First test for UNT interim coach Mike Canales is a grand one

[Harry]

DENTON -- In some ways, there are a lot of similarities between this season and the 2010 campaign for North Texas interim coach Mike Canales.

Canales took over the Mean Green program after his boss was fired in each season -- Todd Dodge in 2010 and Dan McCarney last weekend. The Mean Green desperately need to regroup now, just like five years ago.

Back then, the Mean Green went on the road to face Western Kentucky and pulled through for a 33-6 win.

UNT will look for a repeat Thursday -- once again against WKU.

That is where the similarities end. The Hilltoppers (5-1) are 3-0 in Conference USA play and feature one of the nation's top quarterbacks in Brandon Doughty.

That's a far different scenario than in Canales' first game in 2010, when the Mean Green rolled past a WKU team that was 1-6. This time, UNT (0-5, 0-2 C-USA) is a huge underdog coming off a short week to prepare after its coach was fired.

Canales and his players vowed to rally in the face of those long odds.

"We have kids who truly believe they can win," Canales said. "They want to win and prove some people wrong who are saying that our season is over. Our kids are prideful and will bounce back. They want to prove that they can still play football."

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