The homecoming game for North Texas is taken at its most literal meaning this year, as the team has played 4 of its first 6 games on the road, losing all of them. If ever there was a time that the team felt the need to be taken in by its fans, it is now.
Looking at last season we saw the Mean Green hit a low point with a 35-0 loss against Middle Tennessee at home that saw North Texas struggle in all aspects of the game. The Mean Green will definitely have revenge on their minds, especially considering that that was the first time Middle Tennessee had defeated North Texas in a series that stretches six games.
Offense:
Just when this writer thought that Head Coach Todd Dodge had implemented an offense that could be counted on to be productive, they turn around and have a game against Troy that appears to set them back a few weeks. The Mean Green were only able to pound out 205 yards of total offense and 7 points against Troy’s defense. The Mean Green seemed to be having trouble winning the battle of the line of scrimmage as the running game was only able to produce 26 yards, and Quarterback Giovanni Vizza was sacked nine times on a way to a 45-7 loss. The team will definitely need to get their offense back in gear as they face the top-rated defense in the Sun Belt Conference(362 YPG). North Texas’s focus this week should be to work on their offensive line and regain the advantage at the line of scrimmage.
Defense:
Any time your defense gives up 45 points in a loss, you are prone to think that they played a horrible game. However, there are exceptions to the rule. It appears that North Texas woke up this weekend and decided to play their best game as far as turnovers go, forcing seven, with four of those coming off of interceptions. The defense, still had to spend almost all of the game on the field, as Troy kept the NT offense off the field with their defense. It appears as the season gets further along, the defense has only gotten better and better behind the play of their rushing defense, since giving up 300 rushing yards to the University of Louisiana Lafayette, NT has really buckled down in their last two games. If North Texas beat the Middle Tennessee offense with their defense, it will be a big contribution to the North Texas offense which will have trouble with the opposing defense.