Tag: North Texas

A plow waits at a stop light. Texas could be hit with up to six inches of snow before the Cotton Bowl is played in Arlington on Friday.

Winter storm targets North Texas; Cotton Bowl officials on alert

Posted on | by Field Level Media

A winter storm barreling down on North Texas could cause havoc days before the Cotton Bowl on Friday.

The College Football Playoff semifinal game between Texas and Ohio State has officials in Arlington, Texas, concerned about traffic and safety because of the amount of snowfall — between four and six inches — projected to land in the area. Weather Channel said the annual average snowfall for Arlington, Texas, is just over 1.5 inches meaning about four times the annual amount could be on the ground to potentially clog roadways and challenge the energy grid.

A similar timeline played out in 2011 when the Super Bowl was held at AT&T Stadium.

This week, meteorologists are calling for up to six inches of total accumulation beginning Wednesday night in Dallas-Fort Worth and a winter storm watch has been issued starting Thursday at midnight Central through 6 p.m. Friday. The Cotton Bowl is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff local time.

“We are routinely monitoring weather reports and we are in close contact with AT&T Stadium and local officials,” a Cotton Bowl official said in a statement. “We always have plans for inclement weather. Should conditions warrant it, we will communicate to everyone attending and connected with this year’s Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.”

Areas from Little Rock, Ark., to Memphis, Tenn., and further south of Arlington all are on high alert with the impact of the storm shifting from possible freezing rain to snow.

Once fans reach the stadium, the environment in the indoor venue offers temperature-controlled comfort for the playoff game.

Friday’s forecast calls for highs near 34 degrees near the stadium.

Kevin Oden, the director of emergency management and crisis response in Dallas, said the “priority is ensuring safe travel for the teams and their fans visiting Dallas in the Metroplex.”

Parts of North Texas measured four inches of snowfall on game week during the Super Bowl in 2011. Since that event was held, the Dallas Cowboys installed ice guards designed to block melting snow and ice from falling on the walkways and parking areas below.

The single-event record for snowfall in Dallas was 12.45 inches on Feb. 11-12, 2010.

–Field Level Media

Nov 9, 2024; Denton, Texas, USA; North Texas Mean Green head coach Eric Morris greets Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken after Army’s 14-3 win during the second half at DATCU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Texas State, North Texas face off in First Responder Bowl

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There will be a Lone Star State flair on display when North Texas battles Texas State on Friday afternoon in the First Responder Bowl at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.

It will be the 15th rendition of the bowl and the second consecutive appearance in the game for Texas State, which beat Rice 45-21 in last year’s contest.

North Texas also has played in the bowl, losing to Army 38-31 in overtime in 2016 after beating UNLV in the 2013 season.

Both head coaches in this year’s game — Eric Morris of the Mean Green and GJ Kinne for the Bobcats — are native Texans, and more than three-fourths of the players on the combined rosters are from the Lone Star State.

In the lead-up to the game, both squads were hit hard by the transfer portal, with 11 players leaving from Texas State and 16 from North Texas.

The Mean Green (6-6) had to capture their season finale against Temple to earn the bowl appearance.

North Texas will be without quarterback Chandler Morris for the game. Morris, who earned third-team All-American Athletic Conference honors this season, bolted for Virginia after the regular season. Drew Mestemaker, who threw five passes while appearing in three games as a freshman this season, is expected to start behind center. He completed four passes for 69 yards.

Despite all the assumed familiarity between the teams because of their Texas-centric rosters and coaching staff, there’s little for the Bobcats to glean on Mestemaker when studying tape of North Texas.

“We want to find (Mestemaker) skill sets and the things he does well and really try to force-feed him some of those things,” Morris said about his quarterback. “That’s the cool thing. There’s no tape on Drew Mestemaker for anybody to go study right now.”

Kinne wants to make sure that Texas State won’t overlook the potent North Texas attack, which ranks third in the nation in total offense at 488.7 yards a game.

“Coach Morris is one of the best offensive minds in the country,” Kinne said. “… It doesn’t matter who is back there playing quarterback.”

The Bobcats (7-5) head to Dallas after winning three of their final four games, including 45-38 at South Alabama in their final regular-season contest.

Quarterback Jordan McCloud leads the Bobcats, who rank fifth in FBS in total offense at 474.3 yards per game. McCloud has passed for 2,920 yards and 29 touchdowns with 12 interceptions, and has completed 69.6 percent of his throws.

Texas State saw five starters — running back Ismail Mahdi, wide receiver Kole Wilson, defensive tackle Dominique Ratcliff, defensive end Ben Bell and cornerback Joshua Eaton — declare for the transfer portal.

“You have some of the depth pieces,” Kinne explained about the losses in the portal. “A lot of your walk-ons and a lot of guys that are looking maybe to get on scholarship somewhere. “We just did a little bit more good on good (in practice), but that’s part of it.”

–Field Level Media

Nov 2, 2024; West Point, New York, USA; Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken speaks to his players in the locker room after a 20-3 win against the Air Force Falcons at Michie Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Unbeaten No. 25 Army resumes playoff push vs. North Texas

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The undefeated Army Black Knights found themselves in good standing when the first College Football Playoff rankings were revealed Tuesday night.

Attempting to keep climbing Saturday afternoon against North Texas is the focus in the American Athletic Conference matchup in Denton, Texas.

Army (8-0, 6-0) was No. 25 in the CFP standings, grabbing the final spot in the rankings used to determine the field for the inaugural 12-team playoff.

The Black Knights stayed unbeaten with a defensive-minded 20-3 victory over rival Air Force last weekend to extend the country’s longest active winning streak to 12 games.

The 17-point margin of victory equaled Army’s smallest this year. The Black Knights also defeated East Carolina (45-28) and Florida Atlantic (24-7) by that margin on Oct. 19 and Sept. 7, respectively.

The Black Knights have not trailed during their dozen-game winning streak.

Since 2003, the only school with a longer winning streak without trailing is Alabama, which went 14 games from 2020 to 2021.

Army also is one of only five unbeaten schools in FBS competition, joining Miami, BYU, Indiana and Oregon.

Army’s triple-option threat usually leads the way, but coach Jeff Monken said the defense was at its best in the 20-3 win over Air Force.

“I don’t know if our defense could have been asked to do more than they did,” Monken replied when asked if it was the unit’s best performance of 2024.

“Obviously, there were some plays there, like I said, it was first-and-25 at one point. They converted and got a field goal out of that drive. We had them in a fourth-and-11. They scrambled. We had a pass down our sideline on fourth down that they converted and got a down there and into scoring territory.

“But … we found a way to get them off the field and came up with three big interceptions, and that was great.”

Defensive back Chance Keith led the Black Knights with eight tackles.

After a promising 5-1 start to the season, the Mean Green (5-3, 2-2) have dropped two straight contests — to Memphis (by a score of 52-44) and Tulane (45-37) — and have had to rest on that skid with a bye last weekend.

Facing Army will present opposite styles of football: The Black Knights rely on a disciplined triple-option attack, while North Texas slings the ball all over the field in the Air Raid assault.

Mean Green coach Eric Morris said Tuesday that defending Army’s triple option will be incredibly challenging.

“People have played three down (linemen) and four down against the triple option,” Morris said. “It’s so unique. You have to have the discipline of reading your keys, and when it’s executed the right way, it’s an art form out there. It’s always intrigued me.

“(Legendary coach) Mike Leach used to talk about the triple option being similar to the Air Raid in getting the ball to many spaces on the field and making (defenses) cover every space on the field.”

North Texas’ Chandler Morris has passed for 2,873 yards and 26 touchdowns by going 224 of 349 through eight games. The junior has reached at least 400 yards in four games, including a season-high 449 in the home loss to Tulane two weeks ago.

–Field Level Media

Sep 7, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton (2) throws a pass against the Washington State Cougars in the first half at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images

Texas Tech faces North Texas in potential aerial shootout

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Texas Tech will try to get back on the winning track against an old foe Saturday when North Texas rolls into Lubbock for the first time since 2000.

The Red Raiders (1-1) got thumped 37-16 on the road by Washington State last week, with turnovers (four) and the defense’s struggles to stop the Cougars’ running game (301 yards) topping the list of problems.

The loss, on the heels of a 52-51 overtime win against Abilene Christian on Aug. 31, has created some unrest with the Texas Tech fan base, a fact that isn’t lost on third-year coach Joey McGuire.

In particular, the Red Raiders’ defensive struggles are hard to ignore. Texas Tech ranks last or next-to-last in the Big 12 in every major category, surrendering an average of 515.5 total yards and 44 points per game.

“One of the biggest things we have to do is play better defense,” McGuire said. “It has to start with that side of the ball.”

That is a daunting proposition as Texas Tech braces for a Mean Green offense overseen by former Red Raiders offensive coordinator Eric Morris, who is in his second season as North Texas’ head coach.

The Mean Grean (2-0) are off to their best start since 2018 and have churned out 1,054 total yards in wins against South Alabama and Stephen F. Austin, with quarterback Chandler Morris (no relation to his coach) leading the charge by throwing for 737 yards and seven touchdowns.

The potential for an offensive shootout looms because the Red Raiders have moved the ball effectively in both games. Texas Tech has done heavy damage through the air, with quarterback Behren Morton leading the Big 12 with an average of 350.5 passing yards per game and receiver Josh Kelly pulling in a national-best 19 receptions.

The Mean Green have surrendered an average of 415 yards a game, but some confidence is bubbling with a unit that began the season with eight new starters.

North Texas took major strides last week against Stephen F. Austin by limiting the Lumberjacks to 3-of-17 efficiency on third down.

“The chemistry on defense has come together surprisingly well,” Mean Green linebacker Jordan Brown said. “We build each other up.”

–Field Level Media

Oct 13, 2023; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Tulane Green Wave head coach Willie Fritz watches from the sideline during the second half at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

No. 23 Tulane blows halftime lead, still gets by North Texas

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Michael Pratt threw three touchdown passes and ran for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter as No. 23 Tulane downed North Texas 35-28 in an American Athletic Conference game on Saturday in New Orleans.

Pratt completed 15 of 21 passes for 194 yards and an interception and ran 19 yards for the winning points with 2:34 left in the game. Makhi Hughes finished with 121 rushing yards and a touchdown for the Green Wave (6-1, 3-0 AAC), who prevailed despite squandering a 21-0 halftime lead.

Chandler Rogers threw for 343 yards and two touchdowns on 35-of-51 passing for the Mean Green (3-4, 1-2).

On its first possession of the second half, North Texas drove 88 yards, with Rogers throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Mori Maclin to trim Tulane’s lead to 21-7.

The Green Wave responded with a 21-yard TD pass from Pratt to Alex Bauman for a 28-7 advantage.

On the fourth play after the ensuing kickoff, Ayo Adeyi ran 18 yards to the end zone, cutting the lead to 28-14.

The Mean Green recovered an onside kick and drove to Oscar Adaway III’s 1-yard scoring rush that got them within 28-21 at the end of the third quarter.

North Texas pulled even at 28 when Rogers threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Landon Sides with 9:08 left in the game.

After Pratt’s rushing touchdown broke the tie, the Mean Green reached midfield before turning the ball over on downs for the fourth time of the game.

Pratt’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Bauman on Tulane’s first possession of the contest gave the Wave a 7-0 lead with 9:34 remaining in the opening quarter.

Adaway fumbled and Patrick Jenkins recovered for Tulane at the North Texas 48. Eight plays later, Hughes ran 10 yards for a TD and a 14-0 lead.

Pratt threw a 23-yard scoring strike to Lawrence Keys III with 17 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 21-0 heading into the break.

–Field Level Media

Sep 16, 2023; Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA; Tulane Green Wave coach Willie Fritz yells to his players before their game against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at M.M. Roberts Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

No. 23 Tulane looks to keep rolling vs. North Texas

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Willie Fritz will become Tulane’s all-time leader in games coached when the 23rd-ranked Green Wave play North Texas on Saturday afternoon in New Orleans.

It will be the 95th game on the sidelines for Fritz, breaking a tie with Chris Scelfo (1998-2006).

It also will be an opportunity for Tulane (5-1, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) — which has won 17 of its last 20 games — to continue to show it is one of the premier Group of 5 programs in the country.

But Fritz said his team still can perform much better than it has this season.

“We don’t believe we’ve played our best game yet,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ve been even close to playing our best game yet. We’ve played really well in spurts. We haven’t put a complete game together yet, and we’d love to do that. Perfection is our goal. Excellence will be tolerated.”

Nonetheless, the Green Wave are coming off a significant victory. They won at Memphis for the first time in 25 years when they beat the Tigers 31-21 in an AAC showdown on Oct. 13.

The victory led to Tulane ending a five-week absence from the AP poll. It was ranked No. 24 to start the season and stayed there until after losing to then-No. 20 Ole Miss 37-20 on Sept. 9.

The Green Wave started fast against Memphis, taking a 10-0 lead after one quarter before falling behind 21-10 in the third quarter and scoring the final 21 points.

“From the middle of the third quarter on we played well,” Fritz said.

Tulane’s defense is No. 6 nationally in fewest rushing yards allowed (77.7 per game) and is eighth in sacks (3.33 per game).

The Green Wave will be tested by a versatile Mean Green offense that has gained more than 500 yards in four games this season.

Former Washington State offensive coordinator Eric Morris is in his first season as head coach at North Texas (3-3, 1-1).

“I think this will probably be the best football team we have played to this point,” Morris said of the Green Wave.

Morris is in the first stage of trying to build the Mean Green into the type of program that Fritz has built. Tulane won the AAC last season, defeated Southern California in the Cotton Bowl and was picked in the preseason to repeat as conference champion.

North Texas is coming off its first conference victory as a new member of the American, defeating visiting Temple 45-14 last week.

The Mean Green made three interceptions and didn’t allow a point in the second half. Chandler Rogers tied a career high with four touchdown passes and extended his streak of passes without an interception to 165 while Ja’Mori Maclin caught two touchdown passes to increase his season total to eight.

But Morris said the key for his team could be its ability to run against the stingy Green Wave defense.

“Nobody’s really been able to establish a run game against them,” Morris said. “I think it would be important for us to continue to build on what we’ve been able to do in the run game.”

–Field Level Media

November 25, 2022; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears running back Jaydn Ott (6) is tackled by UCLA Bruins linebacker Kain Medrano (20) during the second quarter at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Cal shuts down North Texas in 2nd half en route to win

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California overcame the loss of starting quarterback Sam Jackson V, amassing 669 total yards of offense behind backup Ben Finley in the Golden Bears’ 58-21 victory over host North Texas on Saturday at Denton, Texas.

Jackson left the game with a left shoulder injury with 13:58 remaining in the second quarter after he was tackled on a designed run.

He connected on 3 of 4 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown before his injury.

Finley completed 24 of 34 passes for 279 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

Jaydn Ott rushed for 188 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns for Cal. Isaiah Ifanse added 54 yards on 10 rushes with three touchdowns, and Ashton Stredick ran the ball 13 times for 51 yards and a touchdown.

California finished with 357 yards rushing.

California’s new run-game coordinator Mike Bloesch was the offensive coordinator at North Texas under Seth Littrell, who was fired after last season. Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital returned to Cal after serving as head coach at Texas State the last four years.

The 58 points for California are its most since Oct. 21, 2016, when it beat Oregon 52-49 in double overtime.

California established control in the first half, taking a 33-21 lead into halftime.

Touchdown runs of 26 yards by Ifanse and 66 yards by Ott in consecutive possessions in the second quarter built the Golden Bears’ lead to 27-14 with 5:42 left in the half.

After North Texas scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Stone Earle to Xzavior Kautai, Finley engineered a quick scoring possession with seven seconds to spare before halftime.

The nine-play, 75-yard drive lasted only 1:40 and was capped by Ifanse’s 8-yard run.

California scored on three of its first four possessions of the second half to pull away.

North Texas had only eight offensive plays in the third quarter because of an interception after one play, a three-and-out possession, and turnover on downs after four plays.

The Mean Green finished with 17 offensive plays in the second half, compared to 50 for California.

They had only 9 yards of total offense in the second half.

–Field Level Media

Nov 20, 2021; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback TJ Finley (1) passes against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the third quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Ex-LSU, Auburn QB TJ Finley transfers to North Texas

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Former LSU and Auburn quarterback TJ Finley will play next season at Texas State, he announced Friday.

A member of the Class of 2020, Finley started five games for LSU as a freshman, completing 57.1 percent of his passes for 941 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions.

After one season, Finley moved on to Auburn, where he backed up Bo Nix in 2021.

In 2022, he won the starting job over two transfers — Robby Ashford (Oregon) and Zach Calzada (Texas A&M).

A shoulder injury limited him to four games, and he was 33-of-53 passing for 431 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions.

At North Texas, he will compete for the starting job with another Southeastern Conference quarterback, Malik Hornsby, who transferred from Arkansas.

–Field Level Media

Dec 17, 2022; Frisco, Texas, USA; North Texas Mean Green wide receiver Jordan Smart (15) catches a pass against the Boise State Broncos in the first half at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Big second half carries Boise State past North Texas in Frisco Bowl

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Freshman running back Ashton Jeanty rushed for a career-high 178 yards and the eventual game-winning touchdown Saturday night as Boise State exploded for 29 points in the second half for a 35-32 Frisco Bowl win over North Texas in Frisco, Texas.

Jeanty’s 1-yard scoring plunge with 12:05 left in the game gave the Broncos (10-4) a 35-24 lead. The Mean Green (7-7) pulled within three points at the 8:17 mark on Ikaika Ragsdale’s 5-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion.

North Texas had a final chance to tie or win the game when it got possession at its 15 with 1:20 left and no timeouts. But Austin Aune’s fourth-down pass from his 16 with 52 seconds left fell incomplete, securing the outcome.

Aune completed 17 of 32 passes for 238 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Boise State quarterback Taylen Green finished with 256 total yards, hitting 13 of 22 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 119 yards and two scores on 12 carries.

Green gave the Broncos the lead for good with a 19-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds left in the third quarter. It capped a period where the teams combined for 36 points after scoring only 16 points in the first half.

Playing under interim coach Phil Bennett after Seth Littrell was fired on Dec. 4, North Texas’ defense held up well in the first half, neutralizing Boise State’s running game and limiting the Broncos to 24- and 37-yard field goals from Jonah Dalmas.

Meanwhile, the Mean Green did just enough on offense to earn a 10-6 lead at halftime. They ate up 5 1/2 minutes on the game’s opening drive, going 60 yards to set up a 27-yard field goal from Ethan Mooney.

North Texas took advantage of a short field for the half’s only touchdown, driving 65 yards and scoring on Ragsdale’s 1-yard run with 7:38 remaining in the second quarter.

The Mean Green earned a 195-133 advantage in total offense in the half, allowing just two third-down conversions by Boise State in seven tries.

–Field Level Media

Oct 9, 2021; Columbia, Missouri, USA; A general view of a North Texas Mean Green helmet against the Missouri Tigers during the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

North Texas hires Eric Morris as head coach

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North Texas introduced Eric Morris as the program’s 20th head coach on Tuesday.

Morris, 37, spent the 2022 season as the offensive coordinator at Washington State.

Prior to that, the Texas native spent four seasons (2018-21) as head coach at San Antonio’s Incarnate Word and five seasons as a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Texas Tech.

“Among a deep and talented pool of candidates Eric distinguished himself with his great energy and strong track record as a championship head coach and a proven developer of talent,” UNT athletic director Jared Mosley said in a news release. “As a Texas native, he has deep relationships across the state, and he understands the importance of connecting with campus and the local community.”

Morris was a wide receiver for the Red Raiders from 2005-08 under head coach Mike Leach, who passed away on Monday night.

Morris was 24-18 at Incarnate Word and was twice named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year. He led the Cardinals to the second round of the FCS playoffs and finished 10-3 in 2021.

“As a native Texan, I understand the pride and standard of Mean Green football and I am humbled to be able to lead this storied program,” Morris said. “My wife, Maggie, and our boys are so excited to return home. We can’t wait to meet the team and get to work.”

Morris will oversee the North Texas program as it transitions from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference in 2023.

He replaces Seth Littrell, who was fired earlier this month after going 44-44 over seven seasons with the Mean Green.

Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett was named the interim coach for this Saturday’s Frisco Bowl matchup between North Texas (7-6) and Boise State (9-4).

–Field Level Media