DRC FB too far out of reach

OldTimer · September 17, 2006

Football: Too far out of reach

Tulsa scampers away from North Texas in second half

12:15 AM CDT on Sunday, September 17, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

TULSA, Okla. — All the momentum North Texas built last week with a win over metro-area rival SMU all but vanished into a hot and steamy Saturday night following a game against Tulsa at Skelly Stadium.

UNT struggled to get anything going offensively against the Golden Hurricane and squandered a solid defensive performance in the first half as Tulsa got on track and raced away for a 28-3 win.

AP

Tulsa running back Tarrion Adams, left, runs away from North Texas defensive end Jeremiah Chapman during the first half on Saturday in Tulsa, Okla.

“Anytime you lose it’s disappointing,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “We expected to play much better. … They played better than we did tonight. They coached better than we did.”

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the game was the way UNT (1-2) played offensively after scoring 24 points in its win over SMU. The Mean Green had reason to believe they could build on that performance behind quarterback Woody Wilson, who came off the bench to lead UNT to its win over the Mustangs.

Wilson made his first career start against Tulsa, while senior wide receiver Johnny Quinn played for the first time this season without a cast on his broken left hand.

Neither player provided UNT the spark it needed against Tulsa (2-1), which limited the Mean Green to 89 yards of offense.

Wilson completed 4 of 5 passes for 37 yards to lead the Mean Green. Running back Jamario Thomas, who seemed to get on track with 90 yards against SMU, had just 33 against the Golden Hurricane. Quinn had just one catch for five yards.

“I can’t say too much about what happened tonight other than we just have to get better as a team offensively, including myself,” Wilson said.

UNT’s offensive struggles proved costly after the Mean Green’s defense provided ample opportunity to take control in the first half. UNT defensive linemen Blake Burruss and Jeremiah Chapman intercepted passes and the Mean Green held Tulsa scoreless until the final play before halftime.

UNT failed to take advantage when it only came away with a 23-yard field goal from Denis Hopovac in the second quarter that gave it an early 3-0 lead.

“That was the difference,” Thomas said. “Any time our defense gives us chances like that, we expect to put the ball in the end zone.”

Tulsa took the lead for good with a 13-play, 96-yard drive at the end of the first half that the Golden Hurricane capped with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Paul Smith to tight end Ted Curtis on fourth down. Tulsa converted three fourth downs on the drive, including one on a penalty after UNT appeared to come up with a drive-killing play.

Redshirt freshman defensive back Korey Washington tipped the ball away from tight end Kyle Grooms, but sophomore linebacker Germaine Dawson was flagged for being offside, giving Tulsa a first down at UNT’s 9-yard line.

The Golden Hurricane took control from there in the second half, rattling off 28 unanswered points after UNT took its early lead. Smith threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Golden Hurricane.

The Mean Green never found a way to answer, despite several opportunities early.

“It was a very frustrating night for us, especially offensively,” Dickey said. “We came out early, created some opportunities, took advantage of one of them and squandered a few others. … From then on we couldn’t get anything going.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

untbowler · September 17, 2006

“It was a very frustrating night for us, especially offensively,” Dickey said. “We came out early, created some opportunities, took advantage of one of them and squandered a few others. … From then on we couldn’t get anything going.”

Should read the coaches got turtle syndrome and forgot how to call a game offensively. Do they even watch game film?

FirefightnRick · September 17, 2006

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the game was the way UNT (1-2) played offensively after scoring 24 points in its win over SMU.
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Our offense didn't score 24 points against SMU, they scored 17. Our defense scored the other 7 by running in a blocked punt for a TD at the start of the game. Without our defense scoring we don't win either of our last OOC wins vs Baylor or SMU.

Carry On.

Rick