UNT fourth in preseaon poll

[MeanGreen61]

UNT fourth in preseason poll

Louisiana-Lafayette picked to win Sun Belt Conference

09:11 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 25, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

NEW ORLEANS — North Texas coach Darrell Dickey doesn’t plan to alter what he tells his team about the Preseason Sun Belt Conference Poll, even though the Mean Green’s place in it has changed dramatically in the last year.

UNT was picked fourth when the poll of the conference’s eight head coaches was released on Monday during the opening session of the Sun Belt’s Media Days.

The Mean Green was picked to win the league title last season, but ended up finishing 2-9 and seeing its four-year reign as conference champion end.

“We don’t put a lot of stock in the poll, and we didn’t when we were picked to win,” Dickey said. “We knew we still had games to play and there were a lot of things that could happen between when the poll came out and the end of the season.”

Louisiana-Lafayette was picked to win the league title after finishing in a three-way tie for the top spot last year with Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State, which won the tiebreaker and represented the Sun Belt in the New Orleans Bowl. UL-Lafayette received three first-place votes, while Arkansas State and Troy received two and ULM one.

UNT did not receive a first-place vote.

The Sun Belt’s coaches said the poll and the tight race for last season’s conference title show the balance in the Sun Belt.

“There is a lot of parity in this league,” ASU coach Steve Roberts said. “It was always there. It just wasn’t as evident when North Texas was winning four conference titles in a row.”

UL-Lafayette is hoping to follow in the Mean Green’s footsteps and win consecutive titles behind perhaps the best one-two offensive punch in the league in quarterback Jerry Babb and running back Tyrell Fenroy.

Babb finished with 1,259 yards of total offense last season, despite a shoulder injury that kept him out of three games and limited him in another. Fenroy rushed for 1,053 yards as a freshman.

“We have a lot of kids coming back, which is what draws people to vote for you,” UL-Lafayette coach Rickey Bustle said. “I am excited about our players. This is the first year we really have a number of experienced players coming back.”

UNT returns 16 starters who are looking to bounce back from a season that was gut-wrenching not only because of a 2-9 record, but also because of how close the Mean Green were to winning a few more games.

UNT lost five games in conference play by a touchdown or less.

Those close losses, not the preseason poll, have fueled a renewed hunger for the Mean Green.

“I have seen a positive attitude,” UNT wide receiver Johnny Quinn said. “Everyone is excited about this year, putting last year behind us and getting back to where we used to be. There is definitely a new hunger.”

UNT is hoping that renewed drive and an experienced roster will help the Mean Green succeed as an underdog in what the league’s coaches expect to be a tight race for the Sun Belt title.

“What I have said for the last five years, I will say again. Everybody in this league has a chance to compete for the conference championship,” Dickey said. “That’s what makes this an exciting league.”

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