DENTON -- One year ago, North Texas football played one of the bigger games in program history against Metroplex rival SMU in the Safeway Bowl. 

The Mean Green had a 5-31-1 all-time record against the Mustangs heading into the game. They lost the last three matchups by a combined 53 points. Even worse, SMU was 17-0-1 against UNT coming off of winning seasons. 

But despite the stacked odds, North Texas players went into the biggest game in the history of Apogee Stadium feeling different. 

“I knew we were going to win before,” Bussey said. “I saw we worked that summer. I knew we were going to come out and win if we’re being honest.”

Bussey’s prediction was right on track. North Texas sacked SMU quarterback Ben Hicks on the third play of the game, and then drove 49 yards for a touchdown. Two drives later, cornerback Kemon Hall picked off Hicks and returned it for a touchdown. Just four minutes into the second half, the Mean Green had a crushing 27-0 lead. 

The "Safeway Bowl" legendarily earned the name because then-UNT coach Matt Simon said that he thinks his 1994 was confident enough to play and beat SMU anywhere, even a Safeway parking lot. "Just give us a date and time." The Mean Green flexed their Safeway parking lot energy in a big way. 

SMU fought back to make the scoreboard look respectable, but the Mean Green dominated in every phase in a 46-23 win. Even Bussey, who felt the victory before the game, was jolted by the performance. 

“My first two years here, we were getting blown out by them, and then we come out and thrash them,” Bussey said. “They’re in a bigger conference, so it was like, dang, we can really hang with these people.” 

In so many ways, UNT’s dominant win helped set the table for an impressive 2018 campaign. Two weeks later, the Mean Green went on the road and beat SEC opponent Arkansas 44-17. That was enough to push UNT into the national consciousness. 

“Starting off fast definitely helped our confidence and our mentality in that, hey, we’ve taken the right steps in being a top tier program in Conference USA,” North Texas quarterback Mason Fine said. “It gave us a lot of confidence.” 

North Texas was impressive. The Mean Green even won some fans on the opposing sideline. 

“The thing that they’ve done that’s sometimes hard to do is won consistently,” SMU coach Sonny Dykes said. “They’ve been a team that’s been in a fight for conference championships the last couple of years. That’s what you want to do as a program.” 

Dykes’ praise for North Texas’ star quarterback is even more effusive. 

“I can’t say enough about Mason Fine and what he’s meant to their program. He’s the perfect example of what we want from our quarterback – a tough-minded guy who’s a great leader and somebody who almost wills the team to succeed.” 

That said, the task won’t get any easier for North Texas. The Mean Green have not won a Safeway Bowl in Dallas since 1933. They’re a cool 1-23-1 all-time in those games. 

SMU also spent the whole offseason building its roster up. Texas transfer Shane Buechele threw for 360 yards in his first start with the Mustangs. Running back Xavier Jones rushed for three touchdowns after struggling with injuries a year ago. Three of the top four tacklers were first-year starters. Every player on the roster knows exactly what UNT did to them in 2018. This is a different team than the one that limped into Apogee Stadium last year.

“I think every year is different, every team is different,” Fine said. “This year, it’s a new year, and we can’t just be like we had success against them last year, it’ll be the same way this year. We’ve got to take it one week at a time and never underestimate our opponent.”

SMU enters Saturday’s rematch as a narrow favorite over the Mean Green, despite the crushing loss a season ago. North Texas also has a much more difficult nonconference schedule overall, with games against Cal and Houston also left on the schedule. Still, Bussey is confident again. 

“I feel like we can win,” Bussey said. “If we can do what we need to do, we can win. We have the best roster we’ve had probably, we have the talent.

“I don’t know if we’re really trying to prove ourselves anymore. We’re just trying to be us and do what we do.” 

North Texas kicks off against SMU at 6 p.m. Saturday evening at Ford Stadium in University Park. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.