Props from Austin paper. Posted on Mean Green board.

Patrick Cobbs puts punch in North Texas attack

Mean Green back was lone Division I player with four 200-yard rushing games last season

By Cedric Golden

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Wednesday, September 1, 2004

Greg Robinson replied quickly when asked what plays he expected from the North Texas offense on Saturday night.

"Hand it off to No. 43," he said.

The University of Texas defensive co-coordinator was referring to Patrick Cobbs, the nation's leading returning rusher and a big reason the Mean Green is favored to win its fourth straight Sun Belt Conference title.

Cobbs turned in a record-setting 2003 season, his first as a starter. The Tecumseh, Okla., native finished with an all-time conference best 1,680 yards rushing and was the only running back in NCAA Division I-A to record four 200-yard games.

"He takes a whole lot of pressure off me," said UNT quarterback Scott Hall. "My job is to get the ball to Patrick in the right position to make plays, and if that goes well, it opens up other parts of our offense."

Cobbs enters Saturday's season opener with a streak of nine consecutive games in which he has rushed for at least 100 yards. Meanwhile, Texas is desperate to improve upon a run defense that ranked 53rd nationally, surrendering 152.5 yards per game. Coincidentally, Cobbs averaged a national-best 152.7 yards per game last season.

Described by Robinson as a power runner with decisive cutback ability, the 5-foot-9-inch, 198-pound Cobbs was modest in describing his own talents.

"I guess I would say that I find the hole most of the time, and I have pretty good vision," he said. "I can go inside or outside and have about 4.5 speed. Whenever I need to reach down for a little bit extra (speed), it always seems to be there."

Two years ago, Cobbs rushed 11 times for only 38 yards in a 27-0 loss to the Longhorns at Royal-Memorial Stadium. He finished the season with 761 yards and only one 100-yard game.

The last Cobbs to play at Royal-Memorial Stadium, Arkansas' Cedric Cobbs (he's no relation to Patrick), ran for 115 yards and a 46-yard touchdown in a 38-28 upset of the Longhorns in 2003.

"It's a real challenge for our defense," Longhorns Coach Mack Brown said of facing Patrick Cobbs. "When you have a guy who averaged over 150 yards per game, you have to be ready."

Cobbs, the latest of three straight 1,000-yard rushers at North Texas, accounted for nearly half of the Mean Green's offensive production last season. The Sun Belt's offensive player of the year in 2003, he has averaged 5.1 yards per carry in 35 career games. He's rushed for 2,840 yards and needs only 280 to pass Ja'Quay Wilburn for first place on the school's all-time list.

Although the Mean Green shut out Texas in the second half of the 2002 game, Cobbs said, "We haven't talked about it all. That was two years ago and we're a different football team now. I don't dwell on the past and nothing from that game will help us Saturday."

Brown hopes all the preseason attention Cobbs is receiving may be a challenge to his own running back, Cedric Benson. As for Cobbs, he said Saturday's game will not be a personal duel with Benson, the career rushing leader among current running backs in Division I-A.

"He doesn't play defense so I'm not going out there against him," Cobbs said. "I'm hoping our defense can stop him, but I'll be out there looking for guys like Derrick Johnson and Michael Huff."