Not many college football teams open the season 0-5 and rebound to earn a bowl berth. The Mean Green of North Texas proved it could be done in 2001. Never before in NCAA history had the feat been accomplished.

After losing to TCU, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, South Florida and Louisiana-Monroe, the Mean Green turned in a five game winning streak, beating Middle Tennessee State, Arkansas State, New Mexico State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Idaho.

North Texas lost to Troy State on the final week of the regular season to finish 5-6, but moved on to the New Orleans Bowl by virtue of winning the Sun Belt championship. Colorado State handed North Texas a 45-20 defeat in the bowl game.

"The critical plays of the game that kind of swung the tide went to them and that’s football," North Texas coach Darrell Dickey said after the New Orleans Bowl. "A lot of the mistakes we made tonight were things we didn’t do to get here."

The conference championship was the first for North Texas since 1994 and its first Division I-A conference title since winning the Missouri Valley Conference in 1973. The bowl berth was the school’s first in 42 years.

The Mean Green was also one of only three Division I-A teams to follow a three-win season in 2000 with a bowl invitation in 2001, joining Alabama and Colorado.

The five wins in 2001 were the most by head coach Darrell Dickey in his four years at North Texas. He became just the second coach in NCAA history to lead his team to five straight wins after losing its first five games. Dickey was voted the Sun Belt Coach of the Year.

North Texas will play 12 regular-season games for the first time in school history this year. The Mean Green opens the season Aug. 31 at Texas, which finished the 2001 season with an 11-2 record including a victory over Washington in the Holiday Bowl. It will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1992.

North Texas’ home opener is Sep. 7 against Nicholls State, a former Southland Conference rival of the Mean Green from 1991-94. North Texas then plays three consecutive road games -- Alabama (Sept. 14), TCU (Sept. 21) and Arizona (Sept. 28). The final non-conference game will be at home against South Florida Oct. 5.

"Our non-conference schedule is as tough as we have ever had at North Texas," Dickey said. "While we are excited about playing some of the top programs in the country, our primary goal will be to try and repeat as Sun Belt champions and make a return trip to the New Orleans Bowl."

North Texas will begin the defense of its Sun Belt championship Oct. 19 at Arkansas State, followed by a game at Louisiana Lafayette Oct. 26. The Mean Green will then play three consecutive home games against Louisiana Monroe (Nov. 2), Idaho (Nov. 9) and New Mexico State (Nov. 16) before concluding the regular season at Middle Tennessee Nov. 23.

"Ideally we would like more than two home games the first nine weeks of the season," athletic director Rick Villarreal said. "Obviously we can’t do anything about the conference schedule, so we entertained the possibility of changing some non-conference games. We were simply unable to come up with a suitable arrangement for all of the parties involved."

Five of the 12 North Texas opponents won at least six games last season, highlighted by Texas, TCU and Alabama, which all made bowl appearances.

North Texas returns 20 starters from last year. In fact, the Mean Green has more starters returning than any other team that participated in a bowl game last season.

Even though almost everyone returns, first-team all-conference kicker and punter Jason Ball and Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Brad Kassell must be replaced.

Ball finished second in the conference in punting and led all league kickers in scoring. Kassell was a three-year starter for the Mean Green and finished his career as the school’s third all-time leading tackler.

Junior Scott Hall (6-1, 211) played the last four games of 2001 with a torn anterior cruciate ligament that required postseason surgery. He led the Mean Green in passing as a freshman and followed that up last year by increasing his passing yards by more than 500 and his touchdowns by 11.

North Texas was without Hall for spring drills, but he should be ready when practice opens in August.

Red-shirt freshman Andrew Smith (6-0, 180) took snaps with the first team during spring drills and will be ready if Hall’s comeback is delayed.

Walk-on sophomores Randy McQuiston (6-3, 225) and Hiram Gonzalez (6-1, 204) saw action as backups during spring practice.

Also in the backup picture is freshman signee Cullen Mills (6-3, 227) from Harker Heights High School in Killeen, Texas. Mills threw for 1,995 yards and 20 touchdowns last year after throwing for 2,147 and 17 as a junior.

When North Texas was able to run the ball successfully in 2001, victories followed. In its five wins, the Mean Green averaged 211 yards on the ground, compared to 188 per game in losses.

Dickey was concerned about his running backs entering the season, but junior college transfer Kevin Galbreath (5-9, 190) took care of any question marks. Now a senior, Galbreath was a unanimous first-team all-conference selection last year when he rushed for 1,119 yards and four touchdowns. He became only the fourth back in school history to average more than 100 yards per game.

Galbreath needs only 508 yards this year to be the only player among the top 10 leading rushers in school history who played just two seasons.

Sophomore Patrick Cobbs (5-9, 189) was a good backup last year, rushing for 399 yards and three touchdowns. He ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns after replacing the injured Galbreath in a victory over Idaho.

Senior Michael Hickmon (5-10, 208) and red-shirt freshman Roy Bishop (6-2, 207) were productive during spring drills and will provide depth.

The running game could get a lift from freshman signee Michael Ruff (5-11, 190) from Lincoln High School in Dallas. The highly recruited Ruff scored 29 touchdowns as a high school star in 2001 and rushed for 2,385 yards. The speedy Ruff rushed for 600 yards as a junior.

The passing production of the Mean Green offense improved by nearly 400 yards and six touchdowns last year.

Senior George Marshall (6-1, 190) was one of the surprises in the Sun Belt last year, leading the conference and tying for ninth in the nation with 11 touchdown receptions.

Marshall had caught only two touchdown passes before last year. His 11 touchdowns were the second most in school history and he led the nation with one touchdown per every 2.9 catches.

Junior Kevin Howard (5-8, 174) and sophomore Ja’Mel Branch (5-7, 170) caught 31 and 20 passes, respectively.

Senior Corrie Massey (5-10, 187) is back this year after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the first game last year.

Also in the rotation will be junior Michael Thrash (6-2, 187), who was plagued with injuries last year.

At tight end, the Mean Green is blessed with two good players. If they can avoid injury, senior Jeff Muenchow (6-4, 240) and junior Randy Gardner (6-4, 245) will give North Texas possibly the best tight end tandem in the league.

Despite being hampered by a back injury and starting only seven games, Muenchow earned first-team all-conference honors last year. Gardner started the other five games while recovering from a knee injury. Both are expected to be a full strength in August.

The backups will be sophomores Rusty Beck (6-4, 220), Andy Blount (6-4, 215) and Matt Bradshaw (6-4, 246).

Anchoring the line will be first-team all-conference players J.R. Randle (6-5, 294) and Nick Zuniga (6-3, 319). Randle, a senior, has started all but two games since arriving at North Texas. Zuniga, a junior, has started all but one in his career.

At left tackle, senior Matt Turney (6-3, 290) has started 22 consecutive games.

Andy Brewster (6-2, 247) earned the starting job at center as a red-shirt freshman in 2001, taking care of a position that Dickey was concerned about in the preseason.

Senior Jonah Bense (6-4, 320) transferred to North Texas as a center, but ended up starting the last seven games last year at left guard.

Also back in 2002 will be junior Ian Hobbs (6-4, 279), who started all 11 games at center in 2000 before missing the entire 2001 season.

Impressive during spring drills were red-shirt freshmen Jason May (6-4, 270) and James Thaggard (6-4, 270).

Seeking playing time will be Brandon Hooks (6-3, 300) from Blinn Junior College. He earned honorable mention all-conference honors in 2001 as the starting left tackle for a team that averaged 167 yards per game rushing. He was a two-year starter at Blinn after being a two-year starter at Colleyville (Texas) Heritage High School. He was chosen to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Top 300.

Handling the kicking and punting will be sophomore Brad Kadlubar (5-11, 196), who backed up Ball last year. Kadlubar is from Ennis (Texas) High School, where he made 12 field goals as a senior -- two from more than 50 yards.

Junior Brandon Kennedy (5-10, 325) was one of just two unanimous selections to the 2001 All-Sun Belt team after a dominating season.

Joining Kennedy on the line will be senior Chris McIver (6-1, 254), who started 12 games and made eight tackles for a loss last year.

Backup will be provided by two players who had productive spring practices -- senior John Ryan (6-3, 270) and sophomore Evan Cardwell (6-3, 260).

The starting ends will be sophomore Adrian Awasom (6-3, 233) and senior Darrell Daniels (6-5, 230). Awasom had a breakout game last year against Middle Tennessee State with two sacks in the Mean Green’s 24-21 victory. Daniels led the team in sacks last season.

Junior Trey Davis (6-1, 235) and Luke Conder (6-3, 257) both had 15 tackles last season and will be key reserves. Senior Eric Bridges (6-2, 226) will provide leadership and sophomore Tommy Harrison (6-3, 225) will also be in the rotation.

Kassell, the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, will certainly be missed at middle linebacker.

Junior Cody Spencer (6-3, 230) will take over in the middle, moving from outside linebacker. He should not find the transition too difficult as he led the Mean Green in tackles last season with 105 while earning second-team all-conference honors.

Playing alongside Spencer will be juniors Chris Hurd (6-1, 220) and Taylor Casey (6-3, 210). Casey was fourth on the team in tackles with 67 last year. After a solid spring, Hurd should assume the other starting role.

Providing depth will be junior Justin Claborn (6-2, 242), who saw action last year as a backup. The North Texas staff thought he had a great spring season.

Newcomers Koryee Wyatt (6-1, 216) and Shawn Early (6-0, 210) will be in the hunt for playing time.

Wyatt led Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in tackles his freshman and sophomore year and earned first-team all-conference honors in 2001. He was selected first-team all-city and all-state as a senior at Douglas (Okla.) High School.

Early earned first-team all-conference and all-district honors as a senior at Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Fla. He made 196 tackles last year and 147 as a junior. Early was chosen to the Florida Times Union Super 11 preseason team and Super 25 postseason team. He played in the Florida Shrine Bowl All-Star Game.

Senior Don McGee (5-11, 190) returns as the only three-year starter on defense. He led the conference in interceptions as a sophomore and opponents stayed away from his side last year.

McGee made 40 tackles and intercepted two passes and led the team in passes broken up. He will be the leader at the cornerback position.

Walter Priestley (5-10, 178) won the other starting cornerback job last year as a red-shirt freshman. He had a season-high eight tackles in the comeback victory at New Mexico State.

Depth at the corner will come from junior Jeremy Pearl (6-3, 190), senior Ty Jackson (5-7, 172) and sophomore Dominique Mackey (6-1, 192). Pearl, a converted quarterback, had a strong spring practice. Mackey moved up the depth chart in the spring while Jackson suffered an injury that kept him out of spring drills.

In junior Craig Jones (6-0, 211) and sophomore Jonas Buckles (5-11, 213), the Mean Green will have perhaps the strongest secondary in the Sun Belt.

The talented duo combined for eight interceptions and 128 tackles, which led to first-team all-conference honors for Jones. In four games, Jones registered 10 or more tackles. Buckles was fifth in the nation with .56 interceptions per game despite playing with a broken hand.

Also playing a key role will be sophomore Markeith Knowlton (6-0, 195), a talented safety who started two games last year. He can play both cornerback and safety. In a start against Oklahoma, Knowlton had a team-high 10 tackles.

Depth will come from junior Ben Miller (6-0, 194) and senior Robert Conrad (6-1, 205).

Ball handled the place kicking and punting last year, and Kadlubar will do the same in 2002.

A possibility at place-kicker and punter is signee Nick Bazaldua (5-10, 164) from DeSoto (Texas) High School. For his career, Bazuldua was 12-of-18 on field-goal attempts and 76-of-79 on PATs. He had a career long field goal for 42 yards and a career long punt of 69 yards.

Branch and Cobbs will be the kick returners for the Mean Green this year. Branch will join junior Ty Jackson (5-6, 171) as the punt-return specialists.

Bense is the long snapper for kicks and Blount is the holder.

The long-snapper for punts is sophomore Rusty Beck (6-4, 220).

Dickey and his staff signed 22 players, including two junior college standouts. His high school signees included 17 Texans and one player from Florida, Idaho and Oklahoma.

Among the standouts were Mills at quarterback and Ruff at running back.

Also signed were four more running backs with impressive high school credentials, along with five offensive linemen.

The other four running back are James Mitchell (5-9, 191), Kevin Moore (5-9, 195), Ricardo Smith (6-1, 190) and Philip Graves (6-2, 205).

Mitchell was chosen district MVP and All-Area Offensive Player of the Year after leading Liberty Baptist High School in Aubrey, Texas, to the state championship game. He earned all-state honors as a junior and senior, rushing for 5,017 yards and 60 touchdowns. He averaged eight yards per carry in high school.

Moore played at North Shore High in Houston, Texas, where he broke the school single-season rushing record as a senior with 2,056 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was chosen to the All-Greater Houston Area team by the Houston Chronicle. As a senior, he led his team to a 12-1 record and a regional final appearance.

Smith played at Paschal High School in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was voted first-team all-district his senior season. He rushed for 1,365 yards and 11 touchdowns his senior year and had 21 receptions for 328 yards.

Graves was chosen he 2001 Texas Class 2A Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 2,173 yards and 30 touchdowns at Hutto (Texas) High School. He rushed for 514 yards and eight touchdowns in one game, giving him the sixth-best single-game rushing performance in Texas prep school history. Graves rushed for more than 100 yards nine times and more than 200 yards four times last year.

Two wide receivers joined the Mean Green in Joel Nwigwe (5-11, 170) and Johnny Quinn (6-0, 181).

Nwigwe, from Elsik High School in Alief, Texas, averaged 24.2 yards per catch his senior season. He caught 35 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns as a junior.

Quinn is from McKinney (Texas) High School, where he was second in the state with 15 touchdowns and third in the state with 1,106 yards.

On the defensive side, North Texas signed linebacker Chris Nevins (6-3, 215) from Francis Howell Central in St. Charles, Mo. He holds the school’s career tackles record with 190 and averaged 44.5 yards per punt during his prep career.

The Mean Green should also get help defensively from backs Cass Starks (6-1, 198) and LeMario Hollis (6-0, 170) and linemen Sky Pruitt (6-2, 295), Kurk Francis (5-11, 287) and Ronnie Hull (6-3, 222).

Starks was a member of the 2001 Class A state champion Ryan Raiders in Denton, Texas, and Hollis was chosen first team All-East Texas and was on the Gridiron Greats Regional Players squad.

In 2001, Dickey led North Texas to its first Division I-A conference title since 1973 when Hayden Fry led the Mean Green to a Missouri Valley crown.

The progress has been steady under Dickey’s leadership. In 1998, North Texas finished second in the Big West Conference, the best finish in the school’s five years in the league. In 1999, the Mean Green beat two teams that went to bowl games -- Texas Tech and Boise State. In 2000, North Texas came within a few minutes of six wins, losing late in the fourth quarter to Utah State, Idaho and Texas Tech.

Dickey has proven to be a master when it comes to utilizing a team’s talent. Last season he re-positioned Branch to wide receiver, where he became Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. And perhaps his most important change came by moving all-state quarterback Kassell to linebacker, where he was voted the league’s defensive player of the year last season.

The Mean Green won the Sun Belt title last season, and there is no reason to think it can’t happen again. Dickey has a super confident team and an outstanding quarterback in Hall.

In addition to Hall, the Mean Green should have a solid running attack with Galbreath, who knows how to finish off his runs. With the 1-2 combination of Hall and Galbreath, the Mean Green will be strong offensively. The defense will be good again, too.

As a result of last year's championship, North Texas has begun a major effort to improve attendance and get it past the 15,000 mark. That’s the minimum number of fans the NCAA will require for all Division I programs in the future.

Another Sun Belt championship would be a good step.