DMN SMU,NT close, but meetings far apart

OldTimer · September 8, 2006

SMU, UNT close, but meetings are far apart

07:46 PM CDT on Thursday, September 7, 2006

By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News

The man responsible for the Safeway Bowl won't be there Saturday night to watch SMU play North Texas at Fouts Field. But Matt Simon will be closely monitoring the action from his home in the Baltimore area.

"I wish I was there," said Simon, who was dismissed as the Baltimore Ravens running backs coach this year. "This is what college football is all about – rivalries. Yeah, you have Texas-Oklahoma, but for most of the people in the Metroplex, have they really been to the OU campus? Or outside of driving by it on the highway, have people stepped on Texas' campus in Austin?

"SMU and North Texas are two schools where most people have been at some point."

The Safeway Bowl was born in 1994 when Simon, North Texas' coach, challenged SMU to a football game in a supermarket parking lot.

"I'd like to play because I think we could beat them," Simon said at the time. "And my players feel the same way. If they'd like to play on a Safeway parking lot ... just give us a date and time."

There's no easy explanation as to why the schools, just 40 miles apart, haven't met on the football field since 1992.

Tom Rossley, who was coaching SMU at the time and now lives in Wisconsin, said scheduling was a reason the two couldn't get together.

"When I see him [simon] today, we laugh about it," said Rossley, who was dismissed as Green Bay's offensive coordinator after last season. "I understood what he was trying to do. Coaches will do anything to sell tickets."

If North Texas fans felt snubbed by their well-heeled, private school counterparts in University Park, then the Mustangs felt there wasn't much to gain from renewing the series.

With both teams seeking more regionally aligned opponents, especially those near and dear to the old Southwest Conference, UNT aand SMU are playing Saturday night.

"I've always felt like there should be three teams playing each other in the Metroplex," UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. "TCU, SMU and North Texas should be playing each other every year regardless of what league we're in. Now other people have different opinions on that, and they're entitled to that."

The series started in 1922 with SMU winning 20 of the first 22 games. The schools stopped playing after the 1942 game.

In 1973, North Texas coach Hayden Fry persuaded both schools to meet. He had some personal incentive to play SMU; he coached the Mustangs from 1962 to 1972.

"I've always thought it was a natural rivalry," said Fry, who's retired and living in Nevada. "We had to talk SMU into playing us back then, and I'm grateful that they did."

The Mean Green had a chance to beat the Mustangs in 1974 but missed on scoring opportunities in the fourth quarter and lost, 7-6.

Fry got his revenge in 1977, when North Texas beat SMU, 24-13, at Texas Stadium. UNT, a Division I-AA program, was 10-1 that season but didn't go to a bowl.

Whereas that might have been North Texas' biggest win in the series, no UNT loss was as painful as the 1989 game. Expectations were high with North Texas coming off an 8-4 season. SMU was playing its first season after receiving the death penalty.

The Mustangs won, 35-9.

"It was so embarrassing," said Rich Phillips, a 1993 UNT graduate who is the radio voice of SMU football and basketball. "Maybe we were supposed to be good that year, I don't know. But it was tough to lose that game."

The series wasn't resumed after SMU won, 28-14, in 1992.

Part of the reason for the lack of interest in renewing the series was transition at SMU, which had a new president and athletic director. When Jim Copeland became athletic director in 1995, he wasn't interested in playing UNT.

"It was like it wasn't going to happen," said Mike Cavan, the former SMU coach who works in fundraising at Georgia. "The feeling was we didn't have anything to gain."

Two years ago, SMU coach Phil Bennett, UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal and Dickey decided that had to change. The three were on the same football staff at LSU.

Bennett, who wants to play more teams near Dallas, convinced Copeland and senior administrators that a game was needed.

"We thought it was important to get regional rivalries," Bennett said. "We think financially it's a good move for us. When I came here, our first four years of scheduling was set, and this one [2006] is the first one where I was involved. To me, playing this game is a no-brainer."

North Texas expects more than 25,000 at Fouts Field for a game with major implications for the two schools.

Should SMU lose, the Mustangs would be 0-2 going into a home opener against I-AA Sam Houston State. If North Texas wins, the Mean Green would be 1-1 and could gain some momentum in recruiting.

"I'm sure they're anxious," Bennett said of UNT. "But I'm going to tell you something: We're anxious, too."

E-mail cwatkins@dallasnews.com

NT80 · September 8, 2006

The Safeway Bowl was born in 1994 when Simon, North Texas' coach, challenged SMU to a football game in a supermarket parking lot.
"I'd like to play because I think we could beat them," Simon said at the time. "And my players feel the same way. If they'd like to play on a Safeway parking lot ... just give us a date and time."
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Fry got his revenge in 1977, when North Texas beat SMU, 24-13, at Texas Stadium. UNT, a Division I-AA program, was 10-1 that season but didn't go to a bowl.
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I wish the current staff had Simon's "I think we could beat them" attitude.

And to Calvin: NT was not I-AA in 1977.

Zeke · September 8, 2006

I wish the current staff had Simon's "I think we could beat them" attitude.
And to Calvin: NT was not I-AA in 1977.
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Was there even such thing as 1AA in '77?

NT80 · September 8, 2006

Was there even such thing as 1AA in '77?
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No.

gangrene · September 8, 2006

"We thought it was important to get regional rivalries," Bennett said. "We think financially it's a good move for us. When I came here, our first four years of scheduling was set, and this one [2006] is the first one where I was involved. To me, playing this game is a no-brainer."
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Glad to hear he feels that way.

Talon90 · September 8, 2006

Calvin - How do you forget to add the 1990 14-7 UNT WIN at a SOLD OUT FOUTS FIELD with a fight between both teams players on the field right before half time?

September 8, 2006

Was there even such thing as 1AA in '77?
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Close. The first 1-AA playoff was in 1978. North Texas dropped to 1-AA in 1983 and returned after the 94 season. We were Division 1-A or its equivalent (major college, Division I, Division I-A) from 1953 through 1982 and 1995 to the present. This will be our 42nd year at the highest classification.