DRC, NT still looking for return to form

[OldTimer]

Football: UNT still looking for return to form

Motivation key as Mean Green ready for FIU

10:55 PM CDT on Monday, October 2, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas senior wide receiver Joel Nwigwe was around for the best of times in recent Mean Green history.

And like many UNT players and coaches, Nwigwe said Monday that a return to the form the Mean Green showed a few years ago in the last half of the season is still within their reach.

“There are a lot of talented guys on this team,” Nwigwe said. “Once we get the energy, burst and motivation we need, we will be all right.”

UNT began the process of trying to find that motivation again in its first practice since a 35-0 loss to Middle Tennessee in its Sun Belt Conference opener on Saturday. UNT had only lost six games in Sun Belt play since joining the league in 2001 by a combined margin of 23 points before being blown out by the Blue Raiders.

The lopsided loss left the Mean Green looking for a way to get back on track before a game against Florida International on Saturday. UNT’s homecoming game represents what could be the first step in a challenging run to the end of the season.

UNT is 1-4 on the year, ranks last nationally in total offense with an average of 177.4 yards a game and plays four of its last seven games on the road.

The Mean Green have yet to face Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas State or Troy, the teams that were picked to finish in the top three spots in the Sun Belt, respectively, in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll.

UNT’s players believe they have the talent to make a season-ending run, despite an extended slide that has seen UNT go 2-6 in league play the last two seasons.

“It’s not a matter of not being as good as the teams we line up against,” UNT junior linebacker Derek Mendoza said. “It’s a matter of executing better than they do.”

Finding the motivation to get back on track and rekindle the intensity UNT showed while winning four straight Sun Belt titles from 2001-04 is among the Mean Green’s biggest concerns.

UNT has come out flat in several games this season and been outscored 48-7 in the first quarter. The Mean Green have gone 17 straight games without scoring an offensive touchdown in the opening period.

That type of slide would have been unheard of a few years ago when UNT was on top of the Sun Belt. The Mean Green’s veterans can see the difference between the teams of the past and the UNT squads of the last two years that have lost 13 of their last 15 games.

“The energy level is the difference,” Nwigwe said. “The defense from my freshman and sophomore year was energized and self-motivated. They took it week by week, studied their opponent and didn’t worry about the future. That is why they were so good.”

The Mean Green believe that if they can regain their intensity and execute their game plan more effectively, the confidence they showed just a few years ago will follow.

“To be confident you have to prepare and then go out on the field and do what you want to,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “Knowing what to do and how to do it is where confidence comes from.”

UNT’s veteran players know they face a long road, but believe they can get back to the level they aimed for at the beginning of the season in Sun Belt play.

“We couldn’t afford a loss last week and we surely can’t afford it now,” Nwigwe said. “We are not going to worry about anything but Florida International now. We are going to take care of that and then move on and do that week after week. … We are still in the race for the conference title.”

WKU has support of Sun Belt coaches

North Texas head coach Darrell Dickey was among several Sun Belt Conference coaches who expressed support for Western Kentucky moving from Division I-AA to Division I-A and joining the conference’s football league on Monday.

WKU officials have been studying a move to Division I-A and recently said that if they move up, they will join the Sun Belt. WKU is a member of the Sun Belt in several other sports, but plays football in the Gateway Conference.

The addition of WKU would give the Sun Belt nine teams and balance the league’s schedule so that each team would have four home and four road conference games each season.

“I am glad that Western Kentucky wants to be a part of the conference,” Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger said. “They would be a great addition. It would be a major jump from I-AA, but they have prepared themselves well.”

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