Fouts Field feats

To celebrate Fouts Field's 50th anniversary, the UNT sports information department chose five football classics the stadium has witnessed over the years and highlighted them in the game programs and on the jumbotron for the 2002 season. Here they are, in chronological order:

Nov. 2, 1968: Cincinnati vs. North Texas

It was billed as a battle of quarterbacks and that's just what it was as Steve Ramsey and Cincinnati quarterback Greg Cook put on an aerial circus for the 18,500 fans at Fouts Field on Homecoming. When the offensive outburst was over, the Mean Green was left standing with a 55-34 win. Despite a second-half barrage of rain, wind and lightning, the passing continued as Ramsey broke three school records. The first came on an 87-yard touchdown pass to Leo Taylor. Ramsey broke two more school records when he connected for five touchdown passes and racked up 433 yards. To go along with his 87-yard pass to Taylor, Ramsey connected on scoring tosses of 85, 66, 54 and 26 yards during the stormy afternoon. The win was the first of four consecutive victories for the Mean Green en route to an 8-2 season. Ramsey ended the 1968 season with 2,516 passing yards and 24 touchdown passes. The 433 yards still rank as the third most passing yards in a single game in North Texas history.

Nov. 14, 1976: Florida State at North Texas

It was one of the most memorable Homecomings ever for North Texas as Mother Nature stole the show that Saturday afternoon, covering Fouts Field with six inches of snow and ice. Florida State rode the hot arm of quarterback Jimmy Black to grab a come-from-behind victory over North Texas 21-20 and spoil the Homecoming festivities. The Mean Green fell behind 13-7 midway through the third quarter after a 91-yard touchdown pass from Black to Kurt Unglaub. North Texas rallied for 13 straight points as tailback Mike Jones plunged into the end zone from one yard out and David Ray's 12-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Ken Washington made it 20-13 North Texas. The Seminoles mounted one last drive, going 69 yards with under five minutes to play in the game. The drive was capped off by Jeff Leggett's seven-yard touchdown run with 2:13 left. Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden decided to go for the two-point conversion and the win instead of the tie. Florida State converted the two points on a halfback pass from Larry Key to Unglaub to give the Seminoles the lead for good. The Mean Green went on to end the 1976 season with a 7-4 record. Since that cold day in November, North Texas has never again played in the snow at Fouts Field.

Oct. 6, 1990: SMU at North Texas

It was a memorable night when SMU became the first Southwest Conference team to play at Fouts Field. The excitement level was at a fever pitch when the game kicked off before the only sell-out in Fouts Field history as an overflow crowd of 22,750 was there to witness the battle. The Mean Green jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on the Mustangs when quarterback Scott Davis scored from four yards out. SMU tied the game up early in the second quarter on a two-yard touchdown pass from Mike Romo to Jason Wolfe. The game remained knotted at 7-7 until late in the third quarter when the Mean Green scored what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown as Davis scored his second rushing touchdown of the game from four yards out. He ended the game with 202 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The crowd of 22,750 remains the third largest to see a game at Fouts Field.

Nov. 22, 1997: Utah State at North Texas

In what must go down as one of the greatest games in North Texas history, the Mean Green scored a touchdown with two seconds left to beat the conference champion and bowl bound Utah State 51-48 at Fouts Field. There were nine lead changes, and UNT, which had scored more than 30 points in an entire game just once all season, scored a school record 32 points in the fourth quarter. Jason Mills ended his UNT career in starring fashion, passing for a career best 377 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 55 yards and playing the final series with a separated shoulder. Utah State scored the apparent winning touchdown with just 37 seconds left, but Mills drove UNT 67 yards in just 35 seconds and connected with Broderick McGrew on the game winning 26-yard touchdown pass with just two seconds left in the game. The 51 points scored by the Mean Green that day are the second most points scored during the '90s.

Oct. 13, 2001: Middle Tennessee at North Texas

Following a very difficult start to the season at 0-5, Darrell Dickey's team pulled off an upset of previously unbeaten Middle Tennessee 24-21 before a raucous Homecoming crowd. The win propelled the Mean Green into one of the most amazing rebounds in NCAA history. (The team won its next four games and clinched the Sun Belt Conference and a berth in the New Orleans Bowl, its first bowl appearance since 1959.) North Texas scored the first 14 points of the game, first on a six-yard run by Ja'Mel Branch and then on a five-yard touchdown catch by Randy Gardner. The Blue Raiders trimmed the lead to 14-7, but George Marshall scored with 39 seconds remaining in the half to make it 21-7. Middle Tennessee cut the lead to 21-14 in the third quarter on a Kendall Newson five-yard touchdown catch. Jason Ball extended the Mean Green lead to 24-14 by connecting on a 42-yard field goal. The Blue Raiders got to within three points midway through the fourth quarter on a Reshard Lee touchdown run. But with less than three minutes remaining and the game on the line, defensive ends Adrian Awasom and Darrell Daniels sacked Blue Raider quarterback Wes Counts on consecutive plays to seal the North Texas win.

— Steve Bartolotta, assistant athletics director