DRC scheduling best teams has pluses, minuses

[OldTimer]

Scheduing best teams has pluses, minuses

11:38 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 30, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Easing into the season hasn’t been an option for North Texas for the last few years.

There are no cupcake games on the Week 1 slate. No tune-up tilts that give UNT a win to pencil in on its schedule.

This year marks the fourth straight season the Mean Green have been slated to open against a team ranked among the top 10 in the country. It’s a challenge that has both an upside and a downside.

UNT will receive national exposure when it begins the 2006 season on Saturday at Texas, not to mention a big financial boost for its bottom line. But it will also face long odds against the defending national champion.

“Our players are excited about playing Texas,” UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. “We will find out about who the competitors on our team are right off the bat. You go to Austin and are down there on that field looking across the line at the defending national champion.”

Sky Pruitt is just one of several players who has an idea of what the experience will be like. The defensive lineman from Hayden Lake, Idaho, is a fifth-year senior who experienced openers against No. 1-ranked Oklahoma in 2003 and No. 2 Texas in 2002.

“I love it,” Pruitt said. “Look at the atmospheres we have played in like Texas and Oklahoma. It’s awesome to play in atmospheres like those. … It also helps out because we get to see the best competition in the country. You play the best when you are playing against the best. It’s good for the program. Maybe one of these years we will knock one of the big boys off.”

UNT’s players think opening the season against a tough opponent gives them a better idea of where they stand before the beginning of Sun Belt Conference play.

“We put all that hard work in during two-a-days and then go play Texas or Oklahoma,” UNT senior offensive lineman Joel Foster said. “We come back and watch film. It’s a good way to see what we need to fix and where we need to get better.”

There is also a financial benefit for the athletic department connected to the game in the form of a guaranteed payout. The guarantees UNT has received in football for playing games against teams like Texas and LSU the past few years have helped fund the department as a whole.

Not every aspect of a tough game to open the season plays in UNT’s favor, though.

Some teams ease their way into the season with games against lower-caliber squads so they can answer lingering questions from fall practice about who their top players will be and iron out aspects of their approach for the season.

UNT has faced those same challenges while taking on some of the top teams in the country.

The Mean Green are still sorting out their quarterback situation and also have questions to answer at tight end and their offensive line heading into their showdown with the Longhorns.

Sophomore Matt Phillips will start the first game of his career at quarterback against the Longhorns.

Three of UNT’s first four games are on the road with a showdown with rival SMU at home in the second week of the season sandwiched in between. The Mean Green have five home games this season, marking the 10th straight season UNT has had have five or fewer.

“A lot of people don’t realize what these kids are asked to do to go on the road and play in hostile environments as many times as we do against the people we do,” Dickey said. “Our schedule is very challenging. It’s an opportunity for exposure, but it’s very difficult on a football team.”

Quinn says he is ready to go

Senior wide receiver Johnny Quinn said on Wednesday that he is ready to play against Texas after going through his first full practice since breaking bones in his left hand on Aug. 21.

Quinn, who has led UNT in receiving in each of the last three seasons, caught passes, punts and kickoffs while wearing a cast.

“My hand feels a lot better,” Quinn said. “I did everything I have done before in practice today. [The injury] is a little adversity that I will have to overcome.”

Quinn will receive a brace this morning that he will wear in the Texas game and should learn from UNT’s coaches what his role will be against the Longhorns.

Dickey felt more comfortable with Quinn’s status after seeing him in practice.

“It didn’t seem like he had limitations,” Dickey said. “Obviously it’s not going to be as good as playing without it, but it was not like he was out there with the ball bouncing all over the place. He had no problem fielding punts or kickoffs. He caught the ball. About the only thing he can’t do is throw a halfback pass. We don’t see his role being limited by having a cast on. He handled everything very well and will play special teams.”

Dickey show moving to TV

UNT’s weekly coaches show, the Mean Green Insider, kicked off on Wednesday with a new television format.

The school had broadcast a radio show based out of local restaurants and other locations for more than a decade, but will now have a television show that can be seen locally on Ch. 22 on Wednesday at 7 and 11 p.m.

The show will then be replayed at the same time the next two days and will also be available on the UNT athletic department Web site: www.meangreensports.com

“We didn’t get the following we wanted with the radio show because Monday night is a hard night for a lot of people to come out, but it was the best night for the coaches,” UNT deputy athletic director Hank Dickenson said. “The TV show we think gives us an opportunity to reach a lot more people.” BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

North Texas top openers

The North Texas football team has opened its season by facing some of the top teams in the country the last few seasons. The following is a look back.

Year Opponent Score

2004 No. 7 Texas L, 65-0

2003 No. 1 Oklahoma L, 37-3

2002 No. 2 Texas L, 27-0

-- Note -- UNT was scheduled to open the season at No. 7 LSU in 2005, but the game was rescheduled due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina.