University of North Texas Athletics
No. 46: Daniel Meager Scorches SMU
7/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
No. 46- Daniel Meager Scorches SMU Secondary
The 2007 version of the Safeway Bowl between SMU and North Texas came with lots of intrigue; North Texas came into the season with a new coach and high-powered offense, SMU was looking for revenge after a 24-6 loss to North Texas in 2006 kept the Mustangs out of their first bowl since 1984.
The Mean Green started with scores on two of its first three drives, and Daniel Meager was already on his way to a career day. Meager completed 15 of 17 passes in the first quarter for 179 yards, as North Texas jumped to a 14-3 lead, and struck fear in the hearts of the Mustang faithful. Casey Fitzgerald caught five passes for 70 yards in the first session, also on his way to a career day.
Meager threw for 601 yards on the evening and completed 46 passes, both North Texas records. Casey Fitzgerald caught 18 balls on the night and gained 327 receiving yards, a North Texas record as well.
The game featured outrageous offensive numbers, as both Meager and SMU starter Justin Willis, a Ryan High School product, both posted over 400 yards of total offense. Strangely, every quarter started with a kickoff, as touchdowns were scored with no time remaining in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters, before the Mustangs downed the ball to end the fourth quarter with a 45-31 victory. Both teams gained over 500 yards of offense in an exciting game that thrilled the 20,517 fans in attendance, many of whom made the trip from Denton to cheer the Mean Green.
Side Note: Current North Texas linebacker Julian Herron had one tackle in the game … for SMU, tackling future teamate Micah Mosley in the 3rd quarter.
| 100 | 100-yd fumble return for TD | 75- | "Mean Joe" Greene | 50- | Gross and Washington | 25- | Tuesday, August 16 |
| 99 | Fitzgerald Goes The Distance | 74- | NT Downs No. 20 SDSU | 49- | Keith Chapman FGs | 24- | Wednesday, August 17 |
| 98 | Sears Woods' Stuns Knoxville | 73- | Fry & the new Mean Green | 48- | Cody Spencer | 23- | Thursday, August 18 |
| 97- | NT Blows Out Decatur Baptist | 72- | Yaege's Stellar Season | 47- | First Homecoming | 22- | Friday, August 19 |
| 96- | 96 Years Of Football | 71- | Steve Ramsey's TDs | 46- | Meager Against SMU | 21- | Saturday, August 20 |
| 95- | The Jump To Division I-A | 70- | Little's 1970 Season | 45- | Wednesday, July 27 | 20- | Sunday, August 21 |
| 94- | Optimist Bowl Offense | 69- | 7 All-Conference in '69 | 44- | Thursday, July 28 | 19- | Monday, August 22 |
| 93- | Michael High KR Yards | 68- | A Consensus All-American | 43- | Friday, July 29 | 18- | Tuesday, August 23 |
| 92- | Gowin 92-Yard Punt | 67- | Armour Anchors NT Offense | 42- | Saturday, July 30 | 17- | Wednesday, August 24 |
| 91- | Chancellor Saves The MGRN | 66- | Love Tops 1,000 Yds | 41- | Sunday, July 31 | 16- | Thursday, August 25 |
| 90- | Renfro/Haynes Tally 90 pts. | 65- | St. Clair's Win Pct | 40- | Monday, August 1 | 15- | Friday, August 26 |
| 89- | Redwine Bursts Onto Scene | 64- | Spider's Special Season | 39- | Tuesday, August 2 | 14- | Saturday, August 27 |
| 88- | Mean Green Robbed | 63- | NT & Navy Light Up The Scoreboard | 38- | Wednesday, August 3 | 13- | Sunday, August 28 |
| 87- | Fitzgerald Fries Competition | 62- | Khoury's 62-yd FG | 37- | Thursday, August 4 | 12- | Monday, August 29 |
| 86- | Mean Green 86 The Toads | 61- | Kennedy's 61 TFL | 36- | Friday, August 5 | 11- | Tuesday, August 30 |
| 85- | Adrian Awasom | 60- | Fouts Field | 35- | Saturday, August 6 | 10- | Wednesday, August 31 |
| 84- | Brown Delivers For NT | 59- | The '59 Sun Bowl Squad | 34- | Sunday, August 7 | 9- | Thursday, September 1 |
| 83- | 83 All-Conference Selections | 58- | Mitchell Claims COY | 33- | Monday, August 8 | 8- | Friday, September 2 |
| 82- | Corky Nelson | 57- | Thomas Scampers For 57 | 32- | Tuesday, August 9 | 7- | Saturday, September 3 |
| 81- | One Of The Greats | 56- | Scott Davis Completion Pct | 31- | Wednesday, August 10 | 6- | Sunday, September 4 |
| 80- | Cedric The Sack- Getter | 55- | Gill, NT's First Retired Number | 30- | Thursday, August 11 | 5- | Monday, September 5 |
| 79- | "Blow George, Blow!" | 54- | Pair's Punts | 29- | Friday, August 12 | 4 | Tuesday, September 6 |
| 78- | J.T. Smith Joins the NFL | 53- | OSU's 53 Passing Yards | 28- | Saturday, August 13 | 3- | Wednesday, September 7 |
| 77- | North Texas Goes 10- 1 | 52- | Fouts Field Opens | 27- | Sunday, August 14 | 2- | Thursday, September 8 |
| 76- | Blizzard Battle With FSU | 51- | Bahnsen Named All-American | 26- | Monday, August 15 | 1- | Friday, September 9 |
