It’s fair to say the North Texas football program has turned a corner since Seth Littrell was hired as the head coach following the 2015 campaign.
After all, the Mean Green went from a dismal 1-11 team prior to Littrell’s arrival, to one competing in their third straight bowl game. North Texas has won nine straight games in back-to-back seasons for only the second time in school history.
What the Mean Green haven’t done is win a bowl game since 2002, a 24-19 triumph over Cincinnati in the New Orleans Bowl. UNT is hungry to terminate a five-game bowl losing streak Saturday afternoon when it squares off against Utah State in the New Mexico Bowl.
“I know our players are really excited about the challenge and they’ve worked extremely hard,” Littrell said. “This will be a great opportunity to send our seniors out the right way. You know, there’s nothing better than being able to go out with a bowl championship. You know, they’ve done so much around here to help us set our culture. They’re worked extremely hard day in and day out and we want to send them off the right way with a bowl win.”
Like the Aggies (10-2), the Mean Green (9-3) put themselves in a position to win every regular season game. UNT’s three loses this year have been by a combined 13 points, and the Mean Green had fourth-quarter leads in two of those contests.
The Mean Green have been explosive offensively in 2018, and have a legitimate chance to break a trio of noteworthy school records. This UNT squad currently ranks first in program history in total offense (472.8 yards per game), passing offense (316.2 ypg) and total offense (36.2 points per game).
Leading the charge for UNT’s offensive attack is record setting quarterback Mason Fine. The junior is the school’s all-time leader in attempts (1,229), completions (773) and passing yards (9,358). No. 6 threw for a record 4,032 yards a year ago and his 3,734 passing yards this season ranks second in the UNT record books.
Fine, who has 27 touchdowns passes to just five interceptions in 2018, is the reigning two-time Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year.
“They have a very explosive quarterback and he’s a true dual-threat quarterback,” USU interim head coach Frank Maile said in Monday’s press conference. “He keeps plays alive, but when he has to, he’s very dangerous on his feet. We have to do a great job defensively of containing him in the pocket and getting to him.”
Fine has several dangerous targets to deliver the pigskin to. Six UNT players have caught at least 24 passes this season and none of them are seniors.
Rico Bussey Jr., a first-team all-conference selection, is UNT’s leader with 68 receptions for 1,017 yards and 12 TDs. The junior has 20 TD receptions during his career.
Fellow junior Jalen Guyton has snared 50 catches for 702 yards and five scores. Guyton has nearly 1,500 receiving yards during his time in Denton, Texas.
Fellow wide receivers Jaelon Darden and Michael Lawrence have combined for 993 yards this season. Lawrence, a junior, has racked up 1,261 career receiving yards for the Mean Green.
“They are very athletic, especially the two outside receivers, with No. 8 (Bussey Jr.) and No. 9 (Guyton),” Maile said. “We have to do a great job, coverage-wise, of containing those two, and not giving up cheap ones and not letting them do what they do best, and that’s explosive plays. They (also) do a great job with their slot receivers inside.”
Maile also spoke highly of UNT running back DeAndre Torrey, who has rushed for 942 yards and 14 TDs en route to garnering second-team all-league honors this season. The 5-foot-7, 185-pound sophomore is tied for the No. 6 spot among all FBS players with 17 total touchdowns this season. Torrey has a season-long rush of 92 yards.
“Their running back packs a punch,” Maile said. “He’s a violent runner, explosive, and he does a great job. He has the ability to take the roof off the top and hit home runs. We have a big challenge ahead of us to stop him in the run game.”
Loren Easly, UNT’s backup tailback, has rushed for more than 100 yards twice this season and, like Torrey, is averaging more than 5.0 yards per carry.
As well as the Mean Green have played offensively this year, they have been arguably just as good on the other side of the ball. UNT ranks 31st nationally in scoring defense (21.8 ppg) and 15th in rushing defense (113.4 ypg). The Mean Green have allowed 359.5 total yards an outing.
North Texas had four defensive players earn first- or second-team all-conference accolades this season in linebacker E.J. Ejiya (first team), defensive end LaDarius Hamilton (first) and defensive backs Kemon Hall (first) and Nate Brooks (second).
Ejiya paces the Mean Green in tackles (113), tackles for loss (23.0) and sacks (9.0). The senior is only one TFL away from matching the single-season school record.
Fellow senior linebacker Brandon Garner has amassed 17.0 TFL and 6.5 sacks this year, giving UNT a pair of potent edge rushers. Likewise, Hamilton has accounted for 6.5 sacks. The Mean Green have sacked the opposing signal caller 33 times.
“They have two edge rushers that are really good,” Maile said. “They have a bunch of all-conference players, beginning with one of their linebackers (EJ Ejiya). He’s a heck of a player and he’s what you would want a linebacker to look like and play like. They are relentless, they play hard on defense and it will be a challenge for our offense.”
The Mean Green also have three proven ball hawks in the secondary, inasmuch as Hall, Brooks and Khairi Muhammad have teamed up for 14 of the squad’s 17 interceptions. Additionally, Hall and Brooks have combined to break up 21 passes this season.
Hall ranks third nationally with 17 passes defended. The junior has returned two of his five picks to the house. North Texas intercepted a whopping six passes in a 44-17 drubbing of Arkansas on the road.
The Mean Green have been very stingy on third down as opponents are only converting at a 32.2 percent clip.
“Defensively for North Texas, they’re a 3-3-5 odd front defense with the ability to get in some even fronts,” Maile said. “Their coaching staff on defense has done a great job.”
UNT’s other first-team all-conference performer is kicker Cole Hedlund, who has been successful on 19 of his 22 field goal attempts as a senior. Hedlund, a Lou Groza Award semifinalist, is only one FG away from matching the single-season program record.
North Texas, which has blocked four kicks or punts this season, has two bona fide weapons in the return game in Torrey and Keegan Brewer. Torrey has a 96-yard kickoff return for a TD, while Brewer brought back a punt 90 yards for a score.
Alvin Kenworthy has averaged 42.4 yards on 50 punts for the Mean Green as a junior.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
We welcome comments, however there are some guidelines:
Keep it Clean: Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexual language. Don't Threaten: Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful: Don't lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice: No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading. Be Proactive: Report abusive posts and don’t engage with trolls. Share with Us: Tell us your personal accounts and the history behind articles.