DRC: UNT faces tough challenge with Tulsa

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Football: UNT faces tough challenge with Tulsa

09:20 AM CDT on Saturday, September 17, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Johnny Quinn was in the locker room before North Texas’ game against Middle Tennessee last week when a score on a nearby television caught his attention.

Tulsa was in the middle of a nip-and-tuck game with No. 21 Oklahoma, a national powerhouse that handled the Mean Green in their 2003 season opener. UNT will host the Golden Hurricane in its home opener tonight at Fouts Field.

“We didn’t get to see the game, but we watched the ticker while we were waiting to play,” said Quinn, a junior wide receiver. “It was a close game, so we know Tulsa will be a challenge. I’m glad we will get them at home. It will be great for us and our fans.”

Quinn’s assessment is one several UNT coaches and players share because of the unusual situation the Mean Green are in heading into the weekend. UNT’s season-opening game against LSU was postponed due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, forcing the Mean Green to open their season at MTSU. UNT took advantage by knocking off its Sun Belt Conference rival to move to 1-0 on the season for the first time since beating Illinois State to open the 1996 campaign.

The win has created a buzz for UNT’s home opener against Tulsa (0-2). Not only are the Mean Green 1-0, they are taking on a regional rival and could see running back Patrick Cobbs break the school rushing record.

The senior has 2,999 career yards after posting 103 against MTSU and is just 121 yards short of the 3,120 yards Ja’Quay Wilburn rushed for in the 1997-2000 seasons.

UNT ticket manager Gabe Kirkpatrick said his office has been swamped with single game and season sales, although he couldn’t provide an exact count of the number of season tickets that have been sold.

The top four crowds for UNT games in the history of Fouts Field arrived for non-conference games against Texas teams, including a record 29,437 for a game against Baylor in the 2003 season.

Capitalizing on the opportunity that facing a regional rival at home presents could be a challenge for the Mean Green. Golden Hurricane quarterback Paul Smith threw for 246 yards against Oklahoma while tight end Garrett Mills caught 13 passes for 152 yards.

Mills’ totals were career highs.

Tulsa’s performance against Oklahoma was a dramatic improvement over a 41-10 loss to Minnesota to open the season.

“Minnesota jumped on them early, but they turned around last week, went to Norman and played Oklahoma off its feet,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “They looked like an entirely different team.”

UNT is hoping to make a similar jump between its first and second game.

Blue Raiders quarterback Clint Marks completed 21 of 27 passing attempts and finished with 195 yards last week against UNT. The Mean Green tallied 274 yards of total offense, their lowest total in a Sun Belt game since a win over New Mexico State in their 2003 regular season finale.

UNT overcame those shortcomings by intercepting three passes and coming up with just enough big plays on offense to pull out the victory.

“We were very fortunate to come out with a win,” Dickey said. “We are going to have to improve a bunch to win again.”

Cobbs and fellow running back Jamario Thomas will be among the players UNT leans on in an attempt to improve to 2-0. Cobbs won the 2003 national rushing title and was solid in his return against MTSU despite missing the final 10 games of last season with a knee injury.

Thomas, the 2004 national rushing champion, is still rounding into shape after recovering from a hamstring injury, but gained 58 yards on 10 carries against the Blue Raiders.

A game against Tulsa could be a chance for both players to thrive. The Golden Hurricane gave up more than 200 yards rushing to both Minnesota’s Laurence Moroney and Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson.

“They’re a great 1-2 punch,” Tulsa head coach Steve Kragthorpe said. “North Texas has more depth in their offensive backfield than any team we’ve played thus far. It’s going to be a real challenge for us.”

UNT will look to complement its running game with a more effective outing from quarterback Daniel Meager. The redshirt freshman was an efficient 10-for-15 for 122 yards last week, but struggled to get the Mean Green into the right plays in his first college game.

UNT will need to make those adjustments consistently against a Tulsa team coming off an impressive outing against Oklahoma.

“Tulsa is a really good football team,” UNT defensive end Jeremiah Chapman said. “They played Oklahoma close. It definitely caught our attention. If they can hang with those guys, they are doing something right.”