Eric Morris' North Texas Arrived in Win over Washington State

North Texas moved on from Seth Littrell in 2022 despite reaching the Conference USA championship game because the Mean Green wanted a higher ceiling. They were provided glimpses of it in 2017 and 2018 when they won nine games in consecutive seasons with Mason Fine at quarterback. Littrell could never return the program to those heights, and he was axed after failing to finish over .500 in four straight seasons. 

It was a bold proclamation in Denton. Those two nine-win seasons by Littrell represented half of the nine-win seasons experienced by the Mean Green since Hayden Fry roamed the sideline in 1978. They won nine in 2003 under Darrell Dickey and nine 2013 under Dan McCarney. But the level could never be sustained. They won two games two years after the 2003 success and one game two years after the 2013 season.