North Texas Football: Mean Green a threat due to electric offense

Tough early schedule will define Mean Green’s season

North Texas is going to have an opportunity to get back to another bowl game, but several obstacles stand in the way of them being a conference title contender. The early part of the schedule could define how the season will go for North Texas.

• Game 1: Northwestern State (W)- North Texas should start out the season with a win against an overmatched FCS opponent.
• Game 2: At SMU (L)- SMU will be able to match North Texas’s firepower and win at home.
• Game 3: UAB (L)- UAB has won three straight division titles and is built on defense to stop offenses like North Texas.
• Game 4: At Louisiana Tech (W)- Louisiana Tech will be solid this season, but I think North Texas has what it takes to pull the upset on the road.
• Game 5: At Missouri (L)- This road game against an experienced Tigers team could get really ugly.
• Game 6: Marshall (L)- This should be a close game, but I think that Marshall has the better defense, which will be the difference.
• Game 7: Liberty (L)- There will be lots of points against Liberty and Malik Willis, but North Texas has no chance to stop the Flames.
• Game 8: At Rice (L)- I consider this game a tossup, but it is hard to trust North Texas to get enough stops in close games.
• Game 9: At Southern Miss (L)- Southern Miss is going to be tough to beat this year and I don’t think the Mean Green can get it done on the road.
• Game 10: UTEP (W)- UTEP is likely to be terrible again and I think North Texas can get the win here.
• Game 11: At FIU (W)- This should be close and I will give the edge to North Texas due to the uncertainty FIU as at quarterback.
• Game 12: UTSA (L)- UTSA is back and ready to contend for the C-USA title and I think they are a more well-rounded team than North Texas.

Final Record: 4-8, 3-5 C-USA

North Texas fans won’t be pleased with 4-8, but they have an awfully tough schedule against teams like Missouri, UAB, Liberty, and Marshall and with a defense that has as much uncertainty as North Texas, it is tough to see them winning close games, even with an offense as good as theirs.

This could be a better record if the defense is just average, but it is tough to predict that given the recent history.