Turning Point

[Eagle-96]

What do you consider to be the greatest play in NT History? There are plenty to choose from:

Scott Davis 4 yard TD run to beat SMU in 1990.

Jeremy Pearl interception return for a TD vs Cincinnati in 2002.

Jason Mills 15 yard TD Pass to Bo Harrison to beat Tech in 1997.

Scott Hall 32 yard TD pass to George Marshall to beat NMSU in 2001.

Kickoff return for TD to beat Tennessee in 1975.

Jason Mills TD pass with time running out to complete the comeback vs Oregon State in 1995.

I'm sure some of the older posters can shed some light on the early days.

[PerryG2480]

"The Miracle in the Desert" comes immediately to mind.

[GreenBat]

"The Miracle in the Desert" comes immediately to mind.

That would be the Scott Hall 32 yard TD pass to George Marshall to beat NMSU in 2001.

[PerryG2480]

Whoops, skipped over that one. Wasn't there a crazy fumble or turnover that led to that play though? I think both plays make up "the Miracle."

[emmitt01]

Whoops, skipped over that one. Wasn't there a crazy fumble or turnover that led to that play though? I think both plays make up "the Miracle."

Yes, there was a crazy fumble. NMSU had that game WON but arrogantly ran the ball until Craig Jones caused the fumble that led to that TD.

[greenjoe]

The events that led up to a fumbled snap by Billy Joe Tolliver, recovered by the Mean Green to stop a Texas Tech drive and insure a North Texas win in Lubbock. Circa 1988. Where the tortilla tradition was born.

[DeepGreen]

Kickoff return for TD to beat Tennessee in 1975.

The win against Tx Tech, miracle in the desert, and the win against Oregon State were all great wins but none compare to the win over Tennessee.

Anyone remember the Oregon State QB and who is dad was?

[Eagle1855]

That would be the Scott Hall 32 yard TD pass to George Marshall to beat NMSU in 2001.

man there was nobody that could come through with a clutch catch like George Marshall, right? right?

But yeah, I'd have to say that catch was in fact that catch of his career and one of the more significant plays in UNT history.

[greenminer]

I'll take "True freshman kicks field goal to win game against OU. 2007"

[Eagle-96]

The win against Tx Tech, miracle in the desert, and the win against Oregon State were all great wins but none compare to the win over Tennessee.

Anyone remember the Oregon State QB and who is dad was?

Not sure who the OSU quarterback was but the NT quarterbacks dad was Coach Tom Foolery.

[Travis]

I think the biggest play was the draw on 3rd and long against LaTech that only got 4 yards in the 4th quarter.

I think it was then that one of our big donors turned to our AD and new president and said, "we can't afford to keep this coach"

Which led to... The Dodge

Edited August 29, 2007 by Travis

[NTPhiKap99]

I think the biggest play was the draw on 3rd and long against LaTech that only got 4 yards in the 4th quarter.

I think it was then that one of our big donors turned to our AD and new president and said, "we can't afford to keep this coach"

Which led to... The Dodge

We have a WINNER!

Those other plays were great too.

[Buford_Julep]

It wasn't a game-winning play, but the play that sticks out in my mind most was a block by Cougar McBride that left an open path for a Mean Green TD on a punt return. It was a devastating hit. Everyone in the crowd let out with an involuntary "Ughhhhhhhhhhh."

This play most likely happened early in the 4th quarter of a 42-17 win over Louisiana U in 2001. Ty Jackson probably returned the punt 50 yards. There is no doubt in my mind that it was Cougar McBride that made the hit.

[Evan]

Yes, there was a crazy fumble. NMSU had that game WON but arrogantly ran the ball until Craig Jones caused the fumble that led to that TD.

That was quite a game.... A few ther things from that game

1. They made all of the UNT fans move over one section because we were sitting in a "reserved" section of their empty stadium. Their fans started booing their own stadium staff for making us move.

2. The "swinging" gate was a big part of the winning drive.

3. When the game was over the UNT fans went crazy, I have footage of a very happy Booger skipping towards the fans in the stands, all the players came to the sidelines and then.......

4. They shut off the lights in the Stadium so the celebration wouldn't be seen.......

5. They next day the NMSU game recap by their SID used spellcheck and changed all of the "UNT" references to "NUT", of course he was just bitter having been chased away from UNT a year earlier

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

I don't even know if I want to get in this after Travis' definitive reply. That's definitely the winner.

The name of the player that returned the kickoff to beat Tennessee was Sears Woods.

Abner Haynes scored a touchdown and the winning two points reception to beat Tulsa and give us a share of the MVC title in our first year in the conference.

Craig Jones fumble recovery that led to the 'miracle in the desert' win.

Jason Mills completion to Brod McGrew on the last play that gave us a win over Utah State.

[Ibleedgreen]

I enjoyed the six sacks of Chris Simms.

[Cr1028]

Since I've only been following the program closely since the '05 season, I'll have to say Woody's TD run against SMU was the greatest play I've seen in person yet.

[KingDL1]

My favorite was the dominating sack of DD by RV, followed by the awesome recovery of TD to lead us forward.

[greenminer]

Since I've only been following the program closely since the '05 season, I'll have to say Woody's TD run against SMU was the greatest play I've seen in person yet.

I wish someone had video of that.

[Cooley]

The Sports Center moments of all Sports Center moments (before Sports Center, btw)

Win

1) Sears Woods' kickoff return TD of 90+ yards to seal a North Texas State upset victory over the University of Tennessee in front of 75,000 Knoxville stunned fans.

Loss

1) The out of bounds touchdown pass given to UT in the final moments of our upset of UT. (This is the game where Tim Donaghy got his start)

[flyeater]

Hopovac's FG last year to end that 7 OT torture session with FIU was a personal favorite...at that moment.

[FirefightnRick]

I think the biggest play was the draw on 3rd and long against LaTech that only got 4 yards in the 4th quarter.

I think it was then that one of our big donors turned to our AD and new president and said, "we can't afford to keep this coach"

Which led to... The Dodge

Sadly that happened more than once. In fact, one donor who gave a substantial amount of money back during the '02 season was so beaten down that by last year he didn't even own season tickets.

QUOTE(emmitt01 @ Aug 29 2007, 04:21 PM)

Yes, there was a crazy fumble. NMSU had that game WON but arrogantly ran the ball until Craig Jones caused the fumble that led to that TD.

That was quite a game.... A few ther things from that game

1. They made all of the UNT fans move over one section because we were sitting in a "reserved" section of their empty stadium. Their fans started booing their own stadium staff for making us move.

2. The "swinging" gate was a big part of the winning drive.

3. When the game was over the UNT fans went crazy, I have footage of a very happy Booger skipping towards the fans in the stands, all the players came to the sidelines and then.......

4. They shut off the lights in the Stadium so the celebration wouldn't be seen.......

5. They next day the NMSU game recap by their SID used spellcheck and changed all of the "UNT" references to "NUT", of course he was just bitter having been chased away from UNT a year earlier

Not sure anything can beat a last second return for a TD against Tennessee but the "Miracle In The Desert" was right up there in the way it all came down. Not only did they make all UNT fans move, but Emmitt and Zeke went back to the ticket office and BOUGHT two tickets in that same reserved section so that they would have a paid ticket in hand to be in that section and were still forced to move. I shit you not this happened right in front of our eyes!

At one point in that game an NT player was hurt and a timeout was on the field and the stadium fell silent. NMSU's band was getting ready to come down out of the stands so they were not ready to play during the time out. But they somehow found a way to yell a unified chant that was heard by everyone during the silence: "NORTH TEXAS SUCKS!!!!!!". I couldn't believe a band director would allow that while a stadium is obviously silent due to a long pause for an injured player on the field?

The treatment of NT fans was so bad that it got around to the point that the next day after I got back and everyone started to talk about it here on GMG.com that I recieved a personal phone call from a major NMSU donor in Albequerque, apologizing for the treatment and wanted names and descriptions of people and what was said. He felt the longstanding rivalry that both schools had held over the years didn't deserve it and he was embarrassed. I gained a lot of respect for NMSU that night for what he had to say.

And then like Emmitt said, NMSU lost that game two or three times. All they had to do was kneel on the ball and it was over. During the winning drive on 4th down, Scott Hall pitched back and went out for a pass over the middle and went up high and caught it for a first down although he was high-lowed after the catch. How he got up after that hit? Then without a timeout and the clock running under 20 seconds he hit Marshall down the left sideline. It was directly across the field from us in which we were all sitting down low on the goal line. It looked as if the DB would close and intercept, but he took a wrong angle and it went right through his outstretched arms and into Marshall's, but wait! Marshall slowed down as if he caught the ball out of bounds? I just knew right there that was the end of the game. But no, he's still going, turning around and looking back, he's gonna walk into the endzone. Suddenly I realize the players are mauling him because as it's turned out, it's a TD with a couple of seconds left on the clock??????????????????

Best 12 hour ride back to Fort Worth, EVER!

Rick

[jimbojimjim]

I wish someone had video of that.

Miner, check the highlight reel from that week's episode of North Texas Sports Zone, the play is in there.

[NM Green]

Miracle in the desert for sure! I had pretty much chalked it up to we are getting better and gave it our best shot - then WHOA!

magical

GMG

[UNTLifer]

1) The out of bounds touchdown pass given to UT in the final moments of our upset of UT. (This is the game where Tim Donaghy got his start)

Who knows what would have happened to our program had we not gotten screwed? This could be the biggest play ever.