DENTON — For a little perspective on all the ground North Texas had plowed going into Friday’s game at DATCU Stadium against 24th-ranked South Florida, consider that the sellout crowd of 31,386 was the largest ever on either side of the highway. And that probably doesn’t count anyone still stuck on Interstate 35. The stragglers missed quite a show before intermission.
UNT’s long lost fan base made history to see if the Mean Green could make some more. Only three times in 53 tries had they beaten a ranked team, and one of those was a forfeit. The last time they’d started a season 5-0 was the same year Barbie was born and the music died.
Buddy Holly might have had an answer to UNT’s pregame note regarding a matchup with “College Football Playoff implications.”
That’ll be the day.
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Before it all collapsed with a 63-36 thud, though, the Mean Green at least put a scare in a team that did what almighty Texas couldn’t: beat Florida in the Swamp.
Besides the win over the Gators, the Bulls also whipped Boise State when the Broncos were still ranked, too. Even if they got hammered by then-No. 5 Miami, they looked like the cream of the American Athletic Conference coming in.
Looked it going out, too.
Eric Morris will second that notion, by the way, but his biggest takeaway was personal.
“I hate it,” the UNT coach said of the loss. “You know, for me, I’ll beat myself up for a long time over this one, just because it was such a great opportunity for our fans, our program, our university, on national TV.”
Considering the prime position of a Friday night game on ESPN2, a full house for the first time ever and a press box full of national media looking for something to do the night before Texas-OU, it was pretty much a worst-case scenario for UNT. Probably better to get blown out when no one notices.
No question the program isn’t used to this sort of attention. In the release announcing the first sellout in stadium history earlier in the week, school officials felt compelled to advise left-out fans to watch the game on TV or buy a ticket on the secondary market. Friday’s afternoon classes were canceled, which might have accounted for the packed student section an hour before the game.
They got a good view of USF’s Byrum Brown, a load at 6-3, 232 pounds who threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more. He’s good enough to make national watch lists for three years running when not sitting out last season with a broken leg.
But, for most of a half, anyway, Drew Mestemaker, the redshirt freshman from Austin Vandegrift who didn’t start a single game as a varsity quarterback in high school, went toe-to-toe with him.
Mestemaker threw for 157 yards in the first 30 minutes and ran for a touchdown, displaying the athletic ability that made him an all-district safety in high school, if not a starting quarterback. And it’s not like he was nickel-and-diming the Bulls’ defense, either.
On one touchdown drive that drove the locals into a tizzy, he completed consecutive passes of 19, 16 and 14 yards before a 23-yard end zone run by Makenzie McGill II. Pretty much the kind of stuff he’s done all season. His elegant delivery and pocket poise have formed a dynamic combination with Morris’ electric offense to the point that no one’s wishing for Chandler Morris.
But, as good as Mestemaker has been this year, the revelation in Denton has been the defense of coordinator Skyler Cassity. Going into the game, UNT had forced 10 turnovers, the primary reason the Mean Green were second in all of FBS with a turnover margin of plus-1.6.
Even if one of USF’s three turnovers in the first quarter was an unforced error, UNT benefited from an opportunistic defense as responsible for the Mean Green’s 21-14 advantage as the offense. And the margin might have been greater if not for a red zone interception in the first quarter.
But, in the last two minutes of the half, the floor fell out from under the home team. Mestemaker hung a throw up for grabs, snuffing out a drive that had started at midfield, then UNT muffed a punt inside its 20. Brown capitalized on the second turnover to tie the game with only two seconds left.
Then, on the first drive of the second half, USF went 75 yards on four plays, a turn of 14 points in 71 seconds, and the rout was on.
The difference, besides superior athletes: When the Mean Green defense didn’t force turnovers, it couldn’t stop the Bulls, who rushed for 306 yards at a 5.4-yard clip. They also lost the turnover margin they’d worked so hard to build this season, 5-3.
The real shame of it, though, would be if UNT loses the fan base again. Morris won’t soon forget the roar from the crowd after the first-quarter turnovers by USF. That, he said, was “true college football.” For most of a half, he said, fans provided a “phenomenal” home field advantage. By the start of the fourth quarter, most of them were back in their cars, headed for the highway, leaving a coach to wonder if they’ll ever come back.
Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN
Madness in Denton: See photos from UNT’s first-ever sellout at DATCU Stadium against No. 24 USF
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