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

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.”

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.

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.

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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