Opponent Q&A: UNT
Had the chance to talk to Brett Vito of the Denton Record-Chronicle about North Texas before Saturday's game.
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1. North Texas has faced some tough competition these last few weeks. Has this been a disappointing start for Seth Littrell? Is the team in a good spot moving forward?
North Texas faced a tough couple of opponents early in the season, but there is no question a 1-2 start wasn’t what the Mean Green were hoping for.
Anyone who has followed the program for any length of time knows that this year is the Mean Green’s shot at moving the needle on a national level. Mason Fine is one of the best players in the history of program and is one of a host of seniors playing key roles this year.
If UNT is ever going to make a run at ranking among the best Group of Five teams in the country, this is it.
The chances of UNT reaching that goal have diminished significantly. The Mean Green lost at SMU by 22 just a year after beating the Mustangs by 23. Cal is in the top 25, but that was a game UNT felt like it had a chance to win.
The Mean Green still have a shot at Houston at home later in the season and have a legitimate chance to make a run at the Conference USA title. That gives the Mean Green hope that they can still capitalize on the opportunity this season presents.
To do so, UNT needs to start stringing wins together.
The Mean Green have what it takes to do just that behind a mature team. UNT did lost key wide receiver Rico Bussey Jr. to injury last week. No one is saying how long he will be out, but that is really the only key issue hanging over UNT’s heads.
2. Injuries have been a big talking point this week. How is the team health wise? Do you expect anyone to miss any significant time?
That is the million-dollar question. UNT has a couple of players battling injuries who are questionable this week who it will be fine without.
Bussey is another matter entirely.
The senior is UNT’s best wide receiver and one of its biggest threats down the field. He had a monster game against Abilene Christian to open the season. SMU was well aware of how important Bussey is to UNT’s offense and hatched a great game plan to limit him. He finished without a catch against the Mustangs.
Bussey caught one pass last week against Cal before going down with what looked like a serious knee injury. The party line on Tuesday was that UNT was waiting for tests to come back to determine how long he’ll be out.
My guess is we don’t see Rico this weekend, maybe not for a few weeks and possibly not the rest of the season.
3. How has the North Texas offense fared under new offensive coordinator Bodie Reeder? Has it been a seamless transition for Mason Fine?
The early returns have been mixed, which is what makes this weekend’s game so interesting. Fine had a monster game in UNT’s season opener against ACU, throwing for 383 yards.
The last two weeks have been more of a struggle. Fine threw for 152 yards in UNT’s loss to SMU and 210 yards last week against Cal.
The Mustangs look like they are on their way to a breakout season and Cal has one of the best secondaries in the country.
UNT hasn’t lived up to expectations thus far. The question is if that is solely because of the competition or if there have been some growing pains on offense due to the change from Graham Harrell to Reeder.
My feeling is that it is a little of both.
4. The North Texas defense seemed to play well against Cal. What can UTSA expect to see from them Saturday?
UNT has a ton of new players in key spots this season after losing two linebackers and both of its starting cornerbacks to graduation.
Those players seemed to settle in a bit in the Mean Green’s loss to Cal.
UNT’s approach hasn’t changed since last season. Defensive coordinator Troy Reffett plays an attacking 3-3-5 scheme and leaves his corners and safeties in man coverage quite a bit. That frees up players to come on the blitz.
The strategy works out well when UNT’s players can get to the quarterback. The Mean Green tend to give up big plays when they don’t.
5. What is your prediction for the game?
I can’t see how UNT ends up losing this game.
This looks like one of the best teams the Mean Green have had in years on paper, which is why UNT was picked to win Conference USA’s West Division title in the coaches’ preseason poll.
The last couple of weeks didn’t go the way UNT hoped but that had more to do with the competition the Mean Green faced than their potential as a team.
UTSA appears to have improved since last season, but I can’t see how the Roadrunners come up with a way to upset the Mean Green at home.
I see UNT winning by a score in the neighborhood of 34-23.
FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way