DRC NT looks to end slide against Troy

[OldTimer]

Football: UNT looks to end slide against Troy

Mean Green hoping to begin new Sun Belt win streak

09:17 PM CDT on Friday, October 27, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

In some ways, North Texas will come full circle today to the beginning of perhaps the toughest stretch of Darrell Dickey’s tenure as head coach of the Mean Green.

UNT’s game against Troy doesn’t mark an anniversary, at least not in a conventional sense, but it does bring back memories of the end of the Mean Green’s 26-game Sun Belt Conference winning streak last year.

UNT edged Middle Tennessee in what appeared to be a trap game in its season and Sun Belt opener to keep its streak going heading into a showdown with Troy in Week 4. The contest appeared to be a perfect way for the Mean Green to get back on track after a pair of non-conference losses.

UNT let that opportunity slip away with a series of mistakes and saw the streak end on its home field in a 13-10 loss.

“It was a tough way for the streak to end,” UNT quarterback Daniel Meager said of falling at home. “We came back at the end of the game. … Every once in a while the ball doesn’t bounce your way.”

UNT will take on the Trojans for the first time since that loss today at Movie Gallery Stadium in the Mean Green’s latest opportunity to try and pull out of a slide that began after their loss to Troy.

UNT finished 2-9 last season and is floundering again at 2-5 this year. The Mean Green enter today’s game having lost four of their last five. At 1-2 in Sun Belt Conference play, UNT is looking at a last chance to pull out of its slide and keep alive a very slim chance to stay in the race for the Sun Belt title.

Three teams tied for the championship last season with 5-2 records.

“We are taking one game at a time,” UNT assistant head coach Kenny Evans said. “This is a must-win game that all of our focus will be on this week.”

UNT’s players would like nothing more than to turn the season around with a win over a Troy team that is a favorite after having a week off to prepare for the Mean Green following a win over Louisiana-Monroe in its Sun Belt Conference opener.

Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said the time off benefited the Trojans, who used it to savor their win over the Warhawks and get in some extra work for their game against the Mean Green.

“There is definitely a revenge factor,” UNT offensive lineman Joel Foster said. “Last year’s game could have gone a lot better for us. I always want to go out and beat someone who beat us in the past.”

If the Mean Green are to reach that goal, they will have to recover from a tough stretch that only became worse when Dickey suffered a heart attack in the early morning hours of Oct. 13.

Dickey will return to the sideline today after missing last week’s game against Arkansas State. He will face a team that has seemingly had UNT number the last few seasons in his return.

Dickey made the decision after consulting with his doctors.

“I told them [uNT’s players] that they need to treat each game and each practice like it is a special gift and they are blessed being able to pay the game that they love,” Dickey said. “I never thought in a million years that I wouldn’t be able to be with my team because of a medical situation, and it was taken away from me just like that.”

Troy not only knocked off UNT to end its winning streak in conference play last season, it also handed the Mean Green a tough loss in its regular season finale in 2001. UNT had already secured a berth in the New Orleans Bowl, but ended up going to the game with a losing record after falling to Troy 18-16 in Alabama.

UNT had a 14-0 lead early, but lost when Drew Boteler kicked a 22-yard field goal with 24 seconds left. Dickey and four of his assistants are among the few remaining ties to that team.

The Mean Green have just one win in three tries against Troy, a 21-0 win at Fouts Field in 2003, and will be looking to even the score against a team that has always proven to be a tough opponent.

“Troy just plays good, hard football,” Foster said. “They have good intensity. That’s why they are so hard to beat.”

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

Player to watch

North Texas and Troy both dipped into one of the top junior college football conferences in the country while looking for a new quarterback in the offseason.

So far the move has paid off more for the Trojans and it has for the Mean Green. Troy signed Omar Haugabook from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College of the Jayhawk League, while UNT signed Woody Wilson from Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.

Haugabook has been a fixture in Troy’s lineup while Wilson has been in and out as the starter in the Mean Green’s first seven games of the season.

Haugabook enters Troy’s game against UNT today ranked second in the Sun Belt with an average of 175 passing yards a game and first in total offense at 183.8 yards a game. There might not be a more important task for the Mean Green in their game against Troy than to slow down Haugabook and the passing attack the Trojans adopted this season under new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin. The former Kentucky offensive coordinator moved the Trojans from a run-first attack to a spread offense.

“It will be a big challenge for us this week,” UNT defensive back Antoine Bush said. “They are going to spread it out and come after us.”

Haugabook has adapted well to Franklin’s offense and comes into the weekend completing 61.4 percent of his passes. He will be given plenty of opportunities to come after a Mean Green defensive secondary that is loaded with freshmen and sophomores who have shown potential but lack experience on the college level.

UNT ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with an average of 199.1 passing yards allowed a game.

Haugabook will have plenty of weapons at his disposal against UNT, including the Sun Belt’s top wide receiver in Gary Banks.

The junior leads the Sun Belt in both receptions per game (6.83) and receiving yards per game (65.7).

Haugabook’s production at Troy is not surprising considering his background, both in high school and junior college. The former Belle Glade, Fla., standout was a first team all-state selection and ranks sixth in state history with 30 touchdown passes in a single season.

Syracuse, East Carolina, South Florida and Mississippi State all recruited Haugabook before he took a two-year detour in the junior college ranks at Dodge City.

Troy won out in a recruiting battle with Marshall after Haugabook graduated from junior college and has seen its new quarterback develop into one of the top offensive players in the Sun Belt -- one UNT will have to slow down to have a chance to knock off Troy today.

Key matchup

UNT LB TOBE NWIGWE vs. TROY OL ROB AUSTIN

North Texas has just 10 sacks on the season and will have to improve its pass rush against Troy to have a chance to contain the Trojans standout quarterback Omar Haugabook.

The task is one that will fall in part to linebacker Tobe Nwigwe, who will often blitz from his linebacker spot in UNT’s 3-4 defense. Nwigwe has 2 1/2 sacks on the season to lead the Mean Green, who have just one other player with as many as two sacks in fellow linebacker Maurice Holman.

Nwigwe lines up on the outside in UNT’s defense and will look to get to Haugabook off the edge of Troy’s line, where he will often face the Trojans’ left tackle, Rob Austin.

The senior is a converted tight end and is undersized for a tackle at 267 pounds. Despite having a small left tackle and playing a pair of top-notch programs in Florida State and Georgia Tech, Troy has given up only 15 sacks on the season.

UNT will have to push Troy’s total up significantly to have a chance to end a slide that has seen the Mean Green lose four of its last five games.

UNT RB JAMARIO THOMAS vs. TROY DB BRANNON CONDREN

North Texas running back Jamario Thomas enters the Mean Green’s game against Troy on a roll of sorts after rushing for at least 100 yards in three of his last four games while showing flashes of the form that helped him win the national rushing title in 2004.

Thomas’ improvement has been one of the few bright spots for a UNT offense that is averaging just 11.7 points a game.

The Mean Green will need to keep Thomas going if they are to break out of a skid that has seen UNT fall to 2-5 on the season. The key to getting Thomas on track has been giving him room to get started so he can get into the open field and use his strength and agility to make defenders miss or just run over them.

One of the defenders Thomas will have to find a way to get past is Troy safety Brannon Condren.

The two-year starter has 52 tackles on the season, nearly double of any other player on Troy’s roster.

Condren has been solid for Troy all year, but had perhaps the best game of his career came last season when he finished with career highs in both total tackles (12) and solo tackles (10) in a win over the Mean Green.

What’s at stake

North Texas has reached desperation time with five games left in the regular season.

The Mean Green probably have squandered any chance they had at making a run at the Sun Belt Conference title after losing two conference games. One more loss and they are certainly out of it. A loss would also be UNT’s sixth, thus guaranteeing the Mean Green of no better than a .500 record. A win could keep UNT’s hopes for a winning season alive and give the Mean Green momentum heading into a home game against Louisiana Tech.

Troy is already 1-0 in conference play and can take a key step toward the conference title with a win over the Mean Green. The Trojans are just one of four teams without a loss in Sun Belt play with the stretch run of the conference season approaching.

Mean Green offense vs. Troy defense

UNT has struggled all season offensively and enters today’s game averaging just 11.7 points an outing. The Mean Green scored just 10 points in a loss to Arkansas State last week and have juggled three quarterbacks throughout the season. UNT will wait until game time to pick a starter for its game against Troy.

Troy’s strength was once its defense, but the Trojans have sprung some leaks this season while allowing 381.2 yards a game. The total is the highest in the Sun Belt Conference.

Advantage: Troy

Mean Green defense vs. Troy offense

Troy comes into its game against UNT with one of the top passing attacks in the Sun Belt Conference behind Omar Haugabook. The junior college transfer is averaging 175 passing yards a game.

Troy scored 24 points in a win over Louisiana-Monroe last week and scored 20 and 17 against Georgia Tech and Florida State, respectively, earlier this year.

UNT has improved defensively this season, but has a young defensive secondary and ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with an average of 359.1 yards allowed a game.

Advantage: Troy

Coaching

UNT still faces an unstable coaching situation following Darrell Dickey’s heart attack in the early morning hours of Oct. 13. Dickey will return this week, but there is no telling how the Mean Green will adapt to a return to the team’s old coaching dynamic.

Troy coach Larry Blakeney is in his 16th year at Troy and has 10 winning seasons. He also has a 2-1 record against UNT and Dickey.

Advantage: Troy