Photo Courtesy: Dominic Ceraldi
Game Info
North Texas Mean Green vs Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
Saturday – September 30 – 6:00 p.m.
M.M. Roberts Stadium – Hattiesburg – MS
Records Prior to the Game
North Texas (2-2, 1-0 C-USA)
Southern Mississippi (2-1, 0-0 C-USA)
The North Texas Mean Green are coming off of a last-second win against the University of Alabama-Birmingham. This week they take on the University of Southern Mississippi.
UNT has not defeated USM since 2013. If UNT plans to win this week, they’re going to have play good football from the first second of the game to the last. They can’t play around. One mistake can shift the momentum of the game and ultimately lead to a defeat. Another thing is that they need to stay focused. Their humiliating loss to SMU a few weeks ago was due to losing concentration. The team must remember that the game is not over until the time clock hits 0:00 in the fourth. Every second of the game counts.
North Texas is currently 12th in the nation in total offense. They average about 500 yards per game, 278 through the air and 226 on the ground, scoring an average of 39 points per game. Running back Jeffery Wilson is currently in a tie for seventh in the nation with 63 carries for 518 yards, averaging 8.2 yards a carry. However, UNT will be in for a challenge as Southern Mississippi is fifth in the nation in total defense.
Southern Mississippi is 89th in the nation in total offense, however UNT’s defense can’t sleep on it since UNT blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and were lucky to win by a last-second field goal. UNT is 91st in total defense. They struggle on passing plays.
We can expect this game to be high-scoring. UNT is going to have be effective on offense and the defense is going to have to find a to make stops, sack the quarterback, and force some turnovers. One thing’s for certain and that’s the fact that UNT can’t blow any leads anymore. Again, they were lucky to come out on top last week despite blowing a 14-point lead in the fourth.
