The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - Cincinnati's Gino Guidugli was the headliner coming into the New Orleans Bowl, but the North Texas defense stole the show.

North Texas intercepted five of Guidugli's passes and held Cincinnati to 85 yards rushing in a 24-19 victory Tuesday night.

"It means a lot, because people don't have respect for us," said Jeremy Pearl, who scored on a 20-yard interception return. "If we can't get our respect now, I don't know when we can."

North Texas (8-5) finished the season on a seven-game winning streak. The Mean Green won their first game against a Division I-A team outside of the Sun Belt Conference.

The victory also gave the two-year-old Sun Belt its first bowl victory. North Texas lost to Colorado State last year in the inaugural New Orleans Bowl.

"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.

North Texas gained 192 yards on the ground to control the game.

"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 and held UC to one TD on offense.