North Texas head coach Todd Dodge vowed to evaluate his program from top to bottom after a season full of disappointment ended with another devastating loss Saturday.

UNT had a four-point lead in the third quarter of its game against Arkansas State at Fouts Field and had the ball Red Wolves territory in the final two minutes only to fall short once again in a 33-28 loss in front of a crowd of 9,761.

The Mean Green (1-11, 0-6) finished winless in Sun Belt Conference play and had one or fewer victories overall for only the fifth time in the history of the program. UNT had not gone winless in conference play since 1972.

“There are things that got in the way of this team from growing from last season,” Dodge said after falling to 3-21 in two seasons at UNT. “We did not take a forward step and that is on me. I have to improve and make sure that everyone in this program improves.”

Dodge said he would evaluate every aspect of the program from players to coaches, but wouldn’t comment on any staff changes he is considering. Both Dodge and athletic director Rick Villarreal confirmed that they will meet Monday for their regular postseason discussion on the state of the program.

UNT appeared to have hope heading into the season after Dodge brought back Gary DeLoach, the architect of some of UNT’s best defenses during its four-year run as Sun Belt champions from 2001-04, for his second stint as the Mean Green’s defensive coordinator. UNT also brought back 13 starters from a team that finished 2-10 iin Dodge’s first season.

The Mean Green struggled to improve anyway. UNT allowed 47.6 points a game, a worse performance than in 2007, when the Mean Green finished last among Bowl Subdivision teams with an average of 45.1 points allowed a game.

UNT also saw its scoring average drop from 24.8 to 20.0.

Despite the backward steps UNT took on the field, Dodge and his players said they see hope for the future based on their performance this season and in their loss to ASU (6-5, 4-2).

“We just need to keep coming,” UNT defensive end Eddrick Gilmore said. “It’s not one thing. It’s not one person or one coach. We have to keep working. It will turn around. It just hasn’t gone our way.”

That was true in the first half when ASU used a key special teams play late in the first half to set up a Josh Arauco 36-yard field goal that gave the Red Wolves a 17-14 halftime lead.

The teams traded touchdowns in the first half, the last coming on a 7-yard touchdown run by UNT quarterback Giovanni Vizza with 48 seconds left.

ASU answered after Paul Stephens returned the ensuing kickoff 57 yards to the Mean Green’s 25-yard line. The Red Wolves took two shots at the end zone, but settled for a field goal that spoiled one of UNT’s better opening halves of the season.

The Mean Green had a 170-126 edge in total yards and ran 44 plays, compared to 26 for ASU, but turned the ball over three times in addition to allowing Stephens’ big return. The Mean Green also turned the ball over when a bad snap skipped past punter Truman Spencer in the second quarter.

“It’s part of football,” UNT running back Cam Montgomery said. “Things happen in the game that you don’t have control over.”

UNT appeared as if it would be able to overcome those mistakes when Montgomery scored a pair of touchdowns to put the Mean Green up 28-24 in the third quarter. Montgomery led UNT with 121 rushing yards.

The Red Wolves answered with a 1-yard Reggie Arnold touchdown run and a 24-yard Arauco field goal to take a 33-28 lead.

UNT had one last chance to drive for a game-winning touchdown after defensive end Jonathan Stewart recovered an Arnold fumble at the UNT 26-yard line with 4:05 left. UNT drove into ASU territory before a holding penalty and a sack left the Mean Green facing a fourth-and-21 situation with 48 seconds left.

ASU defensive back Marcus Brown intercepted a Vizza pass intended for Brock Stickler to end the game and send UNT into a season of evaluation.

“We all expected to have more wins than this at the beginning of the year,” UNT wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald said. “It didn’t turn out that way, but coach Dodge will get it turned around.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

A tough season

North Texas finished with the worst scoring differential since 1950 in the 2008 season. The following is a look at the five worst seasons during that span:

Season;differential;record;coach

1. 2008;27.58;1-11;Todd Dodge

2. 1995;-20.36;2-9;Matt Simon

3. 2007;-20.25;2-10;Todd Dodge

4. 1972;-18.72;1-10;Rod Rust

5. 1991;-17.45;3-7-1;Dennis Parker