North Texas Daily

Tim Cato / Sports Editor

• There was a variety of offensive players who shined Saturday night in UNT’s 40-6 thrashing of Idaho, but none more than senior quarterback Derek Thompson. His 85-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter with a defender barreling down on him showed a confidence that he hasn’t always shown. In the past, Thomson might have launched an errant throw off his back foot, but against Idaho, he was able to duck through the tackle and threw a strike to Brelan Chancellor. It seems losing 15 pounds this off-season is already helping his game.
• It was great to hear the crowd erupt in cheers when Joe “Mean” Greene was honored on the field as part of the football team’s 100-year celebration of the program. Also, the throwback uniforms used as part of the celebration looked crisp and clean, succeeding in pulling off the look UNT was looking for.
• Last night was a strange game, if for no other reason than the teams missed a combined three extra points. Each team blocked one, and the third was kicked wide by Zach Olen – living up to his reputation kicker with a monster leg prone to inaccuracy. Note that backup kicker Zach Paul replaced Olen after the miss.
• A name that kept showing up on defense was Lairamie Lee, a junior defensive back who had a nose for the ball on Saturday. He finished with six tackles, two fumbles recovered and a fumble forced.
• The most exciting point of the second half was when quarterback Dajon Williams took control of the offense for the final two drives of the game. Head coach Dan McCarney promised the true freshman would play this year, and Williams showed he might be the future at quarterback in his short stint on the field.