North Texas still target
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

July 18, 2004

The Sun Belt Conference has only known one champion in football.

The North Texas Mean Green has captured each of the league’s championships, winning in 2001, 2002 and 2003, with Darrell Dickey the Coach of the Year every year.

UL Lafayette fans are familiar with that kind of performance, since the Ragin’ Cajun softball program has ruled that sport since the Sun Belt hopped aboard in 2000.

But the two sports diverge at this point.

While there have been other softball programs following the Cajuns’ lead into NCAA Tournament play, no one has matched the Mean Green in football.

The league only has one postseason bowl bid, the New Orleans Bowl, and until someone steps up and challenges UNT on the field, the Sun Belt will not be considered a solid football league.

Established football conferences have multiple teams heading for bowls, with the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten usually leading the parade.

Conference USA, the Mid-America Conference and others also go bowling far more frequently than Sun Belt members.

On Monday, we’re going to get an idea whether anyone can break through the UNT blockade when Sun Belt Conference football coaches gather for annual media day activities in New Orleans.

But, be warned, it doesn’t look promising.

North Texas was 7-0 in conference in 2003, three games ahead of any other member, and has won 18 straight SBC games.

The Mean Green were the only team to allow fewer than 300 points last year (285), strengthening the idea that defense wins championships.

They had so many good defenders that nose tackle Brandon Kennedy was Player of the Year in the Sun Belt and linebacker Chris Hurd was Defensive Player of the Year.

Hurd and 15 other starters are back, as are 42 lettermen.

UNT was the only program to outscore the opposition (358-285).

Come to think of it, the Mean Green was the only Sun Belt team to even have a winning record at 9-4 counting a 27-17 loss to Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl. The rest were a combined 23-61.

It’s no surprise, then, that national analysts don’t think too much of the Sun Belt. Most of the members are ranked down around the 110’s, and some are just a touchdown ahead of 1-AA teams.

Can anyone make a dent in the North Texas parade? For now, let’s try for a winning season for someone else before we can try to unseat the champions.

Coach Rickey Bustle’s UL Ragin’ Cajuns finished strong in 2003, winning four of their last five games and tying Middle Tennessee for second in the league at 4-3, so they could be in line for more dramatic improvement.

If UL can improve, the Nov. 5 UNT visit to Cajun Field will be worth the 9 p.m. TV kickoff.

Sooner or later, somebody’s got to knock off the Mean Green.


The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
July 18, 2004

Hey, hey, hey! We get the idea, North Texas has a great team! :D

I understand where he's going with his article, but I feel like Troy just got slapped in the face. Not even a mention of a chance at the title. And this paper is in Lafayette too! Jeez, you think he could give his home team some props.

Anyways though, the article is right. North Texas is really good, and they are going to stay that way. It would bring more credibility to the conference if Troy, or MT, or ASU, or ULL could knock them off this year.

GO TROJANS!

What will bring the league more credibility is for more SBC teams to have winning seasons and knock off a few good OOC teams. And yes, North Texas needs to do their part in knocking off more OOC teams. Winning the the SBC and going to the NO Bowl is great for the team that gets there, but that in itself does not make the league more creditible. It will do the league no good for Troy or ULL to win the SBC Title and go bowling while the rest of the league has losing seasons. Now, if have an additional team go to some other bowl, that would be nice.

Trojans1andAll Wrote:Hey, hey, hey! We get the idea, North Texas has a great team! :D

I understand where he's going with his article, but I feel like Troy just got slapped in the face. Not even a mention of a chance at the title. And this paper is in Lafayette too! Jeez, you think he could give his home team some props.

Anyways though, the article is right. North Texas is really good, and they are going to stay that way. It would bring more credibility to the conference if Troy, or MT, or ASU, or ULL could knock them off this year.

GO TROJANS!

UNT is good, but I do not see them going undefeated again this Fall in the SBC. One of the schools you mentioned will beat them; which one? I suspect it will be Troy!

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

DeepGreen Wrote:What will bring the league more credibility is for more SBC teams to have winning seasons and knock off a few good OOC teams. And yes, North Texas needs to do their part in knocking off more OOC teams. Winning the the SBC and going to the NO Bowl is great for the team that gets there, but that in itself does not make the league more creditible. It will do the league no good for Troy or ULL to win the SBC Title and go bowling while the rest of the league has losing seasons. Now, if have an additional team go to some other bowl, that would be nice.

Right on -- beating up on other SBC teams will get the conference no respect; we must win OOC to get respect and it must be against 1-As!!!

BadgerWolf, unfortunatly, we don't play Troy this year. Our schedules were already finalized before they were admitted. I wish we were playing them so that we would get to play every team in our conference, that's such a grand idea :ninja:

btw, last year we beat them 27-0 at Fouts Field.

Thats a good point DeepGreen. The Sun Belt teams have to start knocking off OOC teams and do it consistently. Its as simple as that.

GO TROJANS!

radiogreen Wrote:Unfortunatly, we don't play Troy this year. Our schedules were already finalized before they were admitted. I wish we were playing them so that we would get to play every team in our conference, that's such a grand idea :ninja:

btw, last year we beat them 27-0 at Fouts Field.

21-0

radiogreen Wrote:BadgerWolf, unfortunatly, we don't play Troy this year. Our schedules were already finalized before they were admitted. I wish we were playing them so that we would get to play every team in our conference, that's such a grand idea :ninja:

btw, last year we beat them 27-0 at Fouts Field.

Sorry, I keep forgetting that UNT and Troy will not play this Fall. It would be a good game to watch; I think you two are the best SBC football has to offer so far. I think that MTSU, ULL, and ASU are going to break through soon!

MeanGreen61 Wrote:

radiogreen Wrote:Unfortunatly, we don't play Troy this year.  Our schedules were already finalized before they were admitted.  I wish we were playing them so that we would get to play every team in our conference, that's such a grand idea :ninja:

btw, last year we beat them 27-0 at Fouts Field.

21-0

Screwed that one up....thanks MeanGreen61 for setting the record straight.

radiogreen Wrote:BadgerWolf, unfortunatly, we don't play Troy this year. Our schedules were already finalized before they were admitted. I wish we were playing them so that we would get to play every team in our conference, that's such a grand idea :ninja:

btw, last year we beat them 27-0 at Fouts Field.

Actually, Troy was scheduled to play in Denton this season, it was the second 'return' game for the game that North Texas played at Troy in 2001. After the 9/11 tragedy, both North Texas and Troy were left with 10 game seasons because of the inability to reschedule their original opponents. A '2 fer 1' deal was signed. North Texas played at Troy in 2001, with Troy set to go to Denton in 2003 and 2004.
I believe the recent schedule juggling is part of getting FAU and FIU Division 1 compliant for the 2006 season.