Saturday, September 30
Denton, Texas
6 PM CT
University of North Texas
vs
ACU
UNT Back At Home For Final AAC Tuneup
9/26/2023 12:46:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team will look to build off its positive momentum coming off a road win and a bye week when it hosts ACU on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+ with the radio broadcast set for 97.1 The Freak/The Varsity Network.
Morris and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, what they took out of last week's bye, continuing that positive momentum and the play of a new starter under center in Chandler Rogers.
Rogers seizes opportunity
After not entering the season as the starting quarterback, junior quarterback Chandler Rogers knew he'd eventually get a chance to show his talents on the field.
After two seasons at ULM which saw him throw for nearly 4,000 yards, Rogers got his chance in the second half of a loss to FIU back on Sept. 9, and almost led the Mean Green to a comeback victory.
In UNT's last game against LA Tech, he got his first start for the Mean Green and led them to a 40-37 win that saw him lead a game-winning drive in the final minute.
"I've been in those moments before," Rogers said. "We lost a lot of close games at ULM. I've always bet on myself throughout my whole career. I knew at the end, I told coach Morris that they left too much time. They left too much. We'd run so many two-minute drills in camp and in practice. It just felt natural.
"It felt great," Rogers added. "It's like I was back in the saddle. It wasn't my first rodeo."
He finished that game with 313 passing yards on 24-of-41 passing with three touchdown passes and added 35 yards on the ground. Rogers is only the third UNT quarterback to throw 300 or more yards in his first start for the program since at least 2000.
"I think he's earned the right (to start)," Morris said. "The last six quarters, he's been cool, calm and collected and not only moved the football efficiently with his legs and arm, but he's also been smart. He's played a lot of ball and he knows when we need to pick up a first down and got us into good checks. You can just tell he's played ball and seen these looks and he's done it at a high level."
Bye week came at good time
Heading into a bye week on the heels of a win is always better than going in coming off a loss, and the positive momentum was heightened with it being the first win for UNT under its new head coach and in last-second fashion.
"Winning a college football game is hard," Morris said. "We're always gonna celebrate wins no matter how they come. I don't care if we win 3-0 or 55-54, it just doesn't matter. Our message was it's going to take 60 minutes from everyone on the team, and it took 60 minutes from everyone on all three sides."
Morris said there's a balance coaches must strike when running a team's bye week between getting rest and taking extra time to work on issues that need to be corrected.
"We got good work – hard work," Morris said. "But it was shorter than normal."
Junior running back Ayo Adeyi, who had a breakout game against LA Tech with 19 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns – all career highs, said he feels recharged and ready for the final tuneup on Saturday and the upcoming conference slate.
"It was a great time to get our bodies back," Adeyi said. "I feel refreshed. I think the whole team is ready to get back out there now. We know in college football the most important thing is getting momentum going so it's good having that road win in Ruston. We're hoping we can carry that over week after week."
UNT not taking FCS opponent lightly
Morris knows exactly what ACU head coach Keith Patterson is telling his players heading into Saturday's matchup in Denton.
Just a couple of years ago, he was in the same shoes a couple of times per year – those of a FCS head coach taking his team on the road to play an FBS opponent and almost certainly as a large underdog.
"Being on the other side, it's no secret these teams get up to play FBS teams," Morris said. "I know we'll get their best shot. They'll come out and be fired up, as they should be. Coach Patterson has done a great job with defenses for long time. We have to worry about us, defend our home turf and be fired up and ready to play and put on a good performance.
"When you coach FCS kids, they have a lot to prove," Morris added. "A bunch of them wish they were playing at this level and the coaches wish they were coaching at this level. That's human nature. We're gonna get their best shot. I watched Coach Patterson do his thing at Texas Tech (as defensive coordinator), and they have pieces to be a dangerous football team."
Morris and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, what they took out of last week's bye, continuing that positive momentum and the play of a new starter under center in Chandler Rogers.
Rogers seizes opportunity
After not entering the season as the starting quarterback, junior quarterback Chandler Rogers knew he'd eventually get a chance to show his talents on the field.
After two seasons at ULM which saw him throw for nearly 4,000 yards, Rogers got his chance in the second half of a loss to FIU back on Sept. 9, and almost led the Mean Green to a comeback victory.
In UNT's last game against LA Tech, he got his first start for the Mean Green and led them to a 40-37 win that saw him lead a game-winning drive in the final minute.
"I've been in those moments before," Rogers said. "We lost a lot of close games at ULM. I've always bet on myself throughout my whole career. I knew at the end, I told coach Morris that they left too much time. They left too much. We'd run so many two-minute drills in camp and in practice. It just felt natural.
"It felt great," Rogers added. "It's like I was back in the saddle. It wasn't my first rodeo."
He finished that game with 313 passing yards on 24-of-41 passing with three touchdown passes and added 35 yards on the ground. Rogers is only the third UNT quarterback to throw 300 or more yards in his first start for the program since at least 2000.
"I think he's earned the right (to start)," Morris said. "The last six quarters, he's been cool, calm and collected and not only moved the football efficiently with his legs and arm, but he's also been smart. He's played a lot of ball and he knows when we need to pick up a first down and got us into good checks. You can just tell he's played ball and seen these looks and he's done it at a high level."
Bye week came at good time
Heading into a bye week on the heels of a win is always better than going in coming off a loss, and the positive momentum was heightened with it being the first win for UNT under its new head coach and in last-second fashion.
"Winning a college football game is hard," Morris said. "We're always gonna celebrate wins no matter how they come. I don't care if we win 3-0 or 55-54, it just doesn't matter. Our message was it's going to take 60 minutes from everyone on the team, and it took 60 minutes from everyone on all three sides."
Morris said there's a balance coaches must strike when running a team's bye week between getting rest and taking extra time to work on issues that need to be corrected.
"We got good work – hard work," Morris said. "But it was shorter than normal."
Junior running back Ayo Adeyi, who had a breakout game against LA Tech with 19 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns – all career highs, said he feels recharged and ready for the final tuneup on Saturday and the upcoming conference slate.
"It was a great time to get our bodies back," Adeyi said. "I feel refreshed. I think the whole team is ready to get back out there now. We know in college football the most important thing is getting momentum going so it's good having that road win in Ruston. We're hoping we can carry that over week after week."
UNT not taking FCS opponent lightly
Morris knows exactly what ACU head coach Keith Patterson is telling his players heading into Saturday's matchup in Denton.
Just a couple of years ago, he was in the same shoes a couple of times per year – those of a FCS head coach taking his team on the road to play an FBS opponent and almost certainly as a large underdog.
"Being on the other side, it's no secret these teams get up to play FBS teams," Morris said. "I know we'll get their best shot. They'll come out and be fired up, as they should be. Coach Patterson has done a great job with defenses for long time. We have to worry about us, defend our home turf and be fired up and ready to play and put on a good performance.
"When you coach FCS kids, they have a lot to prove," Morris added. "A bunch of them wish they were playing at this level and the coaches wish they were coaching at this level. That's human nature. We're gonna get their best shot. I watched Coach Patterson do his thing at Texas Tech (as defensive coordinator), and they have pieces to be a dangerous football team."
Players Mentioned
QB
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