University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: And My Ball State Game MVP Is ?
9/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
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| By Stephen Howard, Sept. 5, 2009 - 11:06 a.m. |
Scrappy - sans the eagle costume - grabbed the onboard PA from the flight attendant and had the Southwest 737 rocking on the tarmac in Muncie, Indiana. The Sun Belt's best mascot led everyone on the plane in a raucous rendition of the North Texas fight song following the 20-10 season opening win.
The song had players and administrators alike dancing and singing in the isles, and was a fitting celebration for a team that had overcome so much over the last few years.
Riley Dodge proved his mettle by throwing for 216 yards and a touchdown on 23-of-33 passing, not to mention his 73 yards rushing that kept the chains moving all night long. And Cam Montgomery was an absolute monster with 149 yards on 8.8 yards per carry.
But watch the game tape again. Really watch that North Texas offense, and I would dare you to tell me that left tackle Victor Gill wasn't the MVP of the win over Ball State.
Listed this year at just 250 pounds Gill might be one of the smallest left tackles in the country, but he dominated every person that the Cardinals threw his way.
His supremacy was most on display when Riley & Co. ran the zone-read option, which was almost always run behind the offensive captain's side. The play is entirely dependent on Riley reading the defensive end and the outside linebacker and making the decision on whether to keep the ball or pitch it to his running back.
On the majority of those plays there wasn't a decision for Riley to make. Gill either had the defensive end tied up or on the Scheumann Stadium turf.
NT ran almost two dozen off tackle runs behind Gill, which kept the Cardinal defense spread and on its heels. And when he needed to pass, Riley could rest assured that the veteran Gill had his blind side protected. Ball State failed to touch Riley in the backfield, let alone sack him.
After talking with NT's new strength and conditioning coach Charr Gahagan it's no wonder they run behind Gill. Gahagan said Gill is one of the strongest players on the team, and that few work harder on their game than Gill.
This offensive line has come a long way in the last year. NT gave up 25 sacks, and averaged just 4.1 yards per rush due largely to an inexperienced line.
What a difference a year makes, as the Mean Green started the Ball State game with over 100 games started on the O-Line, including 12 by the two year letterman Gill.
Few positions needed to show their progress more than the offensive line. So for me, Thursday's MVP choice was easy. Without Gill and the other hogs on the O-Line, the offense would have never gotten off the line.
