Greener pastures for Dickey
It was nearly a year ago that the University of Idaho wanted what North Texas had.
The Vandals, searching to replace former coach Tom Cable, made a run at the Mean Green’s Darrell Dickey. Somewhat surprisingly, Dickey was willing to listen, making him an immediate front-runner.
It went so far as an interview in Salt Lake City, but Idaho was quite pleased to eventually land Nick Holt. Meanwhile, Dickey continues to oversee a solid, no-frills program that has ruled the Sun Belt since the conference’s inception four years ago.
It’s no different this season as the Mean Green can lock up their fourth straight New Orleans Bowl berth with a win over the visiting Vandals at 4 p.m. Pacific at Fouts Field in Denton.
This is Idaho’s last game as a member of the far-flung Sun Belt, but few are getting misty over that fact. The Vandals will join the Western Athletic Conference next season.
“It’s good football and pretty exciting,” Holt said of the Sun Belt. “There are some nice coaches and nice stadiums, but I’m excited to play Saturday, finish the season at Hawaii and get into our new conference, no question.”
North Texas (5-4, 5-0 Sun Belt) has won 23 straight conference games, the second-longest streak in the nation behind Boise State. The Mean Green has already clinched no worse than a co-championship. Idaho (3-7, 2-4), which escaped the cellar with a win last Saturday, can continue to climb the standings with an upset victory.
Dickey said this week that his discussions with Idaho last November were “very serious because I was very impressed with everything Idaho has to offer. It never got to the point where they made an offer, but I was very impressed with Idaho. Without a doubt, they got the right guy in Nick Holt.”
The UI job appeared to be a lateral move at best for Dickey, but he insisted his interest was genuine. Asked if friends were telling him he was crazy, Dickey said, “I don’t listen to my friends. I’m serious. I was very flattered their people even wanted to talk to me and I was impressed with the direction the program was heading. It just worked out that it was best for me to stay here.”
This season has worked out for the Mean Green, but it didn’t start out that way. Just before fall drills, reserve quarterback Andrew Smith died in an automobile accident.
UNT lost its first four games, including a 65-0 drubbing at Texas, a home loss to future Sun Belt member Florida Atlantic and a 37-14 setback against Baylor. The Mean Green beat Baylor 52-14 in 2003. Along the way, Patrick Cobbs, who led the nation in rushing last year, suffered a season-ending knee injury.
“We try to educate our players that our non-conference schedule is very difficult and that we’re asked to do things, to a certain extent, that no one else is,” said Dickey, who has a 7-33 non-conference mark in seven years. “Regardless of the results, we have a conference championship to go after.”
UNT responded with five straight conference wins by nine, eight, 10, 15 and 10 points. True freshman Jamario Thomas has four 200-yard games and is in position to give UNT another national rushing champion. Thomas is first nationally at 177.2 yards per game, roughly 16 yards more than Cal’s J.J. Arrington.
“People stop him for a while and all of a sudden he gets free,” Holt said. “Once he gets in the open … he’s got quick moves and you don’t catch him.”
Notes
Idaho’s 297 yards rushing last week was its most since piling up 359 against Idaho State in 1998. Current running backs coach Joel Thomas ran for 168 yards in that game. … St. Maries grad Eric Russell is in his 11th year at North Texas. He coaches defensive ends and special teams. … Former Lakeland Hawks player Sky Pruitt has played in six games as a backup defensive tackle for North Texas.