When A Broyles Era Razorback Said UT & North Texas Were...

[PlummMeanGreen]

...see quote in green.

..Below quote from former Frank Broyle's era Arkansas Razorback and now Clemson U AD Terry Don Phillips from Clemson's official athletic site:

"I have told many people that the toughest team we played in my college career at Arkansas was Texas," said Phillips. "The second toughest team we played was North Texas."

Arkansas beat North Texas 17-15 in 1968 when a last minute pass for a North Texas receiver in the end zone was ruled to be trapped."

______________________________________________________________________________________

Many on this boards friend the late Ron Shanklin who caught that pass for North Texas once told me at a Fort Worth Mexican restaurant several years ago that a number of Arkansas' players from that 1968 Razorback team had called him telling him they were embarrassed by the call because they knew he had not trapped that football.

That TD would have won the football game for that North Texas Mean Green football team.

Some of you on this board were at that game so......your take on that play?

The next Fall most of that same Arkansas Razorback football team would play Darrell Royal's Texas Longhorns for the NCAA College Football National Championship that the national sports media back in that day would call "the Game of the Century."

http://www.clemsonti...fo...10aaa.html

(AD Phillips quote in last paragraph)

GMG!

In Closing:

Yes, one really has to shake his head when you realize that the talent level of our Mean Joe Greene era North Texas football teams

were of an NCAA Division 1 College Football National Championship level. Jeez, why couldn't we have just built on that?

GMG ! !

.

Edited May 30, 2012 by PlummMeanGreen

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

Two NFL first rd picks on that team... Joe Green and Cedric Hardeman, the QB [ Ramsey ] started for Denver several years, and the Ron Shanklin (above) played on the first Steeler team to win a Super Bowl and several more played in the NFL. No doubt it was the most talented team UNT ever had. The Coach rod rust later coached the New England Patroits.

[foutsrouts]

...see quote in green.

..Below quote from former Frank Broyle's era Arkansas Razorback and now Clemson U AD Terry Don Phillips from Clemson's official athletic site:

"I have told many people that the toughest team we played in my college career at Arkansas was Texas," said Phillips. "The second toughest team we played was North Texas."

Arkansas beat North Texas 17-15 in 1968 when a last minute pass for a North Texas receiver in the end zone was ruled to be trapped."

______________________________________________________________________________________

Many on this boards friend the late Ron Shanklin who caught that pass for North Texas once told me at a Fort Worth Mexican restaurant several years ago that a number of Arkansas' players from that 1968 Razorback team had called him telling him they were embarrassed by the call because they knew he had not trapped that football.

That TD would have won the football game for that North Texas Mean Green football team.

Some of you on this board were at that game so......your take on that play?

The next Fall most of that same Arkansas Razorback football team would play Darrell Royal's Texas Longhorns for the NCAA College Football National Championship that the national sports media back in that day would call "the Game of the Century."

http://www.clemsonti...fo...10aaa.html

(AD Phillips quote in last paragraph)

GMG!

In Closing:

Yes, one really has to shake his head when you realize that the talent level of our Mean Joe Greene era North Texas football teams

were of an NCAA Division 1 College Football National Championship level. Jeez, why couldn't we have just built on that?

GMG ! !

.

Thanks for the info. I was sitting in the north endzone at the Texas game when we were robbed, but was unaware that something similar had happened up in Arkyland on the other side of the ball nearly two decades previous. I didn't start following NT until the late 70's when I was still a kid, but so many don't realize that we had some serious football going on around Denton back in the latter parts of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. That is why we were probably one or two big seasons away from SWC membership. With just a little more winning and publicity, that membership likely would've had a high probability of success regardless of the serial backstabbers down to our south.

[island eagle]

I was at that game in 68. I was too far away from the pass in question to make a judgement on it, but I knew we had probably lost the game when Steve Ramsey and Leo Taylor fumbled an exchange on the Arkansas 2-yard line, blowing an earlier scoring opportunity. I was sitting right near that area and could see the disaster unfolding as though it were in slow motion.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

This is well-covered territory,but we never should have dropped down.

Kansas State and Northwestern were horrible for most ofthe 1970s and 1980s, the absolute doormats of the NCAA for many of those seasons. But, they never dropped down to I-AA like we did.

Wewere actually competitive and winning the MVC from time to time. You look at the other school in that conference with us at one point or another - Houston, Louisville, Cincinnati, Tulsa, Memphis (State) - they all stuck out tough times as well.

The decision to drop down was terrible. Former MVC conference mates Houston going to the SWC was surely a slap. We had beaten them 28-0 the year before the SWC took them for football (1976), and held an overall 7-3 lead in head-to-head games (we still lead 7-6).

Even during the late 70s and throughout 80s we were competitive with some lower rung Big 8 and SWC schools, beating Oklahoma State (1978), Kansas State (1985), TCU (1986), Texas Tech and Rice...and Texas, truth be told (1988).

When Corky Nelson left, he'd given us four winning season in his final five. What more could have been done? We all know the answer - the school could have gotten behind the program.

In 1991, I was in my second year at UNT. The bottom fell out when we hired the first high school coach, Dennis Parker. A nice enough guy, but....

We had some occassional success after we returned to I-A under Simon and Dickey - wins over Oregon State (1995), Boise State (1996, 1998, 1999), Northern Illinois (1996), Texas Tech (1997 and 1999), Nevada (1998), and Baylor (2003).

Former I-AA colleagues Northern Illinois, Nevada, and Boise State have become bowl regulars over the past decade during their return to I-A:

Nevada - 10 since their return in 1992, including the last seven - YES, SEVEN - seasons in a row.

Northern Illinois - 6 since their return in 1996, including the last four seasons in a row, and six in the last eight.

Boise State - 12 since their elevation to I-A in 1996, including the last 10 seasons, and 12 of the past 13.

Our past leadership - athletic directors, presidents, some coaches - did a horrible job of taking advantage of momentum. Then, the hiring of the second high school coach....

We now have some hope. Or, I should correctly say, we again have some hope. Will we squander it again? Will the team stand up and build on an unexpected 5-7 season? Will the coaching staff continue to grind out wins against even lower rung "big conference" schools when the opportunities arise? Will the administration continue to support what is happening?

And, finally, will the non-gomeangreen.com alumni finally get on board and start coming to games and contributing?

Ladies and Gentlemen, we stand at the precipice of something great? Again?

[UNT86]

Wasn't Art Bryles a "high school coach"?

Just sayin'....

[DeepGreen]

Wasn't Art Bryles a "high school coach"?

Just sayin'....

I believe Bryles followed his son to Tx Tech and spent time as an asst. there.

[PlummMeanGreen]

I believe Bryles followed his son to Tx Tech and spent time as an asst. there.

Phil, didn't you attend that game up in Little Rock? If so, your take on Shanklin's catch and how did the Hog

fans react when they realized that Ronnie had caught that Steve Ramsey pass?

GMG!

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Briles was an assistant at Texas Tech before Houston hired him. Parker and Dodge came straight from high school. Let's...let's keep reality in focus.

Briles got to see firsthand from Mike Leach how to be a college head football coach. Parker, no. Dodge...well, he didn't have, per se, a "high school football plan, or a college football plans, but a football plan."

Evidently, in college, you need one of them fancy college football plans.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

Wasn't Art Bryles a "high school coach"?

Just sayin'....

Frank Broyles.... what does Art Bryles or Briles have to do with anything.

[SilverEagle]

I was at that game in 68. I was too far away from the pass in question to make a judgement on it, but I knew we had probably lost the game when Steve Ramsey and Leo Taylor fumbled an exchange on the Arkansas 2-yard line, blowing an earlier scoring opportunity. I was sitting right near that area and could see the disaster unfolding as though it were in slow motion.

The official YUCCA story..

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61038/m1/297/?q=arkansas

A defensive photo from the game.... #55 in the photo is Richard Gill.

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61038/m1/293/?q=arkansas

offensive photo from the game.

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61038/m1/290/?q=arkansas

[Graddean]

I was at the '68 game. No one left the game, including the Hog fans, that did not believe Shanklin had made the catch. The official must have been the only person at War Memorial that night thinking it was a trap.

[bstnsportsfan3]

hahaha the yearbook says that "the eagles almost up set the PORKERS 17-15" hahahaha

[PlummMeanGreen]

The official YUCCA story..

http://texashistory....297/?q=arkansas

A defensive photo from the game.... #55 in the photo is Richard Gill.

http://texashistory....293/?q=arkansas

offensive photo from the game.

http://texashistory....290/?q=arkansas

Great stuff, Bill, simply great! I've never, ever seen those pics.

And then from Graddean:

"I was at the 68 game. No one left the game, including the Hog fans, that did not believe Shanklin had made the catch. The official must have been the only person at War Memorial that night thinking it was a trap."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yes, we obviously had the Razorback game stolen from us, too, much like the '88 UT-Austin affair, but once again, our University of North Texas Mean Green football program was playing at an NCAA Division 1 national championship level; that is, a level that few of our fellow conference-mates from the past, present or future can say they'd ever accomplished. Wonder if that CUSA blogger from the Carolinas was aware of this, ie, yet another chapter of Mean Green football history before he with one swath of his keyboard crowned another school with extremely short term NCAA D1 and merely a recent success as the cream of the crop of all the new schools coming into CUSA?

The NCAA needs to keep in mind that there are Cinderella stories out there that need to be allowed to happen before they legislate such from ever happening again plus....they need to consider all the future Cinderella stories with whatever play-off plan they have in mind and for the very ones they still really need to put back at tje top of their Top Priorities List......the college football fans of America.

GMG!

Edited May 31, 2012 by PlummMeanGreen

[DeepGreen]

Phil, didn't you attend that game up in Little Rock? If so, your take on Shanklin's catch and how did the Hog

fans react when they realized that Ronnie had caught that Steve Ramsey pass?

GMG!

I was there. One of my more memorable road trips while in college, but I remember very few details of the game itself. All I know it was a hard fought game, UNT was great, Joe Greene and our defense was outstanding, and North Texas belonged on the same field as the Hogs. And who could forget those 45,000 fans all yelling "sooooooooooooooooooooooooie, pig, sooooooooooie!

[drex]

I, too, was at the game. Shank made the catch and the refs had to bail out the Razorbacks. Arkansas was nationally ranked at the time..I think 6th. I made a banner that said Soooie...Foooie, Go Mean Green that we put on the railing at the game and I spray painted a number of hog head car antenna emblems green in the parking lot of a Howard Johnson's (probably one of the most stupid things I did in college). The Talons brought the spirit bell to the game. Not one Razorback fan left that game thinking we were a push over. A newspaper account of the game quoted the Razorbacks as saying our defense was as good as the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a great road trip, as there were a lot of NT fans at the game.

[KRAM1]

and I spray painted a number of hog head car antenna emblems green in the parking lot of a Howard Johnson's (probably one of the most stupid things I did in college).

Well, weren't you the little devil back in the day! Great idea, however...do it again!

[letsgiveacheer]

"Former I-AA colleagues Northern Illinois, Nevada, and Boise State have become bowl regulars over the past decade during their return to I-A:

Nevada - 10 since their return in 1992, including the last seven - YES, SEVEN - seasons in a row.

Northern Illinois - 6 since their return in 1996, including the last four seasons in a row, and six in the last eight.

Boise State - 12 since their elevation to I-A in 1996, including the last 10 seasons, and 12 of the past 13."

Your point is valid but I think we are the only IA team to have dropped back to IAA and then returned. The two schools you mention never played at the major college level until their entry to IA unless I am wrong.

Does anyone else know of another school to play major college ball, drop back and then returned?

[meaniegreenie]

Does anyone else know of another school to play major college ball, drop back and then returned?

I think Marshall falls into this category.

[foutsrouts]

"Former I-AA colleagues Northern Illinois, Nevada, and Boise State have become bowl regulars over the past decade during their return to I-A:

Nevada - 10 since their return in 1992, including the last seven - YES, SEVEN - seasons in a row.

Northern Illinois - 6 since their return in 1996, including the last four seasons in a row, and six in the last eight.

Boise State - 12 since their elevation to I-A in 1996, including the last 10 seasons, and 12 of the past 13."

Your point is valid but I think we are the only IA team to have dropped back to IAA and then returned. The two schools you mention never played at the major college level until their entry to IA unless I am wrong.

Does anyone else know of another school to play major college ball, drop back and then returned?

LA Tech, LA Monroe, Arky State, Idaho.....

[emmitt01]

I'll know we've made it as a program when we no longer rehash decades old games to draw inspiration. Then I won't have to worry about the impression it gives visiting fans and/or young NT fans.

[GreenBat]

I'll know we've made it as a program when we no longer rehash decades old games to draw inspiration. Then I won't have to worry about the impression it gives visiting fans and/or young NT fans.

:thumbsu:

[UNTcrazy727]

I'll know we've made it as a program when we no longer rehash decades old games to draw inspiration. Then I won't have to worry about the impression it gives visiting fans and/or young NT fans.

Thank you! This thread almost makes me sad to be a UNT fan. Who gives a flip about regular season games that happened 35+ years ago. As me and my friends say, "close the yearbook, man."

[foutsrouts]

So if the past is passe, what shall we talk about for the next two months? Helmets specifically or uniforms in general?

[emmitt01]

So if the past is passe, what shall we talk about for the next two months? Helmets specifically or uniforms in general?

Just off the top of my head...

Will one back take the majority of the carries or will we have an even distribution? Will they be played situationally?

Will any of the freshmen crack the two deep?

With our questions on the D-line and the secondary will we dial up more blitzes or drop more linebackers into coverage?

What are ways we could entice more people to attend, even with a less attractive home slate?

You know, present questions for THIS team.