UNT aiming to snap six-game bowl slide, change narrative about program

Eric Morris follows the same routine every day on the way to his office in the North Texas Athletic Center. UNT’s coach heads from his reserved parking spot through the glass doors and across the lobby, a jaunt that provides a reminder of what the Mean Green will be playing for when they face Texas State in the First Responder Bowl on Jan. 3.

A gray square trophy with a silver football at the top sits in a glass case against the wall a few feet inside. Eric Morris UNT brought that hardware home after beating UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl at the end of the 2013 season. It’s the last bowl trophy the Mean Green have won in their history, which includes just three wins in 14 bowl appearances.



“It’s been a long time,” Morris said. “Anytime you can get one of those things, win a bowl and end your season on a high note, it’s huge for recruiting that next year. You grab momentum heading into it.

We need to find a way to win this game. “I have thought about bringing that trophy out to practice and have the guys carry it off to feel the excitement of winning one.” The following is a look at North Texas bowl losing streak.

UNT has been on the other side often over the years. The Mean Green have lost six bowls in a row since their Heart of Dallas Bowl win, a slide that puts UNT in a tough position. There’s only one team in major college football with a longer losing streak in bowl games.

UTEP has lost seven in a row and didn’t qualify for a bowl this year. UNT and Indiana came into the season tied for the second-longest slide at six games. The Hoosiers lost to Notre Dame on Friday in a first-round game in the College Football Playoff.

The debate within college football is if playoff games will count toward bowl records. The USA TODAY Network posed the question to the NCAA and programs that made the 12-team field. There was no consensus.

Matt Holmes — the NCAA’s assistant director of media coordination and statistics — said that those games will count toward postseason records. The NCAA began counting bowl statistics toward teams’ and players’ official totals in 2002. Some of the schools in the playoff field said they will not count playoff games as bowl appearances, others are considering creating a separate category for playoff games, and some said they would defer to the NCAA.

Indiana was among the schools that didn’t respond. The following is a look at the longest bowl losing streaks in college football UNT would like nothing more than to make where its run of bowl losses ranks a moot point by ending its run of postseason futility. The Mean Green appear to have a good opportunity.

UNT snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Temple in its regular-season finale and picked up the win it needed to become bowl eligible at 6-6. Texas State is 7-5 on the year. UNT is an underdog and will be without quarterback Chandler Morris, who transferred to Virginia after the season, but it certainly has a chance.

“I want to go out with a bang,” senior wide receiver Damon Ward Jr. said. “I’m pushing the guys and telling them that this is what you play for.

You want to play in the postseason, whether it’s in a bowl game or a conference championship. To leave a legacy and get a ring would be big.” Not many players in UNT history have reached that goal.

The Mean Green beat Cincinnati in the 2002 New Orleans Bowl and Pacific in 1946 in the Optimist Bowl, their other bowl wins outside of their victory over UNLV a decade ago. That history begs the question: Why has it been so tough for UNT to break through? Senior cornerback Ridge Texada has as much insight as anyone on UNT’s roster when it comes to bowl games. He’s in his fourth season with the Mean Green and played in each of their last two bowl losses.

North Texas offensive lineman Manase Mose, right, celebrates with running back Ikaika Ragsdale during the Mean Green’s loss to Boise State in the Frisco Bowl at the end of the 2022 season at Toyota Stadium. UNT fell to Miami (Ohio) in the 2021 Frisco Football Classic and to Boise State in the 2022 Frisco Bowl. “I don’t really have an answer to why it’s been hard for us to win bowl games,” Texada said.

“We just haven’t gotten the job done.” The matchups UNT has received often haven’t helped matters. The Mean Green landed in what seemed like a perfect spot when they faced Miami.

The bowl was added to the postseason lineup when there weren’t enough slots for all the bowl-eligible teams. UNT essentially played a home game against the RedHawks, who also finished 6-6 in the regular season. The Mean Green failed to capitalize when they fell flat offensively in a 27-14 loss.

UNT came a whole lot closer to pulling out a win when it faced Boise State a year later. The Mean Green had the ball in the closing moments down three and had a chance to drive for the game-winning touchdown, or at least tie it up with a field goal. The Mean Green couldn’t capitalize in a 35-32 loss.

Those close games have been the exception to the rule. Several of UNT’s other bowl losses in recent years have come against programs in the midst of landmark seasons. Appalachian State finished 9-3 after beating UNT 56-28 in the 2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl.

Utah State was ranked No. 23 nationally and featured quarterback Jordan Love, who led the Aggies to a 52-13 win over UNT in the 2018 Myrtle Beach Bowl. Love went on to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft Troy finished 11-2 in 2017 after beating UNT 50-30 in the New Orleans Bowl.

North Texas senior defensive end Jareid Combs tackles Army running back Tyler Campbell at the Cotton Bowl during the Heart of Dallas Bowl at the end of the 2016 season. The Mean Green nearly pulled out a win over Army in the 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl, another postseason game that set up well for UNT. Army went for it on fourth-and-goal in overtime and scored the game-clinching touchdown on a Jordan Asberry 3-yard run that gave the Black Knights a 38-31 win.

Ward would like nothing more than to help UNT end its bowl losing streak because of the impact he believes a win would bring. “It would help with recruiting and the culture of the program,” Ward said. “Guys would want to stay in it and win bowls and championships along the way.

” Derek Thompson knows from experience how a bowl win can change the way a team and its players are viewed. The UNT Hall of Fame quarterback threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns in the Mean Green’s Heart of Dallas Bowl win and was named the game’s MVP. Thompson’s name is all over UNT’s record book.

He ranks among the program’s all-time leaders in several categories, including career passing yards (third, 7,427) and career passing touchdowns (sixth, 42). Leading UNT to a bowl win stands out among Thompson’s accomplishments. “There is no doubt the bowl win was big for my legacy,” Thompson said.

“You start thinking about resumes. I had a good career. You put that exclamation point on the end by winning a bowl and being named MVP.

At that point people probably looked at it and said, ‘Well, it’s hard to keep him out of the Hall of Fame.’ “The guys I played with had a lot to do with it. If it was up to me, I would have that entire group in there with me.

” Thompson’s experience shows the challenge UNT faces heading into the First Responder Bowl. Ridge Texada A win would give UNT another trophy to go along with the Heart of Dallas Bowl hardware Morris passes by on his way to his office and a load of momentum. A loss would drop the Mean Green into a tie with UTEP for the longest bowl losing streak in college football and keep them in a tie with Indiana when it comes to postseason losing streaks at seven.

UNT would also enter the 2025 campaign riding a streak of six straight years without posting a winning record. Thompson and his teammates changed the way they are remembered with their 36-14 win over UNLV. The Mean Green have a chance to do the same when they take on Texas State next week.

“Winning a bowl game would change things,” Texada said. “Everyone thinks of North Texas losing games and bowl games. We don’t want that to be the narrative.

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