DENTON – Eric Morris felt the emotions welling up on Friday afternoon as North Texas prepared for what could have been his final game as the Mean Green’s coach at DATCU Stadium.
Oklahoma State announced Tuesday that it had hired Morris as its next coach. He’ll finish out the season that continued with a 52-25 win over Temple.
“It’s super bitter-sweet for me,” Morris said. “This is such a special place for my family and I. We have created some phenomenal relationships here.
“I went to thank our fans from the bottom of my heart for supporting me and this team.”
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The Mean Green have reached a host of milestones in three seasons under Morris and added to the list with their win over Temple. UNT moved to 11-1, set a program record for wins in a season and clinched a spot in the American Conference title game.
The game will be played on the home field of the team that finishes atop the standings. UNT, Tulane and Navy entered the weekend at 6-1.
Tulane came in with the tiebreaker edge in terms of hosting after landing at No. 24 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, one of the factors in the American’s tiebreaker scenarios.
If Tulane beats Charlotte on Saturday, it will host the championship game on Dec. 5. If Tulane falls to Charlotte, which is 1-10 on the season, UNT will host Navy.
Morris credited his players for maintaining their focus this week as they prepared to compete for a spot.
The news that Morris was set to leave the program was an unexpected turn. Morris said that wasn’t the plan and that he regretted not being able to tell his players first.
“It was tough news for some of the guys here, but we are happy for coach Morris,” wide receiver Cameron Dorner said. “He’s here to coach us. We have to stay focused for what’s next.”
Morris said he’s committed to coaching UNT for the remainder of the season, one the Mean Green are hoping continues in the College Football Playoff. UNT could be in position to make the 12-team field, if it beats Tulane next Friday.
Morris and his players left little doubt that winning reaching that goal is their main focus.
“We need to prepare like we have been preparing,” quarterback Drew Mestemaker said. “We have a good formula for how we’ve been winning games this season.”
That formula worked again after UNT was locked in a 7-7 tie late in the first quarter.
The Mean Green ran off 28 straight points from there and coasted the rest of the way in front of a crowd of 24,480. The only question now is if that win earned Morris one last chance to coach at DATCU.
UNT will head into that game on a roll behind Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins. Mestemaker set an American Conference record for passing yards by a freshman when he rolled up 366 yards against Temple and pushed his total to 3,835.
Former Central quarterback Dillon Gabriel set the record of 3,653 yards at Central Florida in 2019.
Hawkins has been just as effective and rushed for 186 and four touchdowns against Temple. The Mean Green cleared the 50-point mark for the seventh time this season, adding to a program record.
UNT will now wait and see what transpires in Tulane’s game against Charlotte as the Morris era with the Mean Green nears its conclusion.
UNT will enter the championship game on a roll after a dominating all-around performance. The Mean Green scored every time they had the ball in the first half until their final shot after taking over at its 6-yard line with 34 seconds left.
By then UNT had more or less put the game away by then behind Mestemaker and Hawkins. The pair guided the way as Mean Green ran out to a 35-7 lead.
Mestemaker got UNT off to a great start with a 77-yard scoring strike to Cameron Dorner.
Temple came back to tie when Evan Simon found tight end Ryder Kusch for a 2-yard touchdown.
It was all UNT from then on. Hawkins scored three rushing touchdowns in the first half, including a 6-yard dash to cap the Mean Green’s 28-point burst.
UNT was well on its way to another dominating performance from there and will now wait and see where its headed for its first conference title game appearance since its loss to UTSA in the 2022 Conference USA title game.
“I’m sure proud of our kids first and foremost,” Morris said. “This is a players’ game, always has been and always will be. There were a ton of distractions this week. For our coaches to continue to keep these kids dialed in and make history for this program has been phenomenal.”
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