Photo Courtesy: Sandy McAnally
The North Texas Mean Green will not be taking home their second Heart of Dallas trophy this season. They fell to Army 38-31 in overtime.North Texas’ season finishes with a 5-8 overall record.
UNT’s Performance
Offense: Racked up a total of 410 yards. Senior QB Alec Morris set North Texas bowl records for completions (26), attempts (38), passing yards (304) and passing touchdowns (three). Freshman WR Tyler Wilson had a career-high five catches for 81 yards. Freshman WR Rico Bussey, Jr.’s 30-yard reception in the second quarter was his first catch since Oct. 1 against Middle Tennessee. JR running back Jeffrey Wilson scored his 14th touchdown of the season, thus moving him into fourth-all time in Mean Green history for single-season rushing touchdowns. UNT had only 96 yards on the ground and 314 through the air. Seven different Mean Green receivers caught passes in this game. Offense kept it together and never gave up. It was a shame that at the very end, they came up very short when they failed to convert a fourth down.
Defense: It was a tough day for the defense. They allowed a total of 533 total yards. 480 of those total yards were on the ground. Army came into this game being second in the nation in rushing. They ran the entire game. They only attempted four passes. UNT allowed two Army players to rush for 100 yards, which is a record. Defense struggled early after Army scored on four straight drives. UNT kept it together and made stops at crucial times. UNT’s allowing of 480 rushing yards is a record.
North Texas Football has nothing to be ashamed of. They’re coming off of a hideous 1-11 2015 season. It seems that first-year head coach Seth Littrel and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell are doing a good job and UNT’s future in football looks to be very bright. For now, it’s time to focus on next season and come back strong.
