Photo Courtesy: Michael Kolch
By DaVince “Dino” Wright
Game Info
Rice Owls vs North Texas Mean Green
Saturday – November 26 – 1:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
Apogee Stadium – Denton, TX
Records Before the Game
Rice University (5-6, 3-4 C-USA)
University of North Texas Mean Green (6-5, 5-2 C-USA)
Here’s the thing! UNT is bowl eligible and they need to win one more game to get into a better bowl situation. This game will be a huge game for the Mean Green at home and it’s the last regular season game as well. Rice is a good team, but UNT is better at this point in the season. Let’s take a closer look at this week’s matchup in Denton.
Conference USA
North Texas is sitting in second place in the conference. The Rice Owls are in 5th place. This game will allow Rice a chance to play spoiler if they can get a win on the road and become bowl eligible themselves. UNT will need to close the gap between themselves and UTSA.
Rice Owls
Junior quarterback TJ McMahon has had his ups and downs this season. He has 2102 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Running back Cameron Montgomery will need to get his hands on the ball to have a chance for a win on the road. The defense will be the x-factor for the Owls. The defense is giving up 35 points per game while the offense is scoring 26.3 points per game.
UNT Mean Green
Quarterback Austin Aune is a gunslinger! He has 2912 passing yards with 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He’s averaging 273 passing yards a game this season. Over the past five games the Mean Green defense has improved across the board. Creating turnovers and applying pressure to opposing quarterbacks has been a stickler in Denton. The x-factor for the Mean Green will be the offensive line.
Prediction
ESPN has the Mean Green with an 86.5% chance of winning at home. This is the first time in three years that they are favored by that much. I’m taking the Mean Green by 10 and to lock in their 7th win of the season.
Final Score
Mean Green – 31
Owls – 21
