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Dunbar and UNT blast the Blue Raiders

December 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Chase Rader

Chase Rader

Chase Rader

Lance Dunbar only needed 140 more yards to become the all-time leading rusher at UNT.

He got it.

And then some.

The senior rushed for a season high 313 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead the Mean Green to a 59-7 victory over Middle Tennessee State.

Dunbar’s’ day gave him a trophy case full of accolades: all-time leading rusher at UNT (4,224 yards), all-time leader in All-Purpose yards in school history (5,382), single game rushing record at UNT (313), single game rushing record in the Sun Belt Conference, best rushing performance by any back this year in the NCAA, tied for career TD’s in the Sun Belt (49), Dunbar became the 6th player in NCAA history with 4,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards (1,033) receiving, and should be a shoo-in for the All DFW College Football Team.

Dunbar led a Mean Green attack that blasted right through the MTSU defense for a total of 464 rushing yards, tied for the most team rushing yards in school history.

Lance Dunbar put a stamp on his legacy with his final game at Apogee Stadium.  He broke UNT’s great Patrick Cobbs rushing record and went out leading one of the most dominating performances for the Mean Green in some time.

The win gave UNT a final record of 5-7, just one game away from being bowl eligible.

The Mean Green produced a .500 record in Sun Belt play going 4-4.  Last year in 2010, UNT didn’t win a game at home; this year under new head coach Dan McCarney they went 4-2.

Domination at home was one of Dan McCarney’s goals at the beginning of the year.  Obviously, he had to take advantage of the new $79 million Apogee Stadium.

Not only did they produce a winning record at home, they broke the season attendance record.

Coach McCarney did a great job of changing the culture in the program.  Under former head coach Todd Dodge, UNT only won 6 games in 3 ½ years.

McCarney won 5 games in his first year with mostly the same players.  With the wins UNT should bring in better recruits and hopefully a post season appearance next year.

Overall this was a good year for the Mean Green.  They beat the teams they should have, which is crucial for a rebuilding team, and all of their losses came to teams that earned bowl eligibility.

UNT only loses 8 starters to graduation, giving Coach McCarney a core group of players that are hungry for a winning season and a postseason invitation.

Filed Under: Chase Rader, College, Lead Story, UNT Tagged With: , , , ,

SMU and TCU are bowl bound

December 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

DFW teams in bowls

The SMU Mustangs and the TCU Horned Frogs are bowl bound again.

For the first time in the past three years, the Frogs will not be going to a BCS Bowl game, but TCU did draw an old familiar bowl with their acceptance of the Poinsettia Bowl.  Though not a high profile bowl, it is a game in sunny San Diego where TCU has had tons of success.  The Horned Frogs will be in their first-ever matchup against Louisiana Tech, winners of the Western Athletic Conference.  Head Frog Gary Patterson seemed fine with the choice:

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to play in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl,” Patterson said. “Our players have had an unbelievable experience in our past trips to the game. The bowl committee and the redcoats are outstanding with their hospitality. Bowl games are a great reward for your players. We are looking forward to making the trip to San Diego.

“We have a lot of respect for Louisiana Tech and coach Sonny Dykes. They’re conference champions and have had an outstanding season with some very impressive wins. They’ve gone on the road and beat an SEC team. They are very skilled on both sides of the ball.”

The Mustangs will be heading to Birmingham, AL to play Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass Bowl on January 7, 2012. It will be the Ponies’ third straight bowl appearance under head coach June Jones. The Panthers are the 5th place team out of the annually weak Big East and are 6-6 on the year.  This is a chance for the Mustangs to show they belong in a BCS conference.

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia
TCU vs. Louisiana Tech
San Diego, CA
Qualcomm Stadium
December 21, 7 pm CST, ESPN

BBVA Compass Bowl
SMU vs. Pittsburgh
Birmingham, AL
Legion Field,
Jamuary 7, 2012 12 pm CST, ESPN

Complete Bowl Schedule

Filed Under: College, Lead Story, SMU, TCU Tagged With: , , , ,

Final Week DFW college football

December 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Scrappy

Scrappy Entertains the fans--Photo by Chase Rader

The SMU Mustangs finished their regular season this past Saturday by defeating C-USA rival Rice 27-24 in Dallas.  The win leaves the Mustangs 7-5 ending the season short of a division title, but the Mustangs were able to get a program defining win in Fort Worth against TCU.  The Mustangs now await their bowl assignment.  Early projections are the Ticket City Bowl in Dallas and the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu.

The TCU Horned Frogs will be considered the winner of the Mountain West Conference by way of their head-to-head victory over Boise State.  The questions is, “Will they go to the Las Vegas Bowl or the Poinsettia Bowl?” The Frogs will close their season this Saturday as they host UNLV.

The UNT Mean Green has completed one of the best turn-arounds in recent memory.  At present they stand 4-7 and with a win over Middle Tennessee State this weekend in Denton, they would finish 5-7, falling one game short of being bowl eligible in Dan McCarney’s first year as head coach.  The future is bright for UNT with McCarney as the head man and their brand new Apogee Stadium.

The two final games this season for the DFW college football teams are located in the Metroplex.

December 3, 2011

UNLV at TCU, Fort Worth, TX, Amon Carter Stadium, 1:30 pm, Versus HD

Middle Tennessee at UNT, Denton, TX, Apogee Stadium, 3:0 pm,

Filed Under: College, Lead Story, SMU, TCU, UNT

Week 11 DFW college football

November 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Houston Cougars Football

Flickr.com/kalebdf

The Horned Frogs got the biggest win last week as they knocked off Boise State eliminating the Broncos from a BCS Bowl bid.  What does that have to do with this week?

Well, that gives the Houston Cougars a chance to pick up a BCS Bowl bid, and the Cougars are hosting the SMU Mustangs this week in Houston.

Does SMU have enough horses to knock off the Cougars?

November 21, 2011

Western Kentucky at UNT, Apogee Stadium, Denton, TX, 6:00 pm, ESPN 3

This is the matchup of the two surprise teams in the Sun Belt.  North Texas needs two more wins to be bowl eligible.  WKU sits number two in the Sun Belt standings and needs one more win to be bowl eligible.

SMU at Houston, Robertson Stadium, Houston, TX, 2:30 pm, FSN

ESPN Gameday will be in Houston as the Cougars host the Mustangs.  The Cougars are number 11 (BCS Standings)  in the country and have a legitimate shot at making a BCS Bowl game.  Can the Mustangs derail the Cougar train?

Colorado State at TCU, Among G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX, 2:30 pm CST, Versus HD

The Frogs finish the season with two games at home for a chance for a third straight Mountain West Conference Championship.  The Frogs picked up the big upset last week at Boise State.

Filed Under: College, Feature, SMU, TCU, UNT

UNT defeats Troy, notches first road victory

November 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Chase Rader

Chase Rader

Chase Rader

North Texas had been showing signs of turning the corner all season.  They had gotten better each week at home.  They won the games they were supposed to, however they had yet to notch a road win.

With their last opportunity this past Saturday at Troy not quite secured, the Mean Green defense forced a turnover late in the game when Aaron Bellazin sacked Troy QB Corey Robinson and forced a fumble.  Alexander Lincoln recovered the fumble on the Troy 6.  UNT only needed 1 play for James Hamilton to punch it in to go up 38-27 with 13:05 left in the 4th quarter.

Troy responded with a 16 play, 80 yard TD drive that only took 5:22 off the clock.  Troy failed to get the 2-pt conversion, but was only down 38-33.


That’s when UNT took control.  With 7:43 left in the 4th quarter up only five points on the road, the Mean Green put together one of their most important drives in the young Dan McCarney era.  UNT converted 3 of 4 third down situations on the 13 play drive to eat up 7:28 of clock.  And that was ball game.

With the victory UNT improves to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in the Sun Belt.  UNT handed Troy their 5th loss in a row, which drop to 2-7 and 1-4 in the Sun Belt.

Derek Thompson had a great day.  Coming off an injury that sidelined him for the Arkansas State game, he threw for 331 yards on a 31 for 38 effort with 2 touchdowns and only 1 early interception.  Thompson also ran for the first score of the game.

Thompson led an offensive that hit big scores all day.  Early in the second quarter James Hamilton busted a 52 yarder to go up 17-7, which would be the first of his two TD’s on the game.  Hamilton rushed for 105 yards on 19 carries while taking over the primary running back role when all-everything running back Lance Dunbar went down with a knee injury during the game.

Ivan Delgado who is quietly having a solid year hauled in a 28 yard TD pass that put UNT ahead 24-21 right before halftime.  Delgado finished the day with 9 catches for 89 yards and the TD.  Christopher Bynes led all receivers with 134 yards on 7 catches.  His 46 yard TD catch early in the 4th put UNT up 31-27 right before Bellazin forced the fumble.

On the DFWFootball.net radio show this morning, Todd (@tejones) gave us the stats of how soft the Troy defense has been the year.  Troy had been giving up 208.2 yards a game rushing, and 267.1 yards a game through the air, making them last in the Sun Belt in total defense giving up 475.4 yards per game.  The UNT offense gained a season high 503 yards.Mean Green

The North Texas defense forced three turnovers Saturday, which brings them to +10 in the turnover margin on the year.  The defense doesn’t have the best stats, but they do lead the Sun Belt in turnovers.

The Mean Green are home next week against a surprising Western Kentucky team.  The Hilltoppers are 5-1 in the Sun Belt, and will be looking to be bowl eligible Saturday.  WKU running back Bobby Rainey leads the Sun Belt with 1169 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns, averaging 129.9 ypg.

The Mean Green has put themselves into another big game situation.  They have already got the most wins in a season since 2004 and are now looking to win back to back games for the first time since that 2004 season as well.  UNT’s remaining two games are both at home.  If UNT can win against WKU this next weekend and the season finale on December 3rd against Middle Tennessee State, they are bowl eligible.

We will have a give-a-way for two tickets to the WKU-UNT game this Saturday at 6:00pm.  Keep an eye on our website and facebook for details.

Listen to the DFWFootball.net radio show Saturday morning at 10:00am for more insight to the upcoming UNT game, plus all the other DFW football teams. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chaserader

Filed Under: Chase Rader, College, Lead Story, UNT Tagged With: , , , ,

Week 10 DFW college football

November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Bronco Stadium

Flickr: @andrewghayes

All eyes will be in Boise this week for the showdown between TCU and the Broncos of Boise State.  Boise is currently number 5 in the BCS bowl and making its claim to play for the national title.  A week schedule, in spite of an early win over Georgia, will keep Boise from going to a BCS title game, but winning out will get them in a BCS bowl game.  TCU has not had the kind of season that would help Boise if the Broncos were to get the win.  Two losses seems like a disappointing season for the Frogs, but a win on the road against Boise State gives TCU a chance at winning one last Mountain West championship and knocks Boise out of the BCS conversation.

TCU at Boise State, Boise, ID, Bronco Stadium, November 12, 2011, 2:30 pm CST, Versus HD

This game is a big challenge for the young Frogs, but it could go down as yet another classic between the two schools.

UNT at Troy, Troy, AL, Veterans Memorial Stadium, November 12, 2011, 12:00 pm CST

The Mean Green look to take advantage of an off week to get a much needed road victory.  Troy has had a disappointing season by Trojan standards.

Navy at SMU, Dallas, TX, Ford Stadium, November 12, 2011, 2:30 pm CST, FSN

The Mustangs bounced back from two straight road losses to knock off Tulane in a homecoming game.  If the Ponies can win out this season, they will have 9 wins.  Of course, one of those wins would be at Houston.

Filed Under: College, Lead Story, SMU, TCU, UNT

Week 9 DFW college football schedule

November 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
TCU vs. Wyoming 2008

Flickr: Catie Marie

SMU returns home this week for homecoming against Tulane, and I’m sure they are glad to be home!  Two straight road games have resulted in two straight losses for the Mustangs dropping to third in the West Division of the Conference USA.  The chances of winning a C-USA title have all been lost on the fields at Hattiesburg, MS and Tulsa, OK.

UNT gets a much-needed bye this week.

The TCU Horned Frogs travel to Laramie, WY to take on the Cowboys.  The following week, the Frogs will travel to Boise to play on the blue turf for the first time.  The Frogs will finish the season at home with Colorado State and UNLV.  The Frogs still have a chance to win the Mountain West Conference if they can finish the season by upsetting Boise and wining their remaining games.

TCU at Wyoming, Laramie, WY, War Memorial Stadium, November 5, 2011, 1:00 pm, The Mtn. HD

The Cowboys are in the thick of the Mountain West Conference race and they are willing to concede ground to the Horned Frogs.  This should be a tough game for TCU.

Tulane at SMU, Dallas, TX, Ford Stadium, November 5, 2011, 2:00 pm

The Mustangs host Tulane for Homecoming.  They need a win to get their season back on track and a shot at another June Jones Era bowl game.

Filed Under: College, Feature, SMU, TCU, UNT Tagged With: , , , ,

Red Wolves throttle North Texas

October 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Chase Rader

Chase Rader

Chase Rader

The Mean Green has built up some momentum this past month and a half.  They have beat a Big 10 team, won 3 in a row at home, and had won three of their last five games.

I expected some of that momentum to roll into Jonesboro against a hot Arkansas State team who sits atop the Sunbelt.  That momentum was deflated as soon as QB Derek Thompson went down on UNT’s second offensive play.

Thompson suffered a concussion and sat the rest of the game.  Without Thompson at the helm UNT’s offense struggled and failed to produce a touchdown until the second half.  Thompson was coming off his best game for the Mean Green throwing for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns in a victory over Louisiana-Monroe last weekend.

Freshman QB Andrew McNulty served as relief for the second time this season.  McNulty went 14 of 26 for 136 yards with 1 interception and 1 touchdown.

This past Saturday on the DFWFootball.net radio show, Todd and I discussed how effective Arkansas State QB Ryan Aplin is.  He proved us correct. Aplin accounted for 391 total yards, 322 through the air and 69 on the ground.  He also threw for 3 touchdowns.

Aplin and the offense jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead and would cruise from there.  UNT got some late garbage points with the final score being 37-14.

North Texas helmet

Courtesy: The Helmet Project

UNT remains 5th in the Sunbelt standings.  They fall to 2-3 in the conference, 3-6 overall, and 0-5 on the road.  The Mean Green has only one more chance to notch a road victory.  That opportunity comes in two weeks when they travel to a surprisingly bad Troy.

Believe it or not, UNT still has a shot at a bowl game.  But, they have to win out.  After the Troy contest, UNT gets two games to close out the season at Apogee Stadium where they are 3-1 so far.  Even if they can’t win out, they have 3 more opportunities to get a victory.  UNT hasn’t won more than 3 games since 2004.

North Texas has a week off to rest up and get ready to close out their season on a strong note.  These last three games are crucial for Head Coach Dan McCarney for a few reasons.  First, as I mentioned, to bring more wins to Denton since 2004.  Secondly, he’s got two more opportunities to get as many butts in the seats of Apogee Stadium as possible.  And lastly, which the first two feed into, he has got to start getting some higher caliber recruits.

Check out our show page on blogtalkradio.com to hear past shows and listen to our upcoming live shows.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chaserader

Filed Under: Chase Rader, College, Lead Story, UNT Tagged With: , , ,

Week 8 DFW college football schedule

October 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX

TCU returns to Cowboys Stadium to play BYU

The Mustangs were looking good, and then they went to play Southern Mississippi and J. J. McDermott finally played like a first year quarterback.  The Mustangs get the chance to bounce back at Tulsa this week.  The Mean Green got another win knocking off the ULM Warhawks.  At the least, UNT is winning most of its home games and has put itself in position to have a winning record this season with a few breaks down the stretch.  TCU plays a high profile game against  BYU  in Cowboys Stadium Friday night making it the only team who plays in the Metroplex.

BYU at TCU, Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX, Friday, October 28, 2011, 7 PM CST, ESPN

The Frogs and the Cougars have a great history in such a short time.  This one will not be a conference match-up as BYU is now an independent, but the rivalry has been intense in the past.

UNT at Arkansas State, ASU Stadium, Jonesboro, AR, Saturday, October 29, 2011, 6 PM CST

The Mean Green travel to Northeast Arkansas to play one of the Sun Belt front runners.  An upset win in Jonesboro would go a long way toward a winning record and a chance at a bowl game.

SMU at Tulsa, H. A. Chapman Stadium, Tulsa, OK, Saturday, October 29, 2011, 2:30 PM CST, FSN

The Mustangs will have to shake off its last game.  They need to keep pace with Houston to have a chance at the division title and shot at the Conference USA Championship.  Most people have already crowned the Cougars, but they have a date with SMU on November 19, 2011.

Radio Show

Join us Saturday morning, October 29, 2011 at 10 am for our Dfwfootball Radio show on BlogTalkRadio!

Filed Under: College, Lead Story, SMU, TCU, UNT Tagged With: , , , ,

UNT showing signs of improvement, beat ULM

October 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Chase Rader

Chase Rader

Chase Rader

The North Texas Mean Green have a winning record…at home! North Texas pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe 38-21.  Linebacker Julian Herron jumped on a fumble caused by Brandon Apunku sacking ULM QB Kolton Browning, and returned it 16 yards to go up 31-21 with just over six minutes left in the fourth.

Senior safety Brad Graham came away with an interception on the next drive, followed by a 60 yard Lance Dunbar touchdown run to put the final nail in the coffin 38-21.

Sophmore QB Derek Thompson had a breakout day.  Thompson went 23 of 39 for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns with no picks, his best day at UNT so far.

One of the impressive things about the victory is the way UNT closed the game.  I’ve written in my past articles that UNT had a hard time with a big lead.  UNT got up big against Indiana and FAU, and then almost let the victories slip away.  It seemed that they were “playing not to lose” rather than “playing to win.”  The Mean Green turned a corner this past weekend and slammed the door shut on the Warhawks and let the defense take over.

UNT Fans

UNT Fans storm the field after the upset over Indiana -- by Chase Rader

The Mean Green improved their record to 3-1 at Apogee Stadium, 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the SunBelt conference.  As of this week, UNT sits #5 in the conference looking up at Arkansas State, ULL, WKU, and FIU.  With 4 games left in their season, UNT is in a better position for a conference title since the bowl years of 2001-2004.

UNT, once again, has a chance to win back to back games for the first time in a long time.  Problem is, they travel to Jonesboro to take on the 1st place team in the SunBelt, Arkansas State.  The Red Wolves of Arkansas State have been a solid team this year.  They are 3-0 in conference play, 5-2 overall, with their only losses to Virginia Tech (7-26, VT is now #12 in the BCS with a 7-1 record) and a 6-2 Illinois team.

With a win, Arkansas State will have its 6th victory, and be bowl eligible.  Standout Red Wolf QB Ryan Aplin, who leads the SunBelt in Total Offense averaging 305 yards a game, will not want to let their fans down on homecoming.

I said on our radio show last Saturday that UNT needs to win 2 out of the next 3 to have a shot of being bowl eligible themselves.  They got the home victory now if they can manage to steal one from Arkansas State or beat Troy on their homecoming game, they have a shot.  After these upcoming road tests, UNT closes out the season with back to back home games.  The one hitch in the get-a-long is that Western Kentucky, home game on 11-19, is better than anyone expected.  Phil Steele had them pick picked to finish last.  WKU is sitting 3rd in the Sunbelt at 3-1.

UNT has definitely turned a corner as compared to the last few seasons.  There is hope amongst the students, fans, and message boards.  The Mean Green has proven that they are good at home; they need to notch a road victory to signal that they are for real.

For more information on UNT and other DFW teams check our radio show Saturday morning at 10:00am on blogtalkradio.com.


Filed Under: Chase Rader, College, Lead Story, UNT Tagged With: , , , ,
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