2001: The North Texas Game

A perennial playoff team, Troy was not unfamiliar with games in December. This one was different though, for a few reasons.

First of all and most notably, this game was never supposed to happen. Due to the cancellation of games after 9/11, Troy was unable to reschedule its game with App State and had to pick up the end of season matchup with North Texas. This would prove to be a de facto bowl game for the ineligible Trojans, and a barometer game for Troy’s potential ceiling in Division I-A.

The Mean Green had been I-A since 1995, returning to the highest level of college football after a nearly 20-year exile following Coach Hayden Fry’s failed attempt to get North Texas into the Southwest Conference.

Since rejoining, UNT had gone 19-47 from 1995-2000, with no bowl games, conference championships, or even a winning record to show for it.

As North Texas traveled down I-20 to the Wiregrass, they brought with them a 5-5 record. Most importantly, though, they had a 5-1 record in the Sun Belt’s inaugural football season.

Due to a midseason win over Middle Tennessee, the Mean Green owned the tiebreaker over the Blue Raiders, meaning they would receive the Sun Belt’s New Orleans Bowl bid. MTSU was understandably upset as they had a superior 8-3 record and a high powered offense.

As it stood, the Mean Green needed only to win at Veterans Memorial Stadium to roll into NOLA on a six game win streak. 15,307 fans streamed into Troy for the final regular season game for each team.

Much like the previous week’s match with JSU, the game started off very slow for both teams. The first Mean Green drive ended after 6 yards and a punt.

Troy drove 56 yards, but came away empty handed after a 30-yard field goal attempt went wide right for the Trojans.

UNT took over from the 20 and worked out a masterful drive lasting 8 minutes and getting the game into the 2nd quarter. The 80-yard drive took 15 plays and kept the Trojan defense busy until Mean Green QB Scott Hall tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to George Martin for the first score of the game.

Troy threw an interception on the next drive before both teams punted.

The Mean Green took over exactly where they had earlier in the quarter, on the 20. In just three minutes North Texas drove down the field and took a 14-0 lead on a nearly identical play: a Scott Hall pass to George Martin, this time for 17 yards. This was the largest deficit Troy faced since Maryland went up 44-0 a month before.

The Trojans, however, were not fazed by the early North Texas lead. The offense responded by buckling down and focusing on the game plan. They took 2 minutes and drove 42 yards down the field.

Brock Nutter pushed the ball in the final yard to get the Trojans on the board. Unfortunately, Drew Boteler’s bad day kept getting worse. His extra point attempt failed, putting the Trojans down eight heading into the half.

After four consecutive punts from both teams to start the second half, Troy took the ball at the North Texas 39. Their good field position was the result of Heyward Skipper returning a UNT punt 10 yards to their 46. He was hit and fumbled the ball. Thankfully, David Philyaw was there to pick it up at the 39.

It only took the Trojans two plays to hit paydirt. Demontray Carter got five yards on the first run and the remaining 34 on the second. A Brock Nutter 2-point pass failed to score, putting the Trojans down just two at 14-12 with seven minutes left in the third.

That was just the spark the Trojans needed. After getting the ball back late in the third, Troy drove 51 yards to the UNT 6, but was forced to settle for a field goal.

Thankfully, Drew Boteler’s bad luck stayed in the first half. He drilled the kick, giving the Trojans their first lead of the day, 15-14.

As time wound down in the fourth and North Texas was driving deep into TSU territory, Troy great Derrick Ansley snagged a critical interception at the Troy 6-yard line. On the next drive, the wheels would seemingly fall off of The Mighty Trojan Death Machine.

A false start backed the ball up to the 3. DeWhitt Betterson tried to punch the ball out of the shadows of the endzone twice for no gain.

On the third and 13, Betterson managed to get clearance out to the five, but fumbled the ball backwards into the endzone. Trojans fell on it, giving up the safety and the lead.

With only 3:54 left in the game, North Texas had a 16-15 lead.

The Trojan defense, however, would not be denied. They settled down and quickly snuffed out a potential game-sealing drive by the Mean Green. A short punt gave the Trojans the ball at the North Texas 36 with 3:24 left.

When the offense came back on the field, Demontray Carter carried the Trojans 22 yards on his first two carries. After coming up short on the third, Brock Nutter tossed a 12-yard pass to Jason Samples, putting the Trojans on the doorstep, the UNT 4-yard line. All the Trojans needed to do was punch it in and they would secure the victory.

Carter again picked up a tough yard to the UNT 3, then lost two on the next play. Brock Nutter tried rushing it in himself, but was stuffed for no gain with only 28 seconds left.

Coach Blakeney called the timeout after the third down play and decided to go for the field goal. Drew Boteler made up for his earlier miss in dramatic fashion, nailing the 22-yard kick with 23 seconds left on the clock.

After the kickoff and a 15-yard Osi Umenyiora sack, the game was over. Troy won over North Texas, a team that would now be the first bowl team in college football history with a losing record.

North Texas would parlay their 2001 SBC title into three more, becoming the first Sun Belt team to win four straight titles. This record would stand until Troy won five straight from 2006-10, a mark that still stands today, even as the Sun Belt has improved drastically.

For this Troy team, this game became one of the biggest tests of the season. How could they respond to adversity, especially late in the season? This Trojan team proved they were a special team by continuing to fight, even when the game looked lost. 

Statistically, Troy had more first downs (17-13), more rushing yards (185-111), and more total offense (248-217). Brock Nutter had a solid day throwing 14-of-22 and one interception. That all added up to 86 yards passing for the quarterback.

The rushing attack netted 185 yards total, but Demontray Carter accounted for 155 of that on 23 carries for a 6.5 yards per carry average. Along with his one touchdown, he also had his longest run of 34 yards.

The other 30 rushing yards were divided between Chris Day, LeBarron Black, Chris Cox, Brock Nutter, and DeWhitt Betterson. Coach Blakeney used as many backs as he could trying to jumpstart the offense.

At this point in the season, is there really any point in me telling you who led in receiving? You should know it by now. It was Mr. Reliable, Heyward Skipper. He caught 6 passes for 49 yards, but unfortunately like the rest of the receiving corps, couldn’t get in the endzone. Jason Samples had 15 yards, Chris Day got 13, Eric Felton totaled 11 and LeBarron Black added 2 to his rushing yards. 

While the offense had some struggles, The Mighty Trojan Death Machine did their best to stem the Mean Green’s offense. Damien Coleman led the team in tackles with 14 and Derrick Ansley followed suit with 11, the only Troy players in double figures for tackles.

Ben Waldrop, Corey Sears, Naazir Yamini, and Byron Knight all took down 9 North Texas players in support. Osi Umenyiora had 7 tackles, 3 for loss, all of which were sacks. Ben Waldrop, Naazir Yamini, and Shelton Felton all had a sack each as well. Derrick Ansley was the only Trojan with an interception, catching both of the Mean Green’s errant throws.

The Trojans finished their maiden Division I-A season at a respectable 7-4. This team formed the foundation for all the success that Troy had at the highest level of college football.