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Heart of Dallas Bowl Link: http://theheartofdallasbowl.com/ DALLAS - North Texas made its return to the postseason a memorable one with a New Year's Day 36-14 victory over UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank. The Mean Green put a cap on a remarkable 9-4 turnaround season on a perfect afternoon at the historic Cotton Bowl. North Texas won a bowl game for the first time since 2002 and finished with at least nine wins for the first time since 2003. "Really proud of my football team," North Texas coach Dan McCarney said. "I dreamed of a day these seniors could go to a bowl game and win a bowl game. I really dread the day when I have to say goodbye to them. But we'll cherish this season. We'll cherish today. "And every time that I think about this football team the first names that will come to mind are these 22 seniors and they've led with class and integrity and pride and loyalty, and unbelievable examples today of how you play the game and how you win a football game. Really proud of my guys. Thanks to our fans, great support. We sent a message today. I think this is a program that's clearly on the rise." That's exactly what the caretakers of the UNT program had in mind when hiring McCarney three years ago. Mean Green football is back. "This is not the end," McCarney shouted to the Mean Green faithful from the on-field trophy presentation. "It's only a beginning." North Texas senior quarterback and Derrick Thompson closed his career as a starter by throwing for 256 yards and two touchdowns to win the Heart of Dallas Bowl MVP. Wide receiver Brelan Chancellor added two rushing touchdowns. "It's such a special experience to be able to come down here, play close to home in front of our fans," Thompson said. "You saw the kind of support the team brought. It was so exciting running on the field and seeing a sea of green. UNT has supported us all year. It's been great. We love our fans. "All the amenities that come with a bowl game, that's great and all, but we were here for one mission and that was to win the bowl game. We never lost sight of that. We did what we had to do. We came out and finished in the second half. It was a great team win." The 22-point margin of victory was easily the largest in a bowl game for North Texas. The Mean Green improved to 3-5 all-time in bowls. The Mean Green defense was able to contain UNLV (7-6) after the Rebels scored on their first drive of the game. UNLV managed just 262 yards of offense, well short of its regular-season average of 423.8 yards. Rebels quarterback Caleb Herring passed for 196 yards and two touchdowns, but was virtually shut down for the majority of the game before throwing a meaningless fourth-quarter score. UNLV ran for only 66 yards for an average of 2.4 yards per carry. The Mean Green took their first lead at 14-7 by grinding out a 12-play, 60-yard drive in the third quarter. UNT converted four third downs, including Thompson's 7-yard touchdown pass to wide-open tight end Drew Miller. North Texas added two more long scoring drives to put the game away. Chancellor had 3-yard touchdown on the opening play of the fourth and Thompson found receiver Darnell Smith from 34 yards out midway through the quarter. The Mean Green tied the game late in the first quarter after recovering a fumbled punt return at the UNLV 42. Running back Antoinne Jimmerson powered in from 1-yard line eight plays later. McCarney believes the performance of the first day of 2014 can be a springboard for the season to come. "It's just a jolt of confidence and something to really show for everyone's hard work, especially the sophomores and juniors have seen how these seniors have led and forged this path for them," he said. "And as the juniors become seniors as of tomorrow, they'll enjoy this forever, and remember it forever, cherish it forever, but in less than two weeks we've got to get ready for the season of 2014. "So that lasting memory from how we got here, to this day, the things you have to do to get here led by these seniors, what a great example for not only the underclassmen but for future teams." Art Garcia (adgarcia@uta.edu), the Assistant Athletics Director for Communications for UT Arlington, has spent nearly 20 years as a sportswriter. He's worked for NBA.com, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the San Antonio Express-News and the Bryan-College Station Eagle. Garcia has also written for FoxSportsSouthwest.com, ESPNDallas.com, CBSSports.com, in addition to other national websites and magazines.

Charting the improvement North Texas has made under Dan McCarney starts by charting the improvement on defense. In his three years as head coach, the unit assigned with stopping the ball has made remarkable progress. Opponents scored nearly 31 points per game in McCarney's first season. That number dropped about a field goal in Year 2. Through 12 games this season, North Texas has allowed just 18.1 point - the school's best showing in 11 years. That ranked first in Conference USA and ninth in the country. The Mean Green allowed just 14.0 points in league games. North Texas gave up 10 or fewer points in four games going into the Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank on New Year's Day against UNLV. "Defensively we were in the bottom 10 in the country when I took this job three years ago," McCarney said. "Understand the leadership of John Skladany we've made dramatic improvement. We had to and needed to, and we've done that." Skladany (pictured) is entering his second season as defensive coordinator, ending a run of three defensive coordinators in three years. That consistency in message, plus the return of UNT's top-six tacklers from last season, proved the catalyst to such dramatic improvement across the board. North Texas is first nationally in Red Zone Defense (60.6 percent), 27th in total defensive (355.5 yards per game), 18th in rushing defense (125.1), 29th in passing efficiency defense (117.4), 14th in first downs allowed (17.7) and 15th in turnover margin (plus-0.8). Senior linebacker/team captain Zach Orr and senior safety Marcus Trice have earned plenty of headlines this season, and with good reason. Orr, an all-Conference USA selection, led UNT with 113 total tackles (51 unassisted) to rank 28th in the country. Trice led the team with five interceptions and eight pass breakups, and his 83 tackles rank third. "Zach Orr is our leader," McCarney said. "Marcus Trice has had an all-conference year as a safety. We have a lot of guys. We play a lot of guys and rotate and try and stay fresh. We've made some tremendous improvement on defense." North Texas ranked third in the country with 32 forced turnovers, and nabbed at least one takeaway in every game. The Mean Green had at least one interception in the last seven games and 10 of the last 11. UNT was 6-1 in games when winning the turnover battled and 0-2 with losing it. Though they may not get the same recognition as some of their more decorated teammates, the job done in the trenches can't be overlooked. Senior defensive end Aaron Bellazin led the squad with 7.5 sacks. The defense took down opposing quarterbacks 34 times, which was 18th nationally and the most at North Texas since 2002. "The defensive line is the most overlooked unit on our team," Orr said. "They are a big reason we are having success defensively. They are getting pressure on the quarterback and holding up against the run." If North Texas is fortunate enough to hold up the Heart of Dallas Bowl trophy at the Cotton Bowl Stadium, count on more than a few hands coming from the defense. Art Garcia, the Assistant Athletics Director for Communications for UT Arlington, has spent nearly 20 years as a sportswriter. He's worked for NBA.com, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the San Antonio Express-News and the Bryan-College Station Eagle. Garcia has also written for FoxSportsSouthwest.com, ESPNDallas.com, CBSSports.com, in addition to other national websites and magazines.