FW*Telegram NT gets fresh start at title run

[OldTimer]

UNT gets fresh start at title runBy TROY PHILLIPS

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DENTON - Ah, conference play for North Texas.

In four of the past five seasons, it was a cleansing time for the Mean Green, a chance for reinvention and redemption.

Close games always seemed to fall UNT's way. The running game clicked. The defense bent, but the other team broke.

Best of all, some of those ugly nonconference trends went by the wayside. Again this season, that's the plan.

UNT (1-3) opens Sun Belt Conference play at home at 6 p.m. today against Middle Tennessee. But predicting the Mean's Green's success in league play is suddenly more unpredictable.

The Sun Belt is 6-21 in nonconference play but is believed to have reached new parity within its own ranks. The league champion is guaranteed a bowl berth (New Orleans). With the end of UNT's league dominance in 2005 and more teams showing improvement after tough nonconference games, no clear-cut favorite exists.

Middle Tennessee comes into today's game 0-5 all-time against UNT, but is that indicative of anything?

"The past doesn't matter," UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. "Last week doesn't matter. Who we've played up to this point doesn't matter. Who they've played doesn't matter."

When considering the "split seasons" between nonconference and conference, UNT's 2-9 finish last season breaks down differently. Two of UNT's first four games were league contests. Two out-of-league games, Louisiana Tech and LSU, were in October.

The previous four years in which UNT won SBC titles were more conventional, with from four to six nonconference games to start the season.

UNT went a combined 2-16 those years before its league openers. Issues then ranged from low offensive production, turnovers, porous defensive nights, mistakes and general inconsistency.

UNT also held Texas to 28 rushing yards in 2002, ran up 507 total yards against Colorado in 2004 and scored 52 points against Baylor in 2003.

This season, a 24-6 victory against SMU is the only sign that UNT could make another title run.

Senior linebacker Phillip Graves, who could return from a knee injury today for limited play, said UNT's younger players are slowly understanding that the success of 2001-2004 is not a guarantee.

"Every game is a fight," said Graves, a vocal, hold-nothing-back leader. "In my opinion, at times it feels like we're a [league] championship-caliber team. At other times, being on the sidelines, I just don't see that desire in some people's eyes that we need to get going. I know they're working on getting that."

Desire is powerful, but sometimes it can't offset having a new quarterback, a young offensive line and secondary, injuries and breakdowns in areas such as special teams.

"With this team, I expected us to be further along," Dickey said. "I still see us making progress, just not as fast as we need to.

"The quarterback we're playing the majority of the time [Woody Wilson] has been in our system four games. He's our best opportunity, and we'll continue to grow with him. We've got to come together more quickly."

IN THE KNOW

Rebound years

North Texas recovered from bad starts to win league titles from 2001-2004. A look at those nonconference starts with some key stats:

Year Start Finish

2001 0-5 5-7

Allowed 428.0 yards per game in last three nonconference games

2002 1-5 8-5

15 fumbles, two 100-yard rushers in six games

2003 1-3 9-4

14 turnovers, changed six offensive starters

2004 0-4 7-5

4.8 yards per play, 8 or fewer first downs twice