DRC FB turning the tide?

[OldTimer]

Football: Turning the tide

Mean Green hoping for offensive breakout vs. La. Tech

09:18 AM CDT on Saturday, October 22, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas quarterback Daniel Meager has taken his share of lumps during the first five games of the season.

The redshirt freshman has been beaten up and sacked, thrown four interceptions and started in each outing during a three-game losing streak.

That skid was what made the touchdown pass Meager threw last week against Florida International memorable. Not only did it give the Mean Green a 13-10 win, it also gave UNT hope that its floundering offense might start to show some signs of life.

The Mean Green will find out today if this is their week to break out when they take on Louisiana Tech in the first of back-to-back non-conference games.

“Everyone is getting a little more comfortable with what is going on,” Meager said. “We are young, but we are getting a better feel for what we have to do to win games. You would be surprised how much of a difference having a better feel makes.”

UNT has spent half the season waiting for added experience to produce a breakout offensive performance. UNT has yet to score more than one offensive touchdown in a game.

Meager’s 7-yard strike to wide receiver Johnny Quinn in the third quarter against FIU was his first touchdown pass of the season.

UNT ranks No. 116 nationally in scoring offense with an average of 9.2 points a game. Only Buffalo is averaging fewer points a game than UNT among Division I-A teams.

The Mean Green see Quinn’s touchdown and 14-play, 66-yard drive against the Golden Panthers as a sign that they could break out of their funk soon.

“It was not pretty offensively, but we made some strides and put together one nice, long drive,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “We didn’t score as many points as we would have liked based on the turnovers and field position we had, but we scored enough points to win the game.”

A second straight win could be tough for the Mean Green to manage against Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs won their first two games in WAC play before falling to Nevada last week to drop to 2-3 on the season.

“Every time after a loss, you want to get back out there,” Louisiana Tech head coach Jack Bicknell said. “That is our attitude now.”

The Bulldogs will look to a solid offense to get back on track in their homecoming game. Louisiana Tech is averaging 24.8 points a game and ranks fourth in the WAC with an average of 131 rushing yards a game.

The Bulldogs featured one of the top running backs in the country in Ryan Moats last season, but have used a rotation of three players this year. Mark Dillard (298), Freddie Franklin (198) and Patrick Jackson (171) have all rushed for at least 170 yards and are averaging at least 4.5 yards a carry.

Quarterback Matt Kubik has thrown for 725 yards and seven touchdowns, giving the Bulldogs a balanced offensive attack.

UNT’s defense has excelled the last two weeks while facing a pair of Sun Belt teams, limiting Troy to 13 points and FIU to 10. The Mean Green are hoping that success will translate to a non-conference game for the first time this season.

UNT surrendered 54 points to both Tulsa and Kansas State in its first two non-conference games.

The Mean Green have thrived defensively since those losses. Junior linebacker Phillip Graves was named the Sun Belt’s Defensive Player of the Week after posting two sacks, an interception, a fumble forced and a fumble recovery against FIU.

Even if UNT continues to play well defensively, the Mean Green will need to improve offensively to knock off Louisiana Tech and pick up their first non-conference win of the season.

Running back Patrick Cobbs has rushed for 100 yards in three games and has been one of the few bright spots for the Mean Green’s offense.

The senior rushed for 112 yards against FIU in his best performance of the season. The Mean Green are hoping that outing and a rare touchdown pass from Meager are signs that UNT is prepared to break out.

“We are going in the right direction,” Meager said. “Our running game is coming on. Once we get that established, our passing game will start to come on as well.”

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

North Texas at Louisiana Tech

When: 3 p.m.

Where: Joe Aillet Stadium; Ruston, La.

Records: UNT (2-3), Louisiana Tech (2-3)

Last week: UNT 13, Florida International 10; Nevada 37, Louisiana Tech 27

Line: Louisiana Tech by 20

On the air: TV — none; Radio — KWRD-FM 100.7, KNTU-FM 88.1