DRC today: FB Notebook MG manage to move ball

[OldTimer]

Football notebook: Mean Green manage to move ball

09:11 AM CST on Sunday, October 30, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

BATON ROUGE, La. — North Texas didn’t score the number of points it hoped in a 56-3 loss to LSU on Saturday — not even close.

What the Mean Green did manage was to move the ball a little against the seventh-ranked Tigers. UNT coach Darrell Dickey and several Mean Green players saw that as a sign of progress.

“We came out and established the run and that helped us to be more effective in the passing game,” UNT receiver Johnny Quinn said. “I don’t know how much better we were, but we did move the ball against the seventh-ranked team in the country.”

UNT finished with 206 yards offensively, but squandered several scoring chances. The Mean Green had a 24-yard field goal blocked, which Dickey described as disappointing.

Harmon moves into starting lineup

Junior tight end Robert Harmon moved back into UNT’s starting lineup in place of fellow junior Beau Davidson, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the Mean Green’s loss to Louisiana Tech last week.

UNT has used three tight ends in its starting lineup this season. Davidson started the first two games of the year before Harmon started the next two. Junior Jimmy Chaney then started the fifth game against Florida International before Davidson regained the starting job against Tech.

Harmon entered the game as the Mean Green’s leading receiver among UNT’s tight ends with four catches for 64 yards.

UNT has struggled to match the production in the passing game it received from its tight ends last season when Andy Blount finished second on the team with 30 catches for 427 yards and five touchdowns.

Quinn extends catch streak

UNT wide receiver Johnny Quinn didn’t waste any time in extending his streak of games with at least one reception during the Mean Green’s game against LSU.

The junior snagged a 5-yard pass from quarterback Daniel Meager on UNT’s first drive of the game, giving him a catch in 32 straight games. Quinn’s streak ranked No. 10 among receivers playing at Division I-A schools heading into the weekend. He finished with five catches for 58 yards.

Trick punt costly for UNT

UNT saw a bit of trickery backfire on its first drive against LSU.

The Mean Green drove from deep in their own 18-yard line to the LSU 45, where they faced fourth-and-3. UNT lined up as if it would go for the first down, but had quarterback Daniel Meager try to pooch kick the ball to pin the Tigers deep in their own end of the field.

The plan proved costly when Meager’s punt only traveled 14 yards.

Briefly …

Nick Bazaldua’s 50-yard field goal in the second quarter was just the 16th in Mean Green history of at least 50 yards. The kick was the second longest of Bazaldua’s career and his season long. The senior kicked a 51-yard field goal last season in a win over New Mexico State. … UNT spent two timeouts on its first possession of the game. … UNT caught a break in the third quarter when LSU kicker Chris Jackson missed a 47-yard field goal at the end of the Tigers first possession of the second half.

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

[NT80]

…  UNT caught a break in the third quarter when LSU kicker Chris Jackson missed a 47-yard field goal at the end of the Tigers first possession of the second half.

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That's right, a 59-3 score instead of 56-3 might have dropped us in the polls.