Brett Vito

Todd Dodge is like a lot of head coaches.

He has tunnel vision sometimes, and North Texas ought to be thrilled that’s the case.

Because while several administrators and observers were sweating out the final formal approval for the school’s new stadium from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Dodge had his nose stuck to the grindstone trying to cap a big week in UNT athletics history in the only way that seemed appropriate.

Dodge was trying to figure out a way to pull out a win over Western Kentucky.

That’s just what UNT did on Saturday night thanks to an impressive offensive performance in a 68-49 victory.

Only after UNT had pulled out the win did Dodge take the time to think about what the hubbub was about and appreciate what he and a whole lot of other UNT officials accomplished during the week that was.

“I am thrilled,” Dodge said of the stadium initiative clearing the final hurdle. “It’s something that is going to be huge for this university. It’s not about the team or the coaching staff that is in here right now, it’s about the future. It could have put a real wet blanket on a good week if we had lost [on Saturday]. It’s the finish to a really good week.”

UNT has been waiting for a week like this one for years.

“Wait until next year” has become something of a battle cry for the UNT football program since the last time the Mean Green went to a bowl game in 2004.

Big things were expected in the first season of the Dodge era two years ago, and his second last season and the third this year.

We have heard for years about the potential UNT was going to tap into once it got the right coaches, players and a new stadium in place.

What made the last few days different was that UNT finally cemented what it hopes is a better future while also giving people a reason to believe this season won’t be a total waste.

No one is going to argue that UNT won’t have the ability to be a bigger player in the local college football scene once it has moved out of Fouts. A new venue will put the program on a more equal footing with its rivals down the road in Dallas and across the country in the Sun Belt Conference.

If one has been paying any attention, it’s pretty obvious UNT is going to have to kick it in gear pretty quick to keep pace with the Joneses (that would be of the SMU variety). The Mustangs look more and more like they could be headed to a bowl game in their season under June Jones.

UNT’s new stadium will give the Mean Green a shot in the long term against the teams it has to compete against like SMU, UTEP and Rice.

As far as this season goes, UNT just needed something to go right.

The Mean Green came into Saturday having lost 15 straight Sun Belt Conference games and six straight overall dating back to a win over Ball State in its season opener.

Dodge’s offense was supposed to make winning a more regular occurrence at UNT. There have been some bumps in the road along the way, but tying a school record with 68 points is certainly a step in the right direction.

“This game showed what our offense is capable of doing,” UNT quarterback Riley Dodge said. “We didn’t have any turnovers. We’ve had several games this year where we could have scored 40 to 50 points. Offensively, we kind of grew up [on Saturday].”

Dodge threw four touchdown passes and rushed for three more, falling one touchdown short of the school record for touchdowns in a game set by Giovanni Vizza back in 2007.

UNT’s defense was terrible for most of the day, but got the job done when it mattered in the fourth quarter by making a couple of stops that shifted the game in the Mean Green’s favor.

There is still a lot of work UNT needs to get done not only on defense, but in just about every aspect of the game and the program.

The Mean Green is still 2-6 on the year and is just 2-17 in Sun Belt play in the Todd Dodge era.

Three of the Mean Green’s five wins under Dodge have come against WKU, a newcomer to the Sun Belt this season that is probably the worst team in college football.

Seeing that work done, both in the short term and long term, appears a little more likely after a big week for UNT.

A new stadium is on the way for a team that for at least one night looked like it might have a more promising future.

At this point, that’s all UNT could have wanted to see happen.

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