The 2013 North Texas Mean Green football team represented the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

during the

2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 29, 2013 and ended on Dece ...

. The team was led by third-year head coach

Dan McCarney Patrick Daniel McCarney (born July 28, 1953) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Iowa State University from 1995 to 2006 and the University of North Texas from 2011 to 2015, compiling a career college foo ...

and played its home games at

Apogee Stadium Apogee Stadium is a college football stadium located at the junction of Interstate 35 East and West in Denton, Texas. Opened in 2011, it is home to the University of North Texas (UNT) Mean Green football team, which competes in Conference US ...

. It was the Mean Green's first season as members of

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

, competing in the West Division. The team earned a 9-4 record (6-2 in conference) and won the 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl. Additionally, it set a school record for average home attendance per game at 21,030. The defense was notable for being statistically the best second half defense in the

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

. It received two top 25 votes in the

Coaches' Poll The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially ...

to end the season. The team began the season with a 2-3 record in its first five games before going on a five-game winning streak, culminating in a win against the

Rice Owls Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of Conference USA, Rice sponsors teams in seven men's and seven women's NCAA sanctio ...

, which was televised on

Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports 2 ...

. After losing to the

UTSA Roadrunners The UTSA Roadrunners is a collegiate athletic program that represents the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The UTSA Roadrunners are also commonly referred to as "UTSA", "Roadrunners", "Runners", “The Meep Meeps”, or simply “The Bi ...

, the Mean Green were eliminated from conference championship contention. After defeating the

Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of Tu ...

to end the regular season, the Mean Green defeated the

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for college football) as a member of the Mountain West Confer ...

in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The bowl game win gave the Mean Green their best season and first bowl win since 2002 and their first winning season since 2004.

Schedule

:Schedule Source:

Game summaries

Idaho

at Ohio

Ball State

at Georgia

at Tulane

Middle Tennessee

at Louisiana Tech

at Southern Miss

Rice

With the win, the Mean Green became bowl eligible for the 2013 season.

UTEP

This game is notable for being the second highest attended game at Apogee Stadium.

UTSA

at Tulsa

vs. UNLV ( Heart of Dallas Bowl)

References

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wor ...

North Texas Mean Green football seasons First Responder Bowl champion seasons

North Texas Mean Green football The North Texas Mean Green football program is the intercollegiate team that represents the University of North Texas in the sport of American football. The Mean Green compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athl ...

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