Saturday, September 21
Denton, TX
6 PM CT
University of North Texas
vs
Wyoming
Photo by: Zach Del Bello / Mean Green Sports
Mean Green Ready For Home Return at DATCU
9/17/2024 1:03:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team will return, looking to improve to 3-1, when the Mean Green host Wyoming on Saturday, with kickoff set for 6 p.m., at DATCU Stadium. The game can be seen on ESPN+ with the radio broadcast set for 97.1 The Eagle/The Varsity Network.
Head coach Eric Morris and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, the push to sell out DATCU Stadium this week and what a homefield advantage means to the players and the importance of not overlooking a gritty Wyoming team despite it's 0-3 record.
Mean Green looking to fill DATCU
The athletic department has made a push for weeks now to sell out DATCU Stadium for the Wyoming game, and Morris said he's looking forward to see how the Mean Green fanbase can build on what was a good crowd at the home-opening win over SFA on Sept. 7.
"I thought that was best overall fan experience since I've been here, and for our players felt it, too," Morris said. "What Texas Tech is doing with their student section is phenomenal. It got really loud. That's a home field advantage for them. Our guys feed off that energy. We have to continue to build in all these different areas in college football to continue to rise to where we want to be. We have to continue to grow support. I get it, too. We need to put a better product on the field. (The crowd) gave us a spark last (home) game. Kids get excited and play with more emotion. Any time a stadium is loud when the other team has the ball, whether it's in the NFL, college or high school, it's pretty proven it makes it tougher to play in those hostile environments."
Sophomore linebacker Ethan Wesloski said he's looking forward to seeing a packed house on Saturday night under the lights.
"It's going to be a lot of fun," he said. "We have a lot of energy throughout the team right now. It's Tuesday and we have a lot of guys ready to play now, and we're ready to get after these guys from Wyoming."
Morris said the atmosphere will have an added bit of electricity from some former championship teams being honored – the 1994 Southland Conference championship team and 2004 Sun Belt championship team.
Two UNT assistant coaches were members of those teams, as safeties coach Clay Jennings was a part of the 1994 team and running backs coach/run game coordinator Patrick Cobbs was on the 2004 team.
The team is set to wear throwback uniforms and helmets honoring that 2004 team.
"I don't think we'd have this field over here if those guys weren't here to build that excitement and win four straight conference championships and help us build the whole entire brand here," Morris said. "To be able to build a stadium like this and get the indoor facility – these guys laid that foundation for what's going on now. I want to make these guys proud. We're wearing the throwback helmets this week and any time you have your alumni with a good experience here, it's important to bring them back and put a good product on the field."
Fans can track the progress of the #SelloutDATCU push and purchase tickets at SelloutDATCU.com.
Team preaching focus heading into home test
The Mean Green will be looking to rebound from their first loss of the season when Wyoming comes to town, but the team is stressing the importance of not looking at Wyoming's record to judge what is in front of them.
The Cowboys enter the game with an 0-3 mark but have proven to be a tough out, not only this season, but historically.
"This is a gritty team, and they lost a heart breaker a couple of weeks ago (to Idaho)," Morris said. "BYU, who got them last week, is a really good team right now. They match up really well with their personnel. They have a big tight end and a QB who does good things. They have a defensive end (Sebastian Harsh) who is a really good player and maybe the best I've seen this year. I know what kind of program this is, and we can't look at their record. We need to look at us and correct the mistakes we made and go execute our jobs."
Head coach Eric Morris and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, the push to sell out DATCU Stadium this week and what a homefield advantage means to the players and the importance of not overlooking a gritty Wyoming team despite it's 0-3 record.
Mean Green looking to fill DATCU
The athletic department has made a push for weeks now to sell out DATCU Stadium for the Wyoming game, and Morris said he's looking forward to see how the Mean Green fanbase can build on what was a good crowd at the home-opening win over SFA on Sept. 7.
"I thought that was best overall fan experience since I've been here, and for our players felt it, too," Morris said. "What Texas Tech is doing with their student section is phenomenal. It got really loud. That's a home field advantage for them. Our guys feed off that energy. We have to continue to build in all these different areas in college football to continue to rise to where we want to be. We have to continue to grow support. I get it, too. We need to put a better product on the field. (The crowd) gave us a spark last (home) game. Kids get excited and play with more emotion. Any time a stadium is loud when the other team has the ball, whether it's in the NFL, college or high school, it's pretty proven it makes it tougher to play in those hostile environments."
Sophomore linebacker Ethan Wesloski said he's looking forward to seeing a packed house on Saturday night under the lights.
"It's going to be a lot of fun," he said. "We have a lot of energy throughout the team right now. It's Tuesday and we have a lot of guys ready to play now, and we're ready to get after these guys from Wyoming."
Morris said the atmosphere will have an added bit of electricity from some former championship teams being honored – the 1994 Southland Conference championship team and 2004 Sun Belt championship team.
Two UNT assistant coaches were members of those teams, as safeties coach Clay Jennings was a part of the 1994 team and running backs coach/run game coordinator Patrick Cobbs was on the 2004 team.
The team is set to wear throwback uniforms and helmets honoring that 2004 team.
"I don't think we'd have this field over here if those guys weren't here to build that excitement and win four straight conference championships and help us build the whole entire brand here," Morris said. "To be able to build a stadium like this and get the indoor facility – these guys laid that foundation for what's going on now. I want to make these guys proud. We're wearing the throwback helmets this week and any time you have your alumni with a good experience here, it's important to bring them back and put a good product on the field."
Fans can track the progress of the #SelloutDATCU push and purchase tickets at SelloutDATCU.com.
Team preaching focus heading into home test
The Mean Green will be looking to rebound from their first loss of the season when Wyoming comes to town, but the team is stressing the importance of not looking at Wyoming's record to judge what is in front of them.
The Cowboys enter the game with an 0-3 mark but have proven to be a tough out, not only this season, but historically.
"This is a gritty team, and they lost a heart breaker a couple of weeks ago (to Idaho)," Morris said. "BYU, who got them last week, is a really good team right now. They match up really well with their personnel. They have a big tight end and a QB who does good things. They have a defensive end (Sebastian Harsh) who is a really good player and maybe the best I've seen this year. I know what kind of program this is, and we can't look at their record. We need to look at us and correct the mistakes we made and go execute our jobs."
Players Mentioned
LB
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