2012 North Texas Mean Green football team

Schedule

The North Texas announced the official football game schedule for 2012 on March 1, 2012. Five of the Mean Green's 12 opponents in 2012 participated in a bowl game the previous season. Sports analyst Phil Steele rated the schedule as the 79th toughest out of 124 teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

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Before the season

Spring practice

Denton, TX

• Sources: Spring practice began on March 28 and included 15 practices and an intrasquad scrimmage planned to avoid conflicts with classes. Head Coach Dan McCarney supervised the annual Green and White football game that concluded the spring football schedule on April 21. The 2012 match featured the first and third string members comprising the Green Team and the second and fourth string members comprising the White team.

The White team was given a 20-point lead at the start of the contest; they would be unable to score the rest of the game. Quarterback Derek Thompson threw six passes with four completions for 162 yards in the first half. Wide receivers Ivan Delgado and Brelan Chancellor combined for five catches and three touchdowns. Delgado finished with 2 receptions for 114 yards and 1 touchdown while Chancellor had three receptions for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. Two rushes by running back Jeremy Brown for 52 and 25 yards gave the Green team the lead in the third quarter, bringing the score to 21–20. Ten minutes later, running back Antoinne Jackson rushed ten yards to increase the lead to 28–20. In the fourth quarter, Chancellor caught a 52-yard reception from quarterback Andrew McNulty. Antoinne Jimmerson ran 30 yards for his second rushing touchdown to make the final score 41–20.

Game summaries

LSU

Baton Rouge, LA

• Sources:

The first game for the Mean Green's season was scheduled against the LSU Tigers football team, who had last played in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game against the 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team at the end of the 2011 season, losing 21–0. In the week before the game, concerns over the path and effects of Tropical Storm Isaac forced local officials in Louisiana to consider contingency plans for the game. Although the Tigers were forced to alter their practice schedule leading up to the game, the contest was held as scheduled in Tiger Stadium. The Mean Green's two scoring drives were capped by touchdown passes of 80 and 15 yards from quarterback Derek Thompson to wide receiver Brelan Chancellor. The Tigers' 508 yards of total offense led the team to a 41–14 victory over the Mean Green in the season opener.

Texas Southern

Denton, TX

• Sources: For their first home game of the 2012 season, the Mean Green defeated the Texas Southern University Tigers, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) 34–7. The Tigers, who finished the 2011 season with a 4–7 record, were limited to 185 yards of total offense, while the Mean Green totaled 497 yards, most of which came from rushing. The game was the first home opening win for the Mean Green since the team defeated the SMU Mustangs football team during the 2006 season.

Kansas State

Manhattan, KS

• Sources: For their next road game, the Mean Green played the Kansas State Wildcats, led by potential Heisman Trophy candidate Collin Klein. The two teams had last met during the 2010 season, when the Wildcats defeated the Mean Green 41–49 in the final game at Fouts Field. This time playing at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, the Wildcats were favored to win by 28 points by spread bettors prior to the game. Each team scored two touchdowns by midway through the third quarter, but a blocked extra point attempt after North Texas' second score made the score 14–13. Kansas State answered with three unanswered touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter, bringing the score to 35-13 before North Texas scored its final touchdown with 2:31 left in the game. The final score was 35–13 in favor of the Wildcats. Mean Green quarterback Derek Thompson completed 25 of 28 passes in the game.

Troy

Denton, TX

• Sources: For their first conference game of the season, the Mean Green faced the Troy Trojans, whom they had defeated the previous year 38–33. North Texas' defensive squad showed significant improvement, slowing a Troy offense led by Corey Robinson that had averaged over 500 yards a game to only two touchdowns. On offense, however, the team struggled to score points despite moving the ball. The Mean Green gained 422 yards of total offense, but kicker Zach Olen missed three field goals and quarterback Derek Thompson completed only 12 of 28 passes for 238 yards and one touchdown. The loss brought the Mean Green's season record to 1–3.

Florida Atlantic

Boca Raton, FL

• Sources:

The Mean Green eked out a victory against first-year head coach Carl Pelini and the Florida Atlantic Owls at FAU Stadium, giving the team a 2–3 record through five games, its best start since the 2005 season. After North Texas gained a 17–0 lead midway through the third quarter, Florida Atlantic scored two straight touchdowns in less than two minutes of game time to bring the score to 17–14. Midway through the fourth quarter, Mean Green kicker Zach Olen made a 28-yard field goal to bring the score to 20–14. North Texas held on to the lead, which was one point short of the points spread predicted prior to the beginning of the game. The Mean Green gained 56 rushing yards against an Owl defense that had allowed an average of 255 yards per game coming into the contest.

Houston

Houston, TX

• Sources: The Mean Green faced the Cougars for the second time in as many years when they traveled to Houston for their final nonconference game of the season. Although Cougars lost their first game of the season to the Texas State Bobcats, the team's prolific offensive unit had recovered somewhat by the time they played the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on September 8. In that game, the teams combined for a total of 209 plays, breaking an NCAA FBS record held by the Mean Green and the San Jose State Spartans since 1971. The Cougars scored two touchdowns and a field goal to earn a 17-point lead before the Mean Green scored its first points in the second quarter. Houston running back Charles Sims ran for a career-high 210 yards, and the Cougars won the contest with a score of 44–21.

Louisiana Lafayette

Denton, TX

• Sources: The Mean Green's Tuesday evening home game against the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns began at 8:00 p.m. in Denton. Louisiana scored first, and had gained a 20–6 lead by the middle of the third quarter. After North Texas scored two touchdowns and a field goal, followed by a field goal from the Ragin' Cajuns, the score was tied at 23–23. With 1:54 remaining in the game at their own 22-yard line, North Texas quarterback Derek Thompson threw a screen pass to running back Antoinne Jimmerson, who ran 78 yards for the game-winning touchdown. On the ensuing drive, Ragin' Cajun running back Effrem Reed fumbled the ball, which was recovered by North Texas. The Mean Green ran out the clock to win the contest. The game was televised on ESPN2. The broadcast had an estimated 366,000 viewers, earning a Nielsen rating of 0.3.

Middle Tennessee

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

• Sources: The Mean Green struggled on both sides of the ball against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Although the Mean Green gained 432 total yards with a balanced running and passing offense, it did not score any points until running back Antoinne Jimmerson ran two yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. By that time, the Blue Raiders had already scored 31 points, making the game out of reach for the Mean Green. Wide receiver Brelan Chancellor broke a collar bone in the first quarter of the game, and would miss the rest of the season.

Arkansas State

Denton, TX

• Sources:

South Alabama

Denton, TX

• Sources:

Louisiana Monroe

Monroe, LA

• Sources:

Western Kentucky

Bowling Green, Kentucky

• Sources:

Personnel

Roster

• Dan McCarney ()

• Mike Canales () Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks

• John Skladany () Defensive coordinator

• Justin Gaines () Cornerbacks

• Mike Grant () Running backs

• Noah Joseph () Safeties

• Mike Nelson () Defensive line

• Nick Quartaro () Asst. head coach/Wide Receivers

• Kent Riddle () Special teams/tight ends

• Mike Simmonds () Offensive line

• Travis Bell () Tight ends

• Sadiq Muhammed () Linebackers

• Scotty Conley () Director of football operations/recruiting coordinator

• Frank Wintrich () Strength coach

Recruiting class

25 players signed letters of intent to begin playing for North Texas in 2012.

Media

All North Texas football games aired via the Mean Green Radio Network, with George Dunham providing play-by-play action and Hank Dickenson providing analysis. Mean Green Radio Network coverage was carried on KNTU 88.1 FM in Denton and on KHYI 95.3 FM in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. 2012 was the first year KHYI provided Mean Green football coverage. Both stations also streamed live online.

References

References

1. "Conference USA Expands Adding Five Members". [[KOTV-DT.
2. "North Texas Announces 2012 Football Schedule". Mean Green Sports.
3. Steele, Phil. (2012). "Phil Steele's College Football Preview". Phil Steele Publications.
4. . ["North Texas Mean Green Schedule 2012"](https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/249/season/2012). *[[ESPN]]*.
5. . ["2012 North Texas Mean Green Schedule and Results"](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/north-texas/2012-schedule.html). *[[Sports Reference]]*.
6. . ["2012 Football Schedule"](https://meangreensports.com/sports/football/schedule/2012). *[[University of North Texas]]*.
7. "Thompson Leads Green to 41-20 Spring Game Win". Mean Green Sports.
8. "Green and White Game in Flurry of Activity at Mean Green Village". North Texas Inhouse.
9. (September 1, 2012). "North Texas vs #3 LSU". University of North Texas Athletics.
10. Guilbeau, Glenn. (August 30, 2012). "LSU Considering Contingency Plans for Saturday Game". The News Star.
11. (September 1, 2012). "Kenny Hilliard Powers No. 3 LSU Past North Texas". ESPN.com.
12. (September 8, 2012). "Brandin Byrd Soars For North Texas". ESPN.com.
13. (September 15, 2012). "North Texas vs Kansas State". University of North Texas Athletics.
14. Hein, Brett. (2012-09-15). "Kansas State Vs. North Texas Final Score: K-State Downs Pesky Mean Green, 35-21". SBNation.com.
15. (September 22, 2012). "Troy vs North Texas". University of North Texas Athletics.
16. Vito, Brett. (2012-09-23). "UNT defense cools down Trojans". [[Denton Record-Chronicle]].
17. (2012-09-22). "Troy 14, North Texas 7". [[ESPN.com]].
18. (September 29, 2012). "North Texas vs FAU". University of North Texas Athletics.
19. (2012-09-29). "North Texas Beats FAU 20-14, Best Start Since 2005". [[Yahoo! Sports]].
20. Muma, Steven. (2012-09-29). "North Texas vs. FAU 2012: TV Schedule, Game Time, Odds and More". SB Nation Tampa Bay.
21. Vito, Brett. (2012-10-03). "North Texas Aiming to Improve Ground Game After Ugly Showing vs. FAU". [[The Dallas Morning News]].
22. (October 6, 2012). "North Texas vs Houston". University of North Texas Athletics.
23. (2012-09-09). "Louisiana Tech–Houston Game Sets Multiple NCAA Records". [[Louisiana Tech University]].
24. (2012-10-06). "Sims helps Houston run past North Texas 44-21". [[STATS LLC]].
25. (October 16, 2012). "Louisiana-Lafayette vs North Texas". University of North Texas Athletics.
26. (2012-10-16). "North Texas vs Louisiana-Lafayette Highlight". [[ESPN.com]].
27. Vito, Brett. (2012-10-15). "North Texas Gets Rare Chance to Show Off Fruits of Football Commitment with Tuesday's Nationally Televised Contest". [[The Dallas Morning News]].
28. (2012-10-24). "U.S. Cable Television Ratings for the Week Ended Oct. 21". [[Nielsen Media Research]].
29. (October 27, 2012). "North Texas vs. Middle Tennessee State vs North Texas". University of North Texas Athletics.
30. (2012-10-27). "Middle Tennessee 38, North Texas 21". [[ESPN]].
31. (2012-11-25). "Mean Green Moving On to C-USA". [[Chicago Tribune]].
32. (November 3, 2012). "Arkansas State vs North Texas". University of North Texas Athletics.
33. (November 10, 2012). "South Alabama vs North Texas". University of North Texas Athletics.
34. [[Associated Press]]. (September 5, 2012). "On-Leave Rangers Announcer Barnett To Call UNT Games". [[CBS]].
35. (November 17, 2012). "North Texas vs ULM". University of North Texas Athletics.
36. "W. Kentucky 25, North Texas 24". [[ESPN.com]].
37. (November 19, 2012). "Hilltoppers Host North Texas Saturday On Senior Day". Western Kentucky University.
38. "MGRN Announces New Deal With KHYI The Range". Mean Green Sports.