North Texas Football Notes

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NORTH TEXAS FOOTBALL NOTES

Dodge sees many similarities in Troy

By ANGEL H. VERDEJO

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DENTON -- With Troy up next for North Texas, coach Todd Dodge said Tuesday his first experience with the Sun Belt Conference after being hired was watching the Trojans in last year's New Orleans Bowl.

Then the coach at Southlake Carroll, Dodge was preparing the Dragons for Austin Westlake in the Class 5A Division I championship on Dec. 23. The day before, Troy beat Rice 41-17. Besides early scouting, Dodge also watched Troy run a spread offense very similar to what North Texas runs now.

"It was ironic -- the first Sun Belt game I saw was the New Orleans Bowl between them and Rice," Dodge said. "It was kind of a comforting feeling to see that the team that was winning this conference and was the talk of this conference was running a very similar offense that we want to put in."

Troy averages 277.5 yards passing and 76.6 rushing per game.

Quarterback Omar Haugabook also caught Dodge's attention, comparing the 2006 conference MVP to Missouri's Chase Daniels, a two-time Associated Press 5A Player of the Year at Carroll.

"Omar is kind of the poster child for the spread offense's quarterback," Dodge said. "It's a deal where people think quarterbacks have to be 6-4, 220 pounds. I met Omar over the summer; he's about 5-11, 215.

"It just goes to show that you don't have to be that prototypical 6-4, 220 pounds to be an outstanding Division-I quarterback."

Fitzgerald moving up

Casey Fitzgerald might not be too well known nationally, but his numbers speak otherwise.

The junior is second nationally with 9.67 catches per game and third with 140.8 receiving yards. He trails Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree, who has entered Heisman conversations.

"You have to put his name right up there with anybody," Todd Dodge said. "Anytime someone has the feel-good story of a walk-on that earned his scholarship, that's a story that you'll always be able to share with your kids.

"But he's pretty good. He's a pretty good athlete, though he didn't come from a program that threw the heck out of the ball in high school."

Briefly

Todd Dodge praised his team, not just for the its first win of the year, but how UNT accomplished some of its team goals set each game. Among them were creating three turnovers, which UNT did, returning two for touchdowns. Goals not reached were no drives stopped by penalty (one) and no three-and-out possessions (two).

It's homecoming Saturday for Troy, which is 72-11-1 in 17 seasons under coach Larry Blakeney at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium.

ONLINE: meangreensports.com

North Texas at Troy

2:30 p.m. Saturday, Troy, Ala.

Radio: KWRD/100.7 FM; KNTU/88.1 FM

Records: North Texas 1-5, 1-2 Sun Belt; Troy 4-2, 3-0

Angel H. Verdejo, 817-685-3810

averdejo@star-telegram.com