Dwight Dasher, Blue Raiders Crush UNT Upset Hopes 37-21 in Denton

Middle Tennessee State proved again why they should be mentioned as one of the early favorites for the Sunbelt title in crushing the North Texas Mean Green 37-21 in Denton.

Strong QB play? Dwight Dasher gashed the UNT defense for rushing first downs regularly throughout the game.  His passing was far less impressive, but he did throw for 269 yards with 2 TDs and no interceptions.

Solid running game? The Blue Raiders rolled up 187 yards on the ground at 4.2 yards per carry.  Dasher only accounted for 75 of those yards.

Great offensive line play? MTSU controlled UNT's pass rush all game and opened up holes regularly in what proved to be the decisive second quarter. UNT's pass rush is largely predicated on giving the opponent's offensive line fits by rotating in and out defensive linemen.  UNT's rotations did not bother MTSU; MTSU's offensive line blocked everyone they faced.

Great Defense?  MTSU played it for much of the game.  They totally made UNT RB Cam Montgomery a non-factor. The MTSU defenders hustled to make plays all game long. Even in the last minute when UNT hoped to score a meaningless TD to build momentum for the next game, a Blue Raider defender, Jeremy Kellem, made a diving interception at the goal line to deny UNT even that.

Solid Special teams? Well... a mixed bag here. UNT CB Royce Hill had a 75-yard kickoff return on the opening kickoff and UNT WR Darius Carey had long punt return for a TD called back on a penalty.  The Blue Raiders did block a FG. The Blue Raider punter David DeFatta had a fairly good game. He shanked one punt off the side of his foot, but for the most part consistently launched high unreturnable punts.  He averaged a very respectable 41 yards per punt for the game.

Maturity in the face of adversity?  Absolutely.  At several points in the game the emotional rollercoaster that is this year's North Texas Mean Green calmed down and focused and were on the verge of making it a game and the Blue Raiders stepped on the throats every time. Each time MTSU had to make a play, they did. That is how championship teams respond.

With all that said, one would think UNT was absolutely destroyed.  Not the case.

What of UNT?

UNT was absolutely wretched in the second quarter and fourth quarter, but looked decent in the first quarter and quite strong in the third when they pulled the game to 30-21.

1st half

For the second week in a row UNT opened the game with a big play on which their offense could not capitalize.  UNT's Hill took the ball 75 yards but went down at the 23. 

The UNT offense had another cold start and could not get a first down.  UNT's kicker Jeremy Knott's FG was blocked on fourth down and UNT came out with no points.

MTSU quickly took it down the field with Dasher connecting with Benjamin Cunningham on a 50 yard TD.

For much of the rest of the first half, UNT seemed in shock and out of sync, almost like they felt they were still playing Alabama.

On UNT's second play after the Blue Raider TD, UNT WR Jamaal Jackson fumbled after a 3 yard reception.  After several incomplete passes by Dasher, the Blue Raiders kicked a FG to go up 10-0.

The teams traded three and outs twice and on the second Blue Raider punt Mean Green WR Carey took the ball downfield for an apparent long return touchdown to cut the play to 10-7.

A flag on the play wiped out the return, but two plays later UNT's elusive backup RB Lance Dunbar took the handoff 66 yards for the TD.

Dasher responded taking the Blue Raiders down the field before the UNT defense responded in the red zone and forced MTSU to kick another FG to go up 13-7.

The next drive for UNT was a carnival of incompetence.  Sophomore Tackle Matt Tomlinson, making his second difficult start in a row in place of the injured Victor Gill vs. a team with top DEs, was flagged as an ineligible receiver downfield wiping out a nice gain.

On first and 15, UNT QB Riley Dodge threw an incompletion.  On 2nd and 15, the offense was in total disarray and the Mean Green had to call a timeout to prevent a delay of game. Once play resumed, Dodge promptly threw an interception that was returned to the 6 yard line.

Three plays later, Dasher ran it in for a TD to put MTSU up 20-7.

The next drive opened with a false start by Tomlinson.  UNT was able to get a first down but was then forced to punt.

The teams traded three-and-out series.  After an excellent UNT punt fell dead at the MTSU 2 yard line, Dasher put together a 98-yard TD drive built off numerous big runs by MTSU runners to go up 27-7. 

UNT's defense looked a lot like last year's incarnation on this drive: incapable of holding the line of scrimmage or very bad at tackling.

UNT took over after the touchdown and Dodge hit Carey for a first down.  Then Tomlinson got hit for an offsides penalty to make it first and 15. Dodge hit two straight passes and then was stopped a yard short on third and one. 

The team called a timeout and decided to go for it on fourth down.  The team decided not to risk Dodge on a QB sneak and rolled him out where he was stuffed for no gain.

Dasher drove the Blue Raiders to the UNT 31 on a lethargic defense before inaccuracy again forced another FG, putting the Blue Raiders up 30-7.

Time ran out on the Mean Green's two-minute offense and that was the score at the half.

With UNT's defense looking absolutely awful and the offense looking little better, flashbacks to last year's team without a defense entered the minds of the fans, and probably a quarter to a third of the 22,000 fans left.

If only they knew what awaited them in the third quarter...

Second half

Following what was almost certainly a severe tongue-lashing from the coaches, UNT emerged from half time with much better intensity on the defensive side of the ball, although the offense still looked very much out of sync.

Both teams faced renewed defenses after the half and opened by trading 3 and outs. In the UNT series, Dodge took a hit and QB Nathan Tune started warming up on the sidelines after the punt. 

UNT's defense again forced MTSU into a three-and-out and after a Blue Raider punt the UNT offense took over at the UNT 38.

A focused Dodge re-entered the game and level of play dramatically improved.  Dodge mixed handoffs to his running backs and passes to B.J. Lewis to drive the team down the field.  Dodge himself ran it up the gut on a delayed run for a 4 yard TD closing the game to 30-14.

The Mean Green defense forced another three-and-out and the Blue Raider punter shanked a 28 yard punt off the side of his foot. UNT WR Carey was caught for a 9 yard loss on the return and then UNT got tagged with a 19-yard penalty for an illegal block.

Dodge ran and passed the team down the field to a first down at the MTSU 11.  Then disaster struck and Dodge fumbled on a six-yard run.

The Blue Raiders were able to get another first down before the UNT defense forced another punt.

Dodge went back to work and quickly drove the team down the feild on a drive capped by Dunbar's second TD run of the day, an 18 yarder, to make the score 30-21.

The teams traded three-and-outs to start the fourth quarter.

With 12:38 to go in the game, MTSU started at the UNT 49.  Bennie Cunningham was stopped after a three-yard gain. Dasher was forced into an incomplete pass on second down.  Facing third and 7, MTSU's Wes Caldwell beat UNT safety Darien Williams, who then compounded his error by missing the tackle, allowing Caldwell to gain 23 yards to the UNT 23-yard line.

UNT got a momentary reprieve when MTSU got hit with a 16-yard unsportmanlike conduct pushing the Blue Raiders back to the UNT 39.  On 1st and 10 UNT's defense sacked Dasher and forced a fumble that MTSU recovered. 

The heart of UNT's defense, emotional MLB Tobe Nwigwe, lost his cool at the most inoppotune time possible drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct flag.  (Or maybe he drew the flag and then pitched the fit. It was hard to say.) Nwigwe was totally out of control and the coaching staff had to call Nwigwe off the field and replace him.

Facing a first-and-10 at the 24 without their defensive leader, a deflated UNT defense allowed an immediate uncontested TD pass to WR Desmond Gee.

This play was particularly disheartening to UNT fans due to the fact that UNT's best cover man Royce Hill was the player roundly beaten on that play.

With the TD, MTSU took a commanding 16 point lead.

Both the UNT offense and defense seemed to lose a lot of steam after that.   The UNT defense did not force any more three-and-outs, and the offense returned to its out of sync ways until the game ended...in spite of MTSU being willing to trade yardage for clock time.

Post game thoughts

It was a game very much worth watching in what it said about both teams.

The Blue Raiders are not a dominant team, but they are a VERY good one.  They play with maturity and don't panic under pressure.  They have the knack for making plays when they have to that all champions have. 

Their defense is a little better than I thought prior to the game.  They keyed heavily on Montgomery and made him a total non-factor in the game.  That was very impressive and unexpected.  

With the exception of their QB, who I still think is a little overrated, their offense is more explosive than I thought as well.

Mostly though, I was impressed with their composure.  This is a mentally tough team.

As for UNT, this year the Mean Green has the talent to beat good teams in the Sunbelt.  This game proves it.  In spite of enduring multiple emotional punches to the gut in the first half, including a blocked FG, a punt return for a TD being wiped out, the defense either losing focus for a quarter off vs. a conference front-runner or the wrong players playing (however one wants to interpret the second quarter), getting stuffed on 4th and 1, two turnovers, AND a 23 point halftime deficit, UNT had the momentum and was very much in this game down 21-30 at the start of the fourth.

That said, this team has to grow up and quickly.  If UNT had the maturity of the Blue Riders they might have won this game and would have won the Ohio game.  A team like the Blue Raiders doesn't win games just on some talent edge;  They win games because they understanding of how not to give wins away.

In this game and in every game this year the defense has lost focus and taken drives and even quarters off.  The offense needs to eliminate the silly mistakes and to execute even when they feel like they may be out of the game.  This team is too talented to wait for a coach to yell at them to play up to their abilities.

UNT may not be the undertalented losers of last year, but they still have a lot of that team's bad habits. They haven't learned how to avoid game losing mistakes and the losses of focus.  They haven't learned how to maintain their composure in tough moments. If the team does not improve in this area, this will cost UNT many more wins this year.