There might not be a player with a better perspective on the opportunity that will come North Texas’ way Friday than Gabe Blair.
The UNT senior offensive lineman grew up in Denton, signed with the Mean Green as part of their 2021 class and has been through all the ups and downs since. UNT battled just to finish .500 in every season of his career — until now.
The Mean Green will play in the American Conference championship game Friday in New Orleans. A win would send UNT on to the College Football Playoff.
“It’s surreal,” said Blair, a former Guyer High School standout. “I never thought we’d get close to something like this. My first couple of years, we were just fighting to get into a bowl game.
“I never thought we’d get the chance to go to the College Football Playoff. I’m just blessed for this team, everyone in the organization and to have put all the pieces together for this year.”
Eric Morris has been the architect of it all and guided UNT during a breakout year that has seen the Mean Green roll to an 11-1 regular season. He hung on to the key players on UNT’s roster like Blair when he arrived before the 2023 season, added a series of key recruits and developed some under-the-radar players.
Quarterback Drew Mestemaker arrived at UNT as a walk-on and now leads the country with 3,835 passing yards.
That run not only turned UNT into a national story, it also made Morris a hot commodity in college football. Oklahoma State plucked him away from UNT last week. Morris has vowed to coach the Mean Green through the end of the season before departing for Stillwater.
The presence of veterans like Blair has made the process easier. Blair said UNT’s offensive linemen simply digested the news when Morris told them about his departure in a team meeting and then moved on to their position meeting.
“Our kids have been fantastic this whole entire year,” Morris said. “Getting to this game and trying to finish it off together is something that I’ve heard them talk about here the last week or so.
“I’m excited to watch them go out there and compete on Friday.”
There will be more on the line at that point than at any other time in program history.
The top five conference champions in the College Football Playoff rankings will receive berths in the 12-team playoff. There was some trepidation heading into Tuesday night’s CFP rankings release about how those rankings would shape up for UNT.
Tulane, UNT and James Madison were all in contention to be the top-ranked team from outside the four power conferences. The Mean Green jumped into the poll at No. 24, a few spots behind Tulane at No. 20 and just ahead of James Madison, the top team from the Sun Belt Conference, at No. 25.
Add it all up and one can see why Blair is so excited. If UNT wins at Tulane, it’s in the playoff.
That opportunity has helped the Mean Green deal with the distractions that have come one after another in the last few days. UNT moved quickly to replace Morris and hired Neal Brown, an assistant at Texas who served as the coach at West Virginia and Troy earlier in his career.
“We’re so close to our goals and the end of the year, it really didn’t change anything for us,” cornerback David Fisher said of the coaching change. “We know we still want to chase the ring and win it.
“It made us stronger and come together.”
UNT knows just how big of a challenge its game at Tulane will be. The Green Wave have been just as impressive as the Mean Green while compiling a 10-2 record with wins over Northwestern and Duke.
“It’ll be the best defense that we’ve played in quite some time, maybe the entire year,” Morris said. “They’re really well coached and play extremely hard. That’s a great combination.”
Tulane is allowing 22.8 points per game, setting up an intriguing matchup with UNT. The Mean Green lead the country in scoring with an average of 46.8 points per game.
“They’re a challenging outfit,” Tulane coach Jon Sumrall said of UNT. “It’s just normal for them to score 50 points. It’s amazing what they’re doing offensively.”
Sumrall pointed to Mestemaker and freshman running back Caleb Hawkins as two UNT players who stand out to him, but he was also quick to credit Blair and the rest of the Mean Green’s offensive line.
“We played them last year, and it looks like a completely different unit with the way they’re playing the game,” Sumrall said.
UNT may have to depend on its offensive line and running game with rain expected in New Orleans on Friday night. Mestemaker receives most of the attention for UNT’s success offensively, but the Mean Green have been just as effective running the ball, averaging 186.1 rushing yards per game. Freshman Caleb Hawkins has 1,216 yards on the season, the top total among freshmen nationally.
Blair has played a key role in UNT’s success in the running game. He was a first-team all-conference selection this season, when all five members of the Mean Green’s offensive front landed on one of league’s first, second or third teams.
That level of success means a lot to Blair, who has carved out a legacy over five seasons at UNT.
“I definitely have pride being at North Texas,” Blair said. “My first couple of years, I probably wouldn’t have said that. I came here because of some circumstances with COVID.
“Now I definitely have some pride and am very grateful and thankful for being able to leave here with a winning season.”
And maybe a CFP appearance.
Four downs: Keys to today’s game
Get the running game going
The forecast for Friday night calls for rain in New Orleans, which could put a damper on UNT’s high-flying passing game. The Mean Green have cleared the 200-yard mark in rushing yards four times this year and could need a big outing from the running game again.
Win the turnover battle
UNT has been terrific when it comes to turnover margin. The Mean Green have forced 13 more turnovers than they have committed, a total that puts them in a tie for fourth nationally. Winning the turnover battle against Tulane would be huge for UNT.
Contain Tulane QB Jake Retzlaff
Tulane depends heavily on quarterback Jake Retzlaff to power its offense. The BYU transfer has thrown for 2,717 yards and 14 touchdowns in addition to being the Green Wave’s leading rusher with 561 yards. UNT will have a better chance to win if it can contain him.
Maintain focus on the task at hand
UNT has a host of distractions to deal with heading into its game at Tulane. Morris is departing for Oklahoma State, Neal Brown is taking his place, and the transfer portal will soon open. Several players are no doubt pondering their futures. UNT has to remain focused on the task at hand.
BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870 and bvito@dentonrc.com.
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