University of North Texas Athletics
Photo by: Rick Yeatts Photography
Former Players Look Back On SMU Rivalry
9/17/2020 11:00:00 AM | Football
DENTON - When UNT hosts SMU on Saturday at Apogee Stadium, it will mark the latest in what has become a back-and-forth rivalry between the two rivals that sit just more than 40 miles apart in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Since 1990, the Mean Green are 4-1 in five meetings in Denton, while they have yet to top SMU in Dallas, and when the ball is kicked off Saturday in Denton, there will be a good deal of emotion on the field between two teams whose players often grew up playing against, and sometimes with, one another in their high school careers.
The history of the rivalry features players from both teams who have grown up together, and coaches, such as former UNT offensive coordinator Ramon Flanigan, who played at SMU as a star quarterback. There is, of course, legendary head coach Hayden Fry, who coached a decade at SMU before leaving to take over at North Texas in 1973 and leading some of the best teams in Mean Green history. Even the broadcast booth has crossover, as SMU play-by-play voice Rich Phillips is a notable alum of the legendary UNT broadcast program. Current head coaches Seth Littrell and Sonny Dykes, and their families, are very close friends. The same could be said for former coaches Darrell Dickey (UNT) and Phil Bennett (SMU), who are largely credited for renewing the rivalry after a hiatus.
The ties are impossible to deny, but when the whistle blows and the ball is kicked, all that matters is the game on the field, and make no mistake, there is no love lost between the programs.
"While we were always trying to win championships and go to bowl games, this game was always one that we looked forward to," said Brandon Garner, who starred at linebacker for UNT from 2015-18. "It was a heated rivalry, for sure. Straight up, we don't like them."
In 2018, Garner was able to beat SMU for the first time in his career when the Mean Green rolled to a 46-23 win after jumping out to a 36-0 lead in Dykes' first game with the Mustangs. Then-junior quarterback Mason Fine threw for 444 yards and three scores, Kemon Hall returned an interception 36 yards to the end zone and DeAndre Torrey returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in his first game at UNT.
"We knew this was a big game," Littrell said after the game. "We've been circling this one and really talking about it."
The teams didn't meet from 2008-13 before resuming the rivalry in 2014 with a 43-6 UNT win in Denton. On that day - the teams' first meeting at Apogee Stadium - UNT's defense didn't allow a third-down conversion until the last play of the game, when SMU managed its only points on the game's final play. The defense also forced five SMU turnovers, while then-freshman Trevor Moore tied a then-school record with five field goals. That game marked the most lopsided UNT win in the series history.
In 2006 when the Mustangs came to Fouts Field, UNT won 24-6 to bounce back from a season-opening loss at No. 3 Texas, and in 2007, the Mean Green fell 45-31 at SMU.Â
Casey Fitzgerald and Isaac Thomas both played in Denton from 2005-08 and went 1-1 against the Mustangs, and both said the game brought the best out of both them and their teammates.
"It was a little personal for me, being from the Dallas area, and my older brother actually played for SMU from 2002-2006," said Fitzgerald, who is the Mean Green's all-time receptions leader (229), seventh on the all-time receiving touchdowns list (20) and third on the all-time receiving yards list (2,533). "Being able to play them and showing them I could play meant a lot. I went to their camp my senior year of high school hoping to get on their radar so I could play with my brother. I didn't get any love, and I'm thankful for that. It drove me when we played each other, and I turned out having a pretty good career at UNT."
"I was lucky enough to play in two games against SMU," Thomas added. "It's a special game every time we meet. That game has a special place in my heart. We know going in that it will be a tough, physical, hard fought game. It's a special game for the Metroplex and the surrounding areas. That game set the stage for some great performances by some of my teammates that I will always remember."
One of those performances came from wide receiver Johnny Quinn, who had 10 catches for 134 yards in the 2006 win - all while playing with his left hand in a cast that exposed only his index finger and thumb. He went on to become the program's all-time leading receiver with 2,718 career yards through the air.
"Word on the street is that you need all 10 fingers to play against SMU," Quinn joked. "Not true. You only need seven."
The teams met for the first time ever in Denton in 1990 when the Mean Green pulled off a 14-7 victory after previously playing several of their games at the old Texas Stadium in Irving. The last meeting at the home of the Dallas Cowboys came in 1984, and ever since, it's been a home-and-home series with a lopsided advantage to the home team.
On Saturday, the Mean Green will try to continue that trend.
"This game is big for both sides," said Jeremiah Chapman, who played for the Mean Green from 2004-07. "As an athlete growing up in the area, you know a lot of their players and you want bragging rights. Coaches are competing for a chance to sway talented recruits in the DFW area. And it's very close in proximity. All of those things together make it a great rivalry."
Since 1990, the Mean Green are 4-1 in five meetings in Denton, while they have yet to top SMU in Dallas, and when the ball is kicked off Saturday in Denton, there will be a good deal of emotion on the field between two teams whose players often grew up playing against, and sometimes with, one another in their high school careers.
The history of the rivalry features players from both teams who have grown up together, and coaches, such as former UNT offensive coordinator Ramon Flanigan, who played at SMU as a star quarterback. There is, of course, legendary head coach Hayden Fry, who coached a decade at SMU before leaving to take over at North Texas in 1973 and leading some of the best teams in Mean Green history. Even the broadcast booth has crossover, as SMU play-by-play voice Rich Phillips is a notable alum of the legendary UNT broadcast program. Current head coaches Seth Littrell and Sonny Dykes, and their families, are very close friends. The same could be said for former coaches Darrell Dickey (UNT) and Phil Bennett (SMU), who are largely credited for renewing the rivalry after a hiatus.
The ties are impossible to deny, but when the whistle blows and the ball is kicked, all that matters is the game on the field, and make no mistake, there is no love lost between the programs.
"While we were always trying to win championships and go to bowl games, this game was always one that we looked forward to," said Brandon Garner, who starred at linebacker for UNT from 2015-18. "It was a heated rivalry, for sure. Straight up, we don't like them."
In 2018, Garner was able to beat SMU for the first time in his career when the Mean Green rolled to a 46-23 win after jumping out to a 36-0 lead in Dykes' first game with the Mustangs. Then-junior quarterback Mason Fine threw for 444 yards and three scores, Kemon Hall returned an interception 36 yards to the end zone and DeAndre Torrey returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in his first game at UNT.
"We knew this was a big game," Littrell said after the game. "We've been circling this one and really talking about it."
The teams didn't meet from 2008-13 before resuming the rivalry in 2014 with a 43-6 UNT win in Denton. On that day - the teams' first meeting at Apogee Stadium - UNT's defense didn't allow a third-down conversion until the last play of the game, when SMU managed its only points on the game's final play. The defense also forced five SMU turnovers, while then-freshman Trevor Moore tied a then-school record with five field goals. That game marked the most lopsided UNT win in the series history.
In 2006 when the Mustangs came to Fouts Field, UNT won 24-6 to bounce back from a season-opening loss at No. 3 Texas, and in 2007, the Mean Green fell 45-31 at SMU.Â
Casey Fitzgerald and Isaac Thomas both played in Denton from 2005-08 and went 1-1 against the Mustangs, and both said the game brought the best out of both them and their teammates.
"It was a little personal for me, being from the Dallas area, and my older brother actually played for SMU from 2002-2006," said Fitzgerald, who is the Mean Green's all-time receptions leader (229), seventh on the all-time receiving touchdowns list (20) and third on the all-time receiving yards list (2,533). "Being able to play them and showing them I could play meant a lot. I went to their camp my senior year of high school hoping to get on their radar so I could play with my brother. I didn't get any love, and I'm thankful for that. It drove me when we played each other, and I turned out having a pretty good career at UNT."
"I was lucky enough to play in two games against SMU," Thomas added. "It's a special game every time we meet. That game has a special place in my heart. We know going in that it will be a tough, physical, hard fought game. It's a special game for the Metroplex and the surrounding areas. That game set the stage for some great performances by some of my teammates that I will always remember."
One of those performances came from wide receiver Johnny Quinn, who had 10 catches for 134 yards in the 2006 win - all while playing with his left hand in a cast that exposed only his index finger and thumb. He went on to become the program's all-time leading receiver with 2,718 career yards through the air.
"Word on the street is that you need all 10 fingers to play against SMU," Quinn joked. "Not true. You only need seven."
The teams met for the first time ever in Denton in 1990 when the Mean Green pulled off a 14-7 victory after previously playing several of their games at the old Texas Stadium in Irving. The last meeting at the home of the Dallas Cowboys came in 1984, and ever since, it's been a home-and-home series with a lopsided advantage to the home team.
On Saturday, the Mean Green will try to continue that trend.
"This game is big for both sides," said Jeremiah Chapman, who played for the Mean Green from 2004-07. "As an athlete growing up in the area, you know a lot of their players and you want bragging rights. Coaches are competing for a chance to sway talented recruits in the DFW area. And it's very close in proximity. All of those things together make it a great rivalry."
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