Friday, Oct. 10, 2025 is a night forever etched into the history of Denton, TX and North Texas Mean Green football.
Everything perfectly coordinated to manufacture a gathering like DATCU Stadium had never
seen before. North Texas cleared its first five opponents, highlighted by a 59-10 thrashing of Washington State, to claim its first 5-0 start since 1959. Next on the home slate was none other than No. 24 South Florida, which already pummeled Boise State and knocked off Florida at The Swamp to piece together an impressive résumé. Best of all, it was a nationally televised Friday night game on ESPN2, serving as a standalone college football spectacle for the first two hours after kickoff.
American Conference title stakes were on the line, and everybody associated with both schools knew it, especially given North Texas’ friendly schedule to conclude the year, devoid of perennial powers like Memphis and Tulane. In anticipation of the high-stakes showdown, North Texas president Harrison Keller canceled classes after 12 p.m. to allow students, faculty, and staff time to prepare for the main event.
The atmosphere drew a North Texas record 31,386 spectators in the first sellout in stadium history. And the picture painted underneath the October Denton sky was one only North Texas fans could dream of. Even with backed up I-35 traffic, the stands were nearly packed to capacity at the 6:30 p.m. kickoff time, with everybody in attendance receiving the memo to adhere to a “blackout” — matching the colors of the Mean Green’s alternate uniforms. By the second quarter, you couldn’t locate an empty seat in the house, and there black shirts occupying the top corners of the “eagle wings” behind the north end zone — typically the most vacant area of the venue.
“I definitely enjoyed it because this is my fifth year here and I’ve never even seen it that close to getting packed,” North Texas center Gabe Blair said. “That was awesome to see that many people here.”
North Texas embraced the energy and South Florida needed to adjust to it. The Bulls committed three turnovers in the first quarter alone, and the Mean Green capitalized by never trailing in the first half. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker made several pro-level throws in the early goings of the contest, and each of the Mean Green’s first three touchdowns were met by vociferous crowd pops, unlike anything ever heard at DATCU Stadium.
“I thought the crowd played a huge part in it early, hearing the roars after the fumble and the interception,” North Texas head coach Eric Morris said. “The energy running out was true college football homefield advantage. It was incredible.”
It was an all-out party. The crowd embraced the call-and-response chants of “North” and “Texas,” with the “North” side of the stadium increasing the volume with each chant, trying to outdo the “Texas” half. Sheck Wes’ 2018 smash hit Mo Bamba was sung in unison by the record crowd, vibrating the bleachers like an XBOX controller when you’re playing a road game on EA Sports College Football 26. The pyrotechnics specialists repeatedly launched green fireworks from pregame to the start of the third quarter in a display that would make local downtown Fourth of July shows jealous.
Everything was perfect. Until it wasn’t.
Despite a homefield advantage longtime Mean Green fans could only dream of, North Texas couldn’t meet the moment. The Mean Green spectacularly collapsed in a 5-minute stretch spanning from the last minute of the first half to the first four minutes of the third quarter. In that timeframe, South Florida concocted a 28-0 run and snatched three takeaways to ultimately put the game away. By the time the third quarter concluded, there were more bleachers visible than black t-shirts. North Texas lost, 63-36, taking the first blemish on its 2025 résumé.
“I’ll beat myself up for a long time over this one because it was such a great opportunity for our fans, our program, our university on national TV,” Morris said. “We had a stretch there to capture the momentum at the end of the first half, and we did just the opposite.”
South Florida brushed off the record atmosphere in Denton. The Bulls already played the role of spoiler in front of 89,909 at Florida in Week 2, silencing The Swamp with a game-winning field goal at the buzzer, citing that experience as a reason they thrived in Denton.
“Going on the road hasn’t really phased us at all,” strong safety Fred Gaskin said. “We always go to the same mentality. We actually feed off the crowd, all the loud noise, all the extra-ness that we got from Miami and Florida. We already know what to expect going into another team’s homefield.”
South Florida head coach Alex Golesh acknowledged how important of a moment Friday was for Morris’ program, while also suggesting such an electrifying environment should become the standard for conference matchups in the American.
“I thought it was cool. That’s the way it should be,” Golesh said. “It’s October. It’s two really good football teams. It’s in the conference. It should be loud. I know that’s why I give Eric (Morris) so much credit with his ability to get so much excitement going up until this moment about football here. It’s awesome for him, but I did tell our guys last night the reason it’s a sellout is because the Bulls were in town.”
For many North Texas students, that was their first football game. And the busiest show in town became a desolate desert by the fourth quarter. It’s only one loss and the Mean Green are very much alive in a crowded conference championship picture. But it begs the question, can North Texas deliver such a moment again?
Athletic director Jared Mosley penned a letter to Mean Green Nation, requesting to replicate the Oct. 10 environment when UTSA travels to Denton on Oct. 18.
“While Friday night was incredible, the sellout isn’t a one-time deal,” Mosley wrote. “It’s the new standard for Mean Green Football, and we will continue to work diligently to provide as many opportunities as possible for all fans to join us on game days at DATCU Stadium! … So let’s run it back Mean Green Nation! Your energy will fuel our team as we fight towards victory and a 6-1 record next Saturday afternoon.”
