Drc Defense Takes Charge For A Change

[OldTimer]

Brett Vito: UNT defense takes charge for a change

11:54 PM CDT on Sunday, October 14, 2007

Of all the reasons North Texas fans were excited about the arrival of Todd Dodge a few months ago, his potential impact on the Mean Green's defense was at the bottom of the list.

The former Southlake Carroll head coach was hired by UNT because he would put the ball in the air, make the game exciting and – perhaps most importantly – put some butts in the seats at Fouts Field.

That’s what made UNT's upset of Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday seem so ironic.

Dodge finally posted the first win of his tenure at UNT. Only it wasn’t his high-flying offense that delivered the victory. It was UNT’s much-maligned defense that gave Dodge and UNT a 31-21 win over Louisiana-Monroe after five straight losses to open the season.

Defensive lineman Montey Stevenson and cornerback Dominique Green returned interceptions for touchdowns, while linebacker Craig Robertson intercepted a third pass to set up a chip-shot field goal.

"Coach challenged us and said this game is on us," junior defensive lineman Joseph Miller said of the Mean Green's front four. "He put it all on us. We went out and played hard and tried to become the unit that we were last year."

UNT's defense reached that goal in its best defensive performance since late last season. There couldn’t have been better news for UNT at this point in the Dodge era.

If there is one lesson the Mean Green has learned, it’s winning is awfully difficult when a team’s defense is just plain awful. UNT lost to SMU earlier this season, despite scoring 31 points, mostly because its defense couldn’t come up with any key stops in a 45-31 loss.

Oklahoma (79) and Arkansas (66) hung some ridiculous point totals on the Mean Green earlier this season.

The Mean Green appeared to turn the corner -- at least temporarily -- after those losses. UNT inserted Robertson into the starting lineup against the Warhawks and gave freshman linebacker A.J. Penson more playing time.

The addition of Robertson paid immediate dividends when he finished with five tackles, including two for losses, in addition to recording the first interception of his career.

Maybe UNT’s players just got tired of hearing that they ranked last nationally both in scoring defense (51.6 points allowed per game) and total defense (547.0 yards allowed a game) and found some untapped energy and intensity that were also factors in the win.

Whatever the cause of the turnaround, the bottom line is this: For at least one night, UNT did what it took to win defensively. It only seemed appropriate that “Mean” Joe Greene, the legendary UNT defensive lineman, was in attendance to see UNT break through.

UNT gave Greene something to enjoy with its performance against ULM running back Calvin Dawson. The senior had rushed for 100 yards in 10 straight games before the Mean Green limited him to 65 yards on 3.6 yards a carry.

UNT appeared as if it would hold the Warhawks to seven points on the night before giving up a couple of meaningless touchdowns late. Those scores kept UNT ranked last nationally in scoring defense for at least another week with an average of 46.5 points allowed a game.

"We are all really believing in each other, trusting each other and are tackling better," Dodge said. "That was the key when we were facing some good athletes [saturday]."

UNT might not need another outing quite as impressive as the one against the Warhawks to build on its first win, but it will need to be at least solid if the team is to add to its win total.

The Mean Green still has to face Troy and Arkansas State, the teams with the top two offenses in the Sun Belt, in the second half of the season. Navy is averaging 35 points a game and won't be a pushover, either.

UNT appeared as if it might have to score 40 points just to have a chance in those games before it took on ULM. If the Mean Green continues to play like it did on Saturday, that might not be the case.

"The defense played a great, great game," UNT wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald said. "They got us the win."

On a night when UNT came up with an unexpected victory, that might have been the biggest surprise of all.

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