Players, not lavish facilities, win football games

FAYETTEVILLE — At this rate, Fayetteville and Little Rock might debate who gets to host Razorbacks football the least instead of the most.

The 44-17 beating that the University of Arkansas absorbed Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville from the University of North Texas Mean Green proved an event that any Arkansas town might wince for having hosted.

Even off losing a 27-9 third-quarter lead in a 34-27 loss the previous Saturday at Colorado State, the Razorbacks of the elite SEC were seven-point favorites over the Mean Green from Conference USA.

No problem about Arkansas losing a lead this last Saturday.

The Mean Green led from their first touchdown at 9:36 of the first quarter en route to a 34-10 first-half lead.

UNT peaked 44-10 until Arkansas reserve running back Maleek Williams ran a 68-yard touchdown by Mean Green reserves with 53 seconds left.

“I don’t think it was an upset, no,” third-year UNT Coach Seth Littrell said. “We really did feel like we had the best team.”

They clearly did in all phases. Full credit to them. Though not from the power five (SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac 12), and neither is Colorado State of the Mountain West, those weren’t chumps routing the Razorbacks.

Still, it should statewide gall Arkansas that the Razorbacks were almost as easy for the Mean Green to beat as Incarnate Word.

UNT beat Incarnate Word, 5816.

Incarnate Word plays in the Football Championship Subdivision. That’s below the Football Bowl Subdivision where Arkansas and all of its opponents play other than Eastern Illinois of the FCS. Arkansas beat Eastern Illinois 5520 in the Sept. 1 season opener.

The Mean Green opened Sept. 1 beating 46-23 the SMU Mustangs that new Arkansas Coach Chad Morris coached the previous three seasons, including 3-0 success over UNT.

Those Morris past-to-present comparisons against UNT evoke the most irony.

But it’s comparing Arkansas to Incarnate Word hitting home how far the Razorbacks have fallen. And to Arkansas fans how little bang they seem getting for their bucks.

In 2011 at a cost of $78 million, UNT unveiled its 30,000 seat Apogee Stadium.

Obviously too small for Arkansas, but apparently big enough as the Mean Green’s base en route toward routing the Razorbacks.

Arkansas spent $160 million just on its Sept. 1 unveiled Reynolds Razorback Stadium north end zone project. It includes 6,000 seats of various luxury descriptions, lavish game-day locker rooms and building a new Broyles Athletic Center housing administration because the original was torn down making way for the new.

That’s after $40 million spent for the 2013 opening of the Fred Smith Football Center housing the football offices, meeting rooms, daily locker rooms, etc.

It’s an arms race they say is required to keep up in the SEC.

Maybe so. But the Mean Green just showed Arkansas ultimately it’s the players in the facilities and not the facilities for the players that win football games.