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Sun Belt Is Shining After North Texas Wins, 24-19

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From Times Wire Services

Cincinnati quarterback Gino Guidugli was the headliner entering the New Orleans Bowl, but the North Texas defense was what everybody was talking about after the game.

North Texas intercepted five of Guidugli’s passes and held Cincinnati to 85 yards rushing in a 24-19 victory Tuesday night at New Orleans.

“They had a good scheme, and I messed up a lot,” Guidugli said. “They rushed three and got good pressure while dropping eight [into coverage] and I forced too many balls.”

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Kevin Galbreath ran for 130 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown, and Jeremy Pearl scored on a 20-yard interception return for North Texas (8-5), which won its seventh game in a row. The Mean Green won their first game against a Division I-A team outside of the Sun Belt Conference.

“It means a lot, because people don’t have respect for us,” Pearl said. “If we can’t get our respect now, I don’t know when we can.”

The victory also gave the two-year-old Sun Belt its first bowl victory. North Texas lost to Colorado State last year in the inaugural New Orleans Bowl. This season, Cincinnati (7-7) finished tied for first in Conference USA with Texas Christian.

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Andrew Smith completed nine of 22 passes for 126 yards, but North Texas gained 192 yards rushing to control the tempo. Galbreath also had a 19-yard first-down run in the last two minutes that allowed North Texas to run out the clock without giving Guidugli another opportunity.

Guidugli, who came in averaging 255 yards passing, was 19 of 34 for 224 yards and a touchdown. He had been intercepted 16 times before being intercepted five times by North Texas.

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Two of the premier quarterbacks at the collegiate level will lead their teams into the GMAC Bowl tonight in Mobile, Ala.

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Byron Leftwich of Marshall (10-2) and Dave Ragone of Louisville (7-5) are expected to be among the top quarterbacks selected in the NFL draft.

Both were finalists for the Unitas Award, given to the nation’s top quarterback. Both have led their teams to three consecutive bowl games after replacing quarterbacks who moved on to the NFL -- Marshall’s Chad Pennington and Louisville’s Chris Redman.

Leftwich passed for 4,019 yards as a senior despite missing one game because of a shin injury. Ragone passed for 2,687 yards and 23 touchdowns.

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Saturday night’s Heisman Trophy award ceremony drew a 3.09 cable rating on ESPN, a 67% increase from last year. It’s the highest rating for the event since ESPN began televising it in 1994.... New Mexico defensive coordinator Bronco Mendenhall took the same job at Mountain West Conference rival Brigham Young, but will remain with the Lobo staff through the Las Vegas Bowl on Christmas Day, when New Mexico plays UCLA.... Mississippi receiver and kick returner Jason Armstead will not play in the Independence Bowl against Nebraska on Dec. 27 because he failed to meet academic requirements.... Oklahoma State Coach Les Miles has agreed to a contract extension, but details about the extension were not released.... Milton Kirk, a former high school coach who exposed a recruiting scandal at Alabama, was sentenced in federal court to six months in a halfway house. He admitted taking part in a payoff scheme to send defensive lineman Albert Means to Alabama two years ago.

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