Miscues and mistakes doom North Texas in final game of 2016; bowl hopes in question

[Skipper]

Maybe it was just not meant to be.

Needing a win on the final day of the season to become bowl eligible in head coach Seth Littrell’s first year at the helm, North Texas football fell short of its goal. 

Led by a career day from junior running back Aaron Jones, the University of Texas – El Paso handled the Mean Green (5-7, 3-5) 52-34 in El Paso. Jones torched North Texas for 301 yards on 24 carries with four touchdowns. He is now the all-time single season rushing leader in UTEP (4-8, 2-6) history, and only the second Miner to ever rush for 300 yards in a game.

“[Jones] did a great job,” Littrel said. “It just kind of snowballed. We couldn’t dig ourselves out of a hole. At the end of the day, that’s my responsibility and we’ve just to get better and continue to grow.”

UTEP’s 534 yards of total offense were the most allowed by the Mean Green defense this year – and as a result, North Texas will now have to wait and see if it is invited to a bowl game based on its Academic Progress Rate scores.

But Littrell is not banking on it.

“You just never know what the situations are,” Littrell said. “Now we’ve just got to get back and regroup.”

Graduate quarterback Alec Morris got the start under center for the second week in a row, going 23-for-42 with 190 yards and two touchdowns.

The Miners opened the scoring with 6:27 to play in the first quarter on a field goal from 48 yards out to give them a quick 3-0 lead.

The Mean Green had an answer, though, and put together an eight-play, 81-yard drive capped off with a 14-yard touchdown run by junior running back Willy Ivery – his fifth touchdown of the season – to make it 7-3.

Ivery finished with 98 yards rushing along with 58 yards receiving with two touchdowns.

From that point, however, the route was on.

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[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

Here's the bowl hope in question: are we going to a bowl? Answer: yes. 

[MCMLXXX]

1 hour ago, Skipper said:

 

“[Jones] did a great job,” Littrel said. “It just kind of snowballed. We couldn’t dig ourselves out of a hole. At the end of the day, that’s my responsibility and we’ve just to get better and continue to grow.”

Littrel unlike his predecessor takes personal responsibility.

[UNTexas]

I don't think we deserve a bowl, however, for the outgoing players, I hope they get 4 more quarters of football. Additionally, a bowl payment would be great for UNT. (Plus recruiting perks.) Especially if we get in because our student athletes kicked ass in the most important place.

[UNT 90 Grad]

All this talk about deserving a bowl is a bunch of whoey.  This isn't like the top 25 rankings where it's based on the judgements and opinions of a bunch of different people.  Deserving to be in a bowl is a math problem, not opinion.   North Texas deserves to be in a bowl.  That's a fact based on the NCAA rules and the math.  We didn't cheat to get to 5-7 and we didn't cheat to get our APR score.  Now, if you don't like the rules or the number of bowls, that's a different story, but whether or not we "deserve" to be in a bowl is not debatable...it's fact.  

[GrandGreen]

6 hours ago, UNT 90 Grad said:

All this talk about deserving a bowl is a bunch of whoey.  This isn't like the top 25 rankings where it's based on the judgements and opinions of a bunch of different people.  Deserving to be in a bowl is a math problem, not opinion.   North Texas deserves to be in a bowl.  That's a fact based on the NCAA rules and the math.  We didn't cheat to get to 5-7 and we didn't cheat to get our APR score.  Now, if you don't like the rules or the number of bowls, that's a different story, but whether or not we "deserve" to be in a bowl is not debatable...it's fact.  

Under the rules you are absolutely correct.  However no team with a similar record as NT should be in a bowl game.   In fact, I would extend that to 6-6 teams.   But that is not the environment college football is in.  

Sponsors have created a lot of bowls with very limited appeal   Someone has to fill those slots and I hope NT is one of them.    I have a hard time debating that NT deserves a bowl based on this season, however if one is offered NT should definitely take it.   

[Cerebus]

The bowls are there for TV time.  That is why ESPN owns half of them.  They need programming.

Any bowl game will draw eyeballs.

[FirefightnRick]

7 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

The bowls are there for TV time.  That is why ESPN owns half of them.  They need programming.

Any bowl game will draw eyeballs.

It should be fun watching anti-G5 Kirk Herbstreet squirm while trying not to bite the hand that feeds him while discussing 5-7 bowl eligible G5's this bowl season.

 

Rick