toughness, it's never-say-die attitude." "Everyone was just doing their job," said defensive back Kenny Buyers, who had a team-high 10 tackles. "It's just the best feeling." Rice's last hope was extinguished by an interception by Marcus Trice, his second of the game, late in the fourth quarter. "We're not in a bowl yet, we're just bowl eligible," McCarney added. "We've got a lot of work to do. But this is a major milestone. "That was a great example of character out there." North Texas opened the game on offense for the first time this year, but the experience didn't sit well. The Mean Green was unable to establish its run game, while the Rice secondary blanketed Chancellor while getting pressure on quarterback Derek Thompson, holding North Texas to just 130 yards total offense in the first half. The only North Texas score came on a fumble forced by Marcus Trice and returned 55 yards for a touchdown by Zach Orr. The Owls, however, started gaining chunks of yards in a 75- and 88-yard scoring drives, both culminating in touchdowns for a 16-7 lead. That's when the game turned. North Texas got its first scoring drive of the night, kept alive by a third-down run by defensive tackle-turned-fullback Richard Abbe and capped by Jimmerson breaking through the right side of the line and hauling two tacklers the final five yards to the end zone. North Texas then forced a three-and-out from Rice, and Chancellor made the Owls pay for punting to him with his fourth kick-return touchdown of his career and second of the season. The Mean Green defense threw another second-half shutout, its third of the year, holding Rice (6-3, 4-1) to just 101 yards total offense in the second half. In addition to Buyers's 10 tackles, Orr, Trice and Will Wright led the way with nine tackles each, and Aaron Bellazin, Brandon McCoy and Alexander Lincoln led a second-half pass rush that sacked Rice quarterback Taylor McHargue four times. What They Said "They were coming at me a lot. I was getting kind of annoyed, and taking it personally. But the coaches believed in me." -- defensive back Kenny Buyers on his 10-tackle night "We saw the jerseys and we were pumped up. We love them." -- linebacker Zach Orr on the black jerseys the team wore Thursday "It was just a fabulous effort by the whole team. It was a complete came, a complete victory." -- coach Dan McCarney "This is not the ceiling for this team. We've got three games left and a lot to play for. There's a lot of hunger down in that lockerroom. Now let's take it from here, keep the edge, keep the hunger." -- McCarney on the rest of the season "It's a great turnaround for this program. We've been disrepected by a lot of teams." -- Kenny Buyers on the win Quick Hits • North Texas worn special uniforms for this game, consisting of black jerseys and pants with the traditional green helmet but with a black eagle logo. • The Mean Green surrendered its first safety of the year, the first since 2009, when a snap to punter Blake Macek sailed over his head and out of the end zone. • North Texas responded, however, when Zach Orr recovered his fourth fumble of the year, returning it 55 yards for his first touchdown of the year. • The fumble was jarred loose by Marcus Trice, his second forced fumble this season. • Quarterback Derek Thompson only threw 13 passes Thursday, but that moved him into third place on the Mean Green all-time list for most attempts, slipping past Scott Davis. Thompson has now thrown 929 passes in his career. • Senior defensive tackle Richard Abbe, who had lined up earlier this year at fullback, got the first carry of his career in the second quarter, running for five yards on third down and picking up a key first down. Five plays later, Antoinne Jimmerson went 42 yards for a touchdown. • Brelan Chancellor's 65-yard punt return in the second quarter was the fourth touchdown return of his career, but first on a punt. He has three kickoff returns for scores, including one this year against Georgia. It was the first punt return for a touchdown for North Texas since 2004. • This was the first game this season that North Texas did not win the opening coin flip. Rice won the toss and deferred to the second half, and the Mean Green started the game on offense for the first time this year. • Trice got his third interception of the season, but it was assisted. The pass was broken up by Zach Orr and tipped by James Jones before Trice pulled it in. The pick, his second in as many games, tied Trice for the team lead in intercepionts with Lairamie Lee. • Jimmerson had his first two-touchdown game of the season, following up his 42-yard run with a 46-yard reception in the third quarter, the game's final points. • Defensive back Kenny Buyers continued his open-field tackling prowess against Rice. He had 10 tackles on the night, matching his career high. • North Texas held Rice scoreless in the third quarter, the sixth time the Mean Green has pitched a shutout in the third period. • North Texas is now 6-0 this year when scoring more than 21 points. • This was the first game this season the Mean Green scored on offense, defense and special teams. Up Next North Texas celebrates homecoming on Nov. 9 against Texas-El Paso at Apogee Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. Read more: http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/103113aad.html

http://www.riceowls.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2013-2014/rice09.html

Denton, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Antoinne Jimmerson ran for a touchdown and caught another to help North Texas down Rice 28-16 on Thursday night. Jimmerson finished with eight carries for 62 yards and one reception -- a 46- yard touchdown. Derek Thompson completed 7-of-13 passes for 104 yards, one touchdown and one interception and Brelan Chancellor returned a punt for a score for the Mean Green (6-3, 4-1 C-USA), winners in four straight. With the win, North Texas became bowl eligible for the first time since 2004 when it finished 7-5 and lost to Southern Mississippi in the New Orleans Bowl. Taylor McHargue was 18-for-28 passing for 222 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while Jordan Taylor and Turner Petersen finished with one receiving score apiece for the Owls (6-3, 4-1), who dropped a conference game for the first time since falling to Tulsa on Oct. 20, 2012. Read more: http://www.macon.com/2013/10/31/2749427/recap-north-texas-vs-rice.html Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2013/10/31/2749427/recap-north-texas-vs-rice.html#storylink=cpy

DENTON, Texas - Despite out-gaining North Texas by 102 yards on offense, Rice University football saw its five-game winning streak snapped in a 28-16 setback on Thursday night at Apogee Stadium. The Owls (6-3, 4-1) brought an eight-game Conference USA winning streak into the contest and looked to remain perfect in league action in 2013, but four big scoring plays and one monster goal-line stand by the Mean Green (6-3, 4-1) proved to be the difference. Taylor McHargue connected for a pair of touchdown tosses in the first half, including a 21-yard strike with Turner Petersen and then the senior found Jordan Taylor behind coverage for a 32-yard score to put the Owls ahead 16-7. The tosses gave McHargue 38 touchdown passes in his career, moving him past Tommy Kramer and into a tie with Randy Hertel for the second-most in program history. McHargue completed 18-of-28 passes for 222 yards and the pair of scores on the night. Taylor led the receiving corps with 71 yards on five catches. Donte Moore set a season high with 52 yards on five receptions. Big returns marked the first half for North Texas, as the Mean Green returned a fumble 55 yards for a score and brought back a 65-yard punt return. In between, NT notched its lone offensive score of the half on a 42-yard rush as the home team staked a 21-16 lead at the intermission. Read more: http://www.riceowls.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/103113aaa.html

Both teams were coming off lopsided victories on Oct. 26. The Owls were led on the ground by senior running back Charles Ross. Ross carried the ball18 times for 101 yards, but the Schertz native was out of the game during the eight-play stretch near the Mean Green goal line. Bailiff said Ross suffered a stinger and was not cleared by the medical staff to come back out during that drive. UNT committed two fourth down penalties to extend Rice’s drive. The second penalty gave Rice first-and-goal at the UNT 3-yard line. From four yards out, McHargue ran backwards, evaded tacklers and then ran forward but was tackled on fourth down before he could get rid of the ball. “That’s the situation where I just have to put it up and have our guys make a play on it,” McHargue said. “I was running around way too long there. It felt like forever.” McHargue completed 18 of 22 passes for 222 yards two touchdowns and two interceptions to UNT defensive back Marcus Trice, including a late interception as time was winding down in contest. The Owls’ point total (16) and their third-down conversions (2 of 13) were both season lows. “We got in a lot of long third downs,” McHargue said. “That was a big factor in why we had such a bad third-down percentage. We really never found any momentum. We’d have a big play and then shoot ourselves in the foot. And I gotta take care of the football. At the end of the day, that’s the biggest thing.” Read more: http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2013/10/gameday-central-rice-at-north-texas/

Rice (6-2) at North Texas (5-3) Time/TV: 7:30 p.m. ET/Fox Sports 1. Surface: Artificial. Line: North Texas by 4½. Sagarin difference: North Texas by 3.34. Synopsis: It would have been a trick indeed to have predicted that Rice and Tulane would be sharing the Conference USA West lead on the eve of November. But C-USA newcomer North Texas is right in the mix as well, suffering its only league loss to the Green Wave on a last-second FG. The Mean Green will try to take advantage of their home turf tonight and hand the Owls their first conference setback. Rice QB Taylor McHargue and RB Charles Ross lead the league's most productive ground attack from their base spread formations. When McHargue takes to the air, he's often looking for WR Jordan Taylor. LB Zachary Orr is the top hitter for the Mean Green defense that has produced 25 takeaways. North Texas QB Derek Thompson is a flashy playmaker, though he can be mistake prone at times. His primary catchers are WRs Brelan Chancellor and Darnell Smith, with Brandin Byrd and Reggie Pegram providi Lorenzo _G_Reyes ng a steady platoon at TB. They'll be opposed by Owls' LB Michael Kutzler and CB Bryce Callahan. Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/10/30/previewing-thursdays-college-football-tv-games/3318351/

1. Rice Owls (6-2, 4-0) Last: (W) 45-7 Vs. UTEP, Up Next: @ North Texas, Last Week Rank: #2 Rice is more than deserving of the top spot after winning their fifth straight against UTEP. Taylor McHargue gained needed confidence as he threw for four touchdowns. Charles Ross is back and fully healthy as that is now three games he has gone over the 150 yard rushing mark on the season. Rice has been the hottest team in the C-USA since October started and will end October with the C-USA game of the week. This game will be super close as Rice will try to pound a tough North Texas defense on the ground. I like North Texas at home, their defense will make the key stops though the Owls will come out strong, North Texas will make more plays to win creating an interesting next couple of weeks atop the C-USA west. AROD's Sharp Pick: North Texas 33 Rice 30 Read more: http://www.minerrush.com/2013/10/30/5044640/conference-usa-power-rankings-week-10

(10-28-2013 11:09 AM)wrysal Wrote: If Chancellor is their best receiver I hope our coaches learned from the Greenberry disaster and move either Gaines or Callahan in to cover him when he lines up in the slot. Rice deployed this approach vs. FAU the week after UH. Alternatively moving either Gaines or Callahan into the slot if FAU moved one of their top 2 receivers in from outside. Seemed to work pretty well. But our slot coverage in general has been more sound since UH. Looking for a weakness in North Texas there aren't many to be found. One thing would be that their QB has pretty consistently thrown an INT or two. Our DBs need to be ready to capitalize should opportunities come along because doing so may be the difference in what should be a close game. (This post was last modified: Today 05:21 PM by talon owl.) http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=657150

We havent discussed this on the blog yet this week, but Rice nose tackle Stuart Mouchantaf is out for tomorrows game against UNT. Its a huge break for the Mean Green. Mouchantaf has 33 tackles, including three behind the line of scrimmage. He was injured in Rices win over UTEP. Mouchantaf is one of Rices better defensive players and a monstrous guy at 290 pounds. Cody Bauers status will be a game-time decision, cutting further into Rices depth up front. Former UNT recruiting target Ross Winship is expected to start in place of Mouchantaf. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/10/rice-losing-nose-tackle-a-great-break-for-unt.html/

What's the poop scoop on attendance and interest in the game on Thursday?? Any buzz around campus regarding students and faculty, greeks etc making plans to be there? Are the professors helping or hurting the cause? Are the promotions (free Ipads etc) having any effect? Just interested on what you are hearing there on the ground.

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/

Joseph Duarte covers the Owls for the Houston Chronicle. Does a nice job. His twitter account is: @Chronicle_Owls

4. North Texas (5-3 Record // 3-1 in Conference // W @ Southern Miss) [5th] Notes: UNT took care of business by smoking a terrible Southern Miss team. That said, their 3-1 record in conference leaves the Mean Green on the outside looking in. In the West division, both Tulane and Rice hold 4-0 records at this point without many opportunities to falter ahead. read more: http://fearthewave.blogspot.com/2013/10/conference-usa-football-power-rankings_27.html