DRC MG look for revenge, hope build confidence

[OldTimer]

Football: UNT hopes to build on confidence

Mean Green looking to exact revenge on Tulsa

12:49 AM CDT on Saturday, September 16, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Practice seemed shorter and the sun a whole lot brighter for North Texas this week after the Mean Green’s first win in nearly a year.

UNT not only ended a seven-game losing streak that dated back to the fifth week of last season with a 24-6 win over SMU, but they also knocked off perhaps their most hated rival.

“There is a big difference,” UNT defensive back Dominique Green said. “Everyone is more confident after the win.”

UNT is hoping to build on that confidence today when it takes on yet another regional rival in Tulsa with revenge on its minds. The Mean Green have suffered some disheartening losses during their losing streak over the last two seasons. A 54-2 shellacking at the hands of the Golden Hurricane ranked among the worst.

Not only was the score seriously lopsided, the loss came in the Mean Green’s home opener at Fouts Field.

UNT came into that game with a 1-0 record and high hopes of winning a fifth straight Sun Belt Conference title and a few non-conference games. The Mean Green’s loss to the Golden Hurricane was the first step in a downward spiral that ended in a 2-9 record and a last-place finish in the Sun Belt.

“Last year Tulsa took us to the woodshed,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “And it was every bit as bad as the score indicated.”

UNT changed its staff and its defense after the season in hopes of putting the program back on course. Defending national champion Texas hammered UNT in its season opener, but the Mean Green looked like a whole new team against SMU.

The Mustangs appeared to be poised for a breakout season heading into the fall after a solid 2005 campaign, but looked nothing like the bowl team SMU head coach Phil Bennett said it could be against UNT, which dominated throughout.

While a win over SMU was monumental for the Mean Green, today’s game against Tulsa could provide the best test of how far UNT really has come since last season. The Golden Hurricane beat Central Florida in the Conference USA championship game and Fresno State in the Liberty Bowl last season.

Tulsa returns 16 starters from 2005 and was picked to win the C-USA West Division title in the preseason coaches’ poll.

After a win over SMU, playing the Golden Hurricane is a challenge UNT looks forward to facing.

“This is a different team than last year,” UNT safety Aaron Weathers said. “Last year’s game provides us motivation. Anytime you lose, it gives you motivation, but to get beat like that provides even more motivation. We will be ready on Saturday.”

UNT should be close to full strength for its showdown with the Golden Hurricane. Wide receiver Johnny Quinn will play without a cast on his left hand for the first time this year.

Linebacker Phillip Graves is out, but nearly every other UNT player will be available. Only linebackers Brandon Monroe and Derek Mendoza will be game-time decisions with turf toe and a knee injury, respectively.

The Mean Green will also be entering the game on a high after what might have been their best performance in years against SMU. Quarterback Woody Wilson took charge of UNT’s offense while throwing for 103 yards and rushing for another 74 after coming off the bench, a performance that earned him the starting job for today’s game. UNT’s defense bent, but didn’t break while holding SMU to just six points.

The Mean Green’s near shutout of the Mustangs was their best overall defensive performance in terms of points allowed since UNT shut out Troy in the 2003 season.

Building on its play against SMU could be tough for the Mean Green. Tulsa features one of the best quarterbacks in Conference USA in Paul Smith.

The junior is just one of several key players who return from last season’s Tulsa team that drilled UNT and sent the Mean Green into a spiral.

The scenario is one UNT wants to avoid repeating this season.

“It will be really important to build on the win over SMU,” Green said. “That gave us a lot of confidence after not winning in a long time.”

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

Player to watch

When Tulsa head coach Steve Kragthorpe was asked to describe quarterback Paul Smith earlier this week, one comparison immediately came to mind.

To Kragthorpe, the junior is nearly a carbon copy of Mitch Maher, one of the greatest quarterbacks in Mean Green history.

Kragthorpe coached Maher during his tenure as UNT’s offensive coordinator in the early 1990s.

“Paul is a lot like Mitch Maher in that he manages the game very well,” Kragthorpe said.

Smith showed last season that he could do much more than just manage a game during a 54-2 win over the Mean Green at Fouts Field. Smith threw for 189 yards by completing an efficient 12 of 21 passes.

UNT actually led 2-0 early on and only trailed 5-2 late in the first half before Tulsa blitzed the Mean Green for 49 more points.

If UNT is to turn the tide in the rematch, the Mean Green will have to keep Smith in check. The task is one that few teams have accomplished during Smith’s career.

The junior is already among the top 10 passers in Tulsa history and ranked No. 24 nationally in passing efficiency last season. Smith enters today’s game with 411 passing yards and four touchdowns with just one interception in 2006.

“We have as much respect for Paul Smith as anyone we have played against,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “He can make all the throws.”

Facing a veteran quarterback will be a new experience for the Mean Green this season. UNT opened with a loss to Texas before knocking off Dallas-area rival SMU last week. The Longhorns featured a redshirt freshman making his first start in Colt McCoy, while SMU started Justin Willis, another redshirt freshman from Ryan in his first year as a starter.

The Mustangs’ lack of experience at quarterback tilted the playing field toward the Mean Green, who took advantage in a 24-6 win.

The tables will be turned on UNT today when it takes on the Golden Hurricane. UNT is rotating three freshmen and one sophomore at cornerback after losing both of its starters following last season.

“I am very concerned with our secondary, but we are playing well with some young guys,” Dickey said. “They have been tested and will be again this weekend.”

The challenge is one the Mean Green’s defensive backs believe they are ready to face. SMU completed 20 of 29 passes, but managed just 159 yards through the air against UNT, which intercepted two passes.

“Their quarterback is a very accurate passer, but if we stay in coverage and stay on top of their receivers, we will be all right,” UNT cornerback Dominique Green said. “He has been in the system for a while. He knows how to run their offense.”

Smith’s accuracy is one reason he reminds Kragthorpe of Maher. The UNT Hall of Famer is the Mean Green’s all-time leading passer and was the Southland Conference Player of the Year in 1994.

Kragthorpe has moved on since tutoring Maher and has a new pupil in Smith, one the Mean Green must stop to have a chance to beat Tulsa today.

Key matchups

UNT LB Maurice Holman vs. Tulsa RB Tarrion Adams

Adams does a little of everything for Tulsa’s high-powered offense. The sophomore running back contributes to the Golden Hurricanes’ running game and is also the team’s leading receiver with eight catches for 125 yards and a touchdown.

Adams posted 10 carries for 40 yards and scored on a 4-yard run in Tulsa’s win over UNT last season.

For the Mean Green to turn the tide, their defense and linebacker Maurice Holman will have to keep Adams in check.

Holman has been among UNT’s best defensive players since the 2004 New Orleans Bowl and leads the Mean Green in tackles with 20. The junior won’t be matched up in one-on-one situations with Adams most of the night, but he will have plenty of opportunities to help slow down Adams.

UNT RB Jamario Thomas vs. Tulsa LB Nelson Coleman

UNT received a lift last week when quarterback Woody Wilson came off the bench to lead the Mean Green to a win over SMU, but there is little doubt Thomas is still the key to the team’s offense.

The junior running back has struggled at times this season, but seemed to get on track in the second half of UNT’s game against SMU, when he rushed for all but nine of his 90 yards against the Mustangs. UNT needs Thomas to continue his surge against Tulsa for the Mean Green have a chance against the Golden Hurricane and linebacker Nelson Coleman.

Coleman is Tulsa’s leading tackler with 16 stops on the season and will be at the center of the Golden Hurricane’s plans to contain Thomas and the Mean Green.

What’s at stake

UNT -- The Mean Green are coming off a huge win over SMU at home and can build even more momentum heading into Sun Belt Conference play with a win over the Golden Hurricane, which hammered UNT 54-2 last season.

Tulsa -- The Golden Hurricane are looking to get back on track after falling to BYU and pick up a win that would put Tulsa on track to be 3-1 entering its Conference USA opener against Southern Mississippi on Oct. 3.

The edge

UNT’s offense vs. Tulsa’s defense

Woody Wilson showed signs last week in a win over SMU that he could be the solution to the quarterback woes that have dogged UNT since Scott Hall finished his career after the 2004 season. Wilson gives UNT a threat in the running game other than Jamario Thomas and provides balance in the Mean Green’s offense. Tulsa gave up 49 points last week against BYU, but returns a host of veteran players that helped keep UNT’s offense scoreless last season.

Edge: Tulsa

Tulsa’s offense vs. UNT’s defense

Tulsa features one of the top quarterbacks in Conference USA in Paul Smith, a junior who has thrown for at least 200 yards in 11 games in his career that includes 15 starts. The Golden Hurricane feature several solid skill position players other than Smith, including running back Brandon Diles, a senior who had rushed for 1,193 yards in his career. UNT will counter with a defense coming off one of its best performances in recent years in a win over SMU. The Mean Green are paced by safety Aaron Weathers and a group of veteran linebackers, including juniors Maurice Holman and Brandon Monroe.

Edge: Tulsa

[PlummMeanGreen]

Not sure that I was ever as frustrated as an NT Ex/Mean Green fan after last year's "worst loss in Fouts Field" history against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

The game today will in many ways and (once again) tell us where we are as a non-BCS football program as our game last season (coupled with La Tech) both seemed to do.

Maybe the only other time I got as frustrated was when a Hayden Fry-coached Mean Green team (YES, ALL YE WHO HAVE NOT CENSORED ME WITH THE IGNORE BUTTON READ THAT CORRECTLY) was schooled by Oklahoma State "60 something" to "how's your family doing?" BUT..........that was also the same season we came back to beat UHouston (who would be in the Cotton Bowl the next season); also had a near miss (17-15) with Mississippi State but was also the same Fall campaign that Hayden took his apple-green clad Mean Green up to Knoxville, Tennessee, and the rest of that story is Mean Green history.

Edited September 16, 2006 by PlummMeanGreen

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