Jump to content

Thoughts on NT, Ohio, and Redemption

Mean Green Matt

By Mean Green Matt
in Mean Green Football

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Popular Post
Mean Green Matt Veteran

Mean Green Matt

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted

September 12, 2009 was a dreary day in North Texas, but it was game day. The week before North Texas had opened the year with a surprising 20-10 road victory over Ball State to sit at 1-0 for the first time since 2005. It was pouring all day. A late morning Mean Green soccer game on a flooded field, one of the most bizarre games I've ever witnessed ended with a 1-0 PV A&M victory over a far superior NT side, but at least there was a football game that night, and for the first time in several years, true excitement through campus.

The game started off well. NT led after the 1st quarter. NT led at halftime. NT led after the third quarter. But in the fourth, a 69-yard interception return from Ohio turned the tables, and when NT was unable to punch in the winning touchdown inside the last minute and settled for a field goal, the game went to OT. After the teams traded field goals in the first OT, NT took a 7-point lead in the second, and had Ohio with something like a 4th and goal from the 16-yard line in the southern end of Fouts Field. After a completion for a touchdown and a roughing the passer penalty, Ohio went for two and won the game.

That moment for Ohio, as I've seen mentioned on their fan board, many feel to be one of the defining moments of the turnaround of the Bobcat football program. That moment, when Todd Dodge was so close to starting the year 2-0 in front of an announced crowd of over 16,000, and the actual was darn close, swung abruptly and agonizingly in the other direction away from NT. NT has won 14 games since that day. Ohio has won 35. Much like the last time NT was 1-0, in 2005, when our beloved Green lost 54-2 to Tulsa, the Mean Green Nation was gutted again.

This program has not won back to back football games since November 13th and 18th of 2004 with wins over Idaho and ASU, respectively. Let that sink in for a minute. NT has won 22 football games since beating ASU in 2004 (not including Idaho this year) and has lost by an average of 20.36 points the following game. Three times, all at home, NT has come within one point, FAU in 2005, ULL in 2010, and yes, Ohio in 2009.

Yet here is Ohio again. NT is 1-0 again. Campus is excited again, as a fresh new group of students, most of which never knew anything before Apogee Stadium have no reason to think anything other than "Why not North Texas?". A victory means being 2-0 for the first time since 1994 (before many of this year's freshmen were born) when the Eagles started the year with wins over Abilene Christian and Missouri State. A victory over Ohio is a chance to take back, 3 years and 360 days later the momentum they took from us on that rainy night in Fouts. Idaho was also the first win the last time NT won two games in a row.

For a program that has been through a seemingly endless college athletics version of a Shakespearean tragedy over nearly the past decade, I truly hope that such a poetic, and in some ways ironic story of redemption comes to pass on Saturday....and if it doesn't, I'll take wins over Ball State and Georgia. :)

Go Mean Green!



This post has been promoted to an article
  • Upvote 18
eulessismore Collaborator

eulessismore

Posted
Posted

September 12, 2009 was a dreary day in North Texas, but it was game day. The week before North Texas had opened the year with a surprising 20-10 road victory over Ball State to sit at 1-0 for the first time since 2005. It was pouring all day. A late morning Mean Green soccer game on a flooded field, one of the most bizarre games I've ever witnessed ended with a 1-0 PV A&M victory over a far superior NT side, but at least there was a football game that night, and for the first time in several years, true excitement through campus.

The game started off well. NT led after the 1st quarter. NT led at halftime. NT led after the third quarter. But in the fourth, a 69-yard interception return from Ohio turned the tables, and when NT was unable to punch in the winning touchdown inside the last minute and settled for a field goal, the game went to OT. After the teams traded field goals in the first OT, NT took a 7-point lead in the second, and had Ohio with something like a 4th and goal from the 16-yard line in the southern end of Fouts Field. After a completion for a touchdown and a roughing the passer penalty, Ohio went for two and won the game.

That moment for Ohio, as I've seen mentioned on their fan board, many feel to be one of the defining moments of the turnaround of the Bobcat football program. That moment, when Todd Dodge was so close to starting the year 2-0 in front of an announced crowd of over 16,000, and the actual was darn close, swung abruptly and agonizingly in the other direction away from NT. NT has won 14 games since that day. Ohio has won 35. Much like the last time NT was 1-0, in 2005, when our beloved Green lost 54-2 to Tulsa, the Mean Green Nation was gutted again.

This program has not won back to back football games since November 13th and 18th of 2004 with wins over Idaho and ASU, respectively. Let that sink in for a minute. NT has won 22 football games since beating ASU in 2004 (not including Idaho this year) and has lost by an average of 20.36 points the following game. Three times, all at home, NT has come within one point, FAU in 2005, ULL in 2010, and yes, Ohio in 2009.

Yet here is Ohio again. NT is 1-0 again. Campus is excited again, as a fresh new group of students, most of which never knew anything before Apogee Stadium have no reason to think anything other than "Why not North Texas?". A victory means being 2-0 for the first time since 1994 (before many of this year's freshmen were born) when the Eagles started the year with wins over Abilene Christian and Missouri State. A victory over Ohio is a chance to take back, 3 years and 360 days later the momentum they took from us on that rainy night in Fouts. Idaho was also the first win the last time NT won two games in a row.

For a program that has been through a seemingly endless college athletics version of a Shakespearean tragedy over nearly the past decade, I truly hope that such a poetic, and in some ways ironic story of redemption comes to pass on Saturday....and if it doesn't, I'll take wins over Ball State and Georgia. :)

Go Mean Green!

Yep. I hope we get in some solid work on our kicking game this week.

  • Upvote 1
emmitt01 Grand Master

emmitt01

Posted
Posted

Looks like Ohio will have the uniform momentum we enjoyed last week...

https://twitter.com/JasonAmessenger/status/375025853513863168

Ohio showed off black helmets today, going with all black (Vader look) Sat. night vs. North Texas

Of course, we know that sort of thing really gets them excited (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAOfNEBZbE4)

We're a lock to win now. RV will explain to the team that black uniforms are the work of "he who shall not be named...unless it's on a practice field" and Mac's boys will do the rest.

  • Upvote 2
meangreener Newbie

meangreener

Posted
Posted (edited)

If we lose to Ohio, no reason to hit the panic button. As long as we beat Ball State, we could be looking at 2-2 OOC which I'll take going into CUSA play any day.

That being said, I think we beat Ohio up badly.

Edited by meangreener
  • Upvote 2
  • Downvote 1
MeanGreenTexan Grand Master

MeanGreenTexan

Posted
Posted

If we lose to Ohio, no reason to hit the panic button. As long as we beat Ball State, we could be looking at 2-2 OOC which I'll take going into CUSA play any day.

That being said, I think we beat Ohio up badly.

I'll definitely take 2-2. If we go into Ohio and win, 3-1 may not be out of the question. Beat Ohio & Ball St., I would start thinking about getting ready for a bowl trip... full-on chugging the Green Kool-aid.

  • Upvote 1
Mean Green 93-98 Grand Master

Mean Green 93-98

Posted
Posted

That being said, I think we beat Ohio up badly.

Badly? Wow. Did you read the original post, which gives a sobering reminder of our history? Did you know that Ohio beat ULM in their bowl game last year 45-14--the same ULM that went toe-to-toe with Baylor and 2 SEC teams, and whipped us 42-16--and that they return most of their key starters?

I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what we can do against them, and I think we've got a shot of beating them in Athens--but I just don't understand why anyone would chalk this up as an easy win before gameday.

MeanGreenMarine Newbie

MeanGreenMarine

Posted
Posted

That 2009 Ohio game still gives me nightmares. I say we go into Ohio with motivation from last weeks win, temperature in the low 80s, and beat them 34 to 17. The Fouts demons have had their way with us in the past but I think we have them beat. GMG

  • Upvote 1
untjim1995 Grand Master

untjim1995

Posted
Posted

I don't see it working out too well for us up there, but I just expect us to compete with Ohio for 4 quarters. They are where we want to be as an AQ program right now--one that is very competitive in their conference, goes to bowl games, and is not to be overlooked. Ohio made the decision that we eventually made with Coach Mac, to go and get a coach with skins on the wall as their head coach, instead of some unproven college assistant or, gulp, a high school coach. Their program is going in the right direction now and I pray ours will mirror theirs very soon.

I think the Ball State game at home will represent our best chance at getting a 2nd OOC win. I think we are ready to compete with a team like Ball State for 4 quarters at HOME. I'm not convinced that we are ready to do that against a quality opponent on the road.

  • Upvote 1

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Tell a friend

    Love GoMeanGreen.com? Tell a friend!

  • What's going on Mean Green?

    1. 30

      24/25 MBB Attendance Tracker

      Third home game in a row under 3K in attendance and 4th for the season. Now at 2,947, average attendance is down almost 13% (439 per game) compared to the first 7 home games last year. We are now down 1,185 in average attendance compared to last season's full year average. The home conference slate kicks off with UAB on New Year's Eve. Hopefully, we will be able to chip away at this attendance deficit as some familiar foes visit the Super Pit, but it looks like hitting a 4K average and growing average attendance for the 3rd year in a row is becoming increasingly out of reach. Just win and they will come they said. SMH. On the bright side, we're currently sitting at 9-3 and 7-0 at home and own the 2nd best Net rating in the conference only behind Memphis. Unfortunately, the conference is incredibly weak this year so we don't have many opportunities to improve that ranking. Aside from winning on the road at Memphis, holding serve in terms of a Net rating may be the best we can do from here. Actually, looking at the schedule, we do have three Q2 road games (Wichita St, FAU and Temple). They need to keep winning and we will need to win those three to improve our resume.
      keith in Mean Green Basketball
    2. 61

      SMUt getting owned by State

      Tell me you’ll peddle BS on SMU’s behalf without telling me you’ll peddle BS on SMU’s behalf. Here is SMU’s attendance claim for this season; one so amazing that they made a nifty graphic for it. The only issue? Well, they played 7 home games and the stadium seats 32k…so an average attendance of 32,651 which is standing room only and beyond capacity is a bit difficult to swallow and leads one to believe that only believers in SMU math would buy it. And save me the “but look at North Texas’ attendance” garbage. Even someone as committed to being separated from reality as you knows that if North Texas 1) bought their way into the ACC to allow us to fill our stadium with opposing fans, 2) overpaid for players, and 3) had the easiest conference schedule possible to stack wins…Apogee would have been LEGITIMATELY sold out. And let me save you the trouble of the next silly argument you were just itching to type as a retort…yes, we have far more alumni, but we are not situated DEAD CENTER in a city of 1.3 Million people like SMU has been for decades
      • 1
      • Upvote
      emmitt01 in Mean Green Football
    3. 22

      Stop Blaming Athletes and the NCAA for Ruining College Football

      Come to think of it, ESPN and the other networks who really benefit from all of this, should contribute $$ to a NIL fund and distribute equally to each schools NIL for them to use at their discretion. Wouldn't that be fair?
      • 1
      • Thanks
      Hunter Green in Mean Green Football
    4. 61

      SMUt getting owned by State

      Say you didn't see any SMU crowds this season, without saying you didn't see any SMU home crowds this season. That place was packed and rocking, like nobody could've dreamed.
      • 1
      • Upvote
      dodgefan in Mean Green Football
    5. 15

      Auburn warns of potential ticket price hike ahead of revenue-sharing model

      I mean are you saying you want to know exactly what every player is paid? My worry is you would have each of them know that number is so they can be jealous and fight about it. I think the coaches have to determine the amounts and allocations unless you are an SMU or someone who can afford to pay every player on the roster 100k a piece. If you don’t have mountains of cash you have to allocate per the coaches wish I would think. Agents come into play sadly as well I suppose.
      • 1
      • Upvote
      Jonnyeagle in Mean Green Football

  • Popular Contributors

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      15,505
    • Most Online
      1,865
    Jepper
    Newest Member
    Jepper
    Joined

  • Most Points

    1. 1
      El Paso Eagle
      El Paso Eagle
      170,044
    2. 2
      NT80
      NT80
      136,953
    3. 3
      KingDL1
      KingDL1
      130,960
    4. 4
      greenminer
      greenminer
      123,785
    5. 5
      TheReal_jayD
      TheReal_jayD
      108,904

  • Biggest Gamblers

    1. 1
      EdtheEagle
      EdtheEagle
      26,591,107
    2. 2
      UNTLifer
      UNTLifer
      4,480,984
    3. 3
      untphd
      untphd
      841,161
    4. 4
      flyonthewall
      flyonthewall
      670,422
    5. 5
      3_n_out
      3_n_out
      578,480
    6. 6
      SteaminWillieBeamin
    7. 7
      cousin oliver
      cousin oliver
      448,120
    8. 8
      UNT_FH_FR_YR
      UNT_FH_FR_YR
      389,039
    9. 9
      meangreenfaninno
    10. 10
      South Texas Green

WE BELIEVE IN THE MEAN GREEN!

News

Recruiting

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Please review our full Privacy Policy before using our site.