North Texas wins first bowl game

The Sun Belt Conference is playing football for only the second year.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- North Texas made a big statement for the Sun Belt Conference in the New Orleans Bowl.
North Texas hadn't beaten a single Division I-A team outside the Sun Belt in two years before Tuesday night's game against Cincinnati. And in the inaugural New Orleans Bowl last year, the Mean Green got pounded 45-20 by Colorado State.
But with a defensive scheme that yielded five interceptions and held Cincinnati to 85 yards rushing, North Texas gave the Sun Belt its first bowl triumph with a 24-19 victory over the Bearcats.
The conference is playing football for only the second year.
Worthy
"We've got a lot of good teams in our league, and this win shows we're capable of being a Division I-A league," North Texas coach Darrell Dickey said.
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 finished the season on a seven-game winning streak.
"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."
Cincinnati (7-7) came in having won five of six to tie Texas Christian for the Conference USA title.
Andrew Smith completed 9 of 22 passes for 126 yards for North Texas while the Mean Green gained 192 yards on the ground to control the game.
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 explosive Cincinnati quarterback Gino Guidugli another shot.
"Our offense made enough plays for us to win the game," Dickey said. "We were able to run the ball, even when they had the middle stacked."
North Texas' defense forced Cincinnati to settle for field goals twice after crossing the Mean Green 20.
Forced passes
Guidugli, who came in averaging 255 yards passing, was 19-of-34 for 224 yards and a touchdown. He had been intercepted 16 times in 13 games before throwing five Tuesday night.
"They had a good scheme, and I messed up a lot," Guidugli said. "They rushed three and got good pressure while dropping eight, and I forced too many balls."
Jon Olinger caught four passes for 107 yards to set a Cincinnati single-season receiving mark with 1,114 yards. Jim O'Brien set the old record of 1,107 in 1968. Olinger's 27-yard catch over the middle set up Cincinnati's first touchdown, and his 55-yard grab set up a field goal in the third quarter.