The Sports Network Says Mean Green Win

MeanGreen61 · September 8, 2005

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...ive/pv10375.htm

North Texas (0-0) at Middle Tennessee State (0-1)

The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Saturday, September 10th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Floyd Stadium (30, 788) -- Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Television: Local. Home Record: UNT 0-0, MTSU 0-0. Away Record: UNT 0-0, MTSU 0-1. Neutral Record: UNT 0-0, MTSU 0-0. Conference Record: UNT 0-0, MTSU 0-0. Series Record: North Texas leads, 4-0.

GAME NOTES: In a Sun Belt Conference opening contest for both teams, the North Texas Mean Green will clash with the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders at Floyd Stadium. The Mean Green were suppose to open their schedule against LSU last week, but complications caused by Hurricane Katrina postponed the contest. Although last season the Mean Green posted just a 7-5 overall record, they were able to capture their fourth straight conference title and attend their fourth straight bowl game. UNT has been a dominant force in the Sun Belt, posting the second-longest conference winning streak in the nation with 25 victories. The Mean Green have lost eight straight season-openers, but Coach Darrell Dickey will try to push his squad to overcome and snap that mark. As for the Blue Raiders they were defeated by the Alabama Crimson Tide, 26-7, in their season-opener. MTSU would like to start its SBC schedule on a high-note, but the task will be extremely difficult. Last season the Blue Raiders were just 4-4 in the SBC which was good for fifth place in the conference. Although upending four-time defending Conference Champ North Texas could be tough, the Blue Raiders have reason to feel confident, as they enter 2005 with a better squad. UNT has dominated the series against Middle Tennessee State, winning all four meetings, including a 30-21 victory last season at Fouts Field.

The cancelation of last week's matchup prolonged the UNT fans from seeing the tandem of Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas in the backfield. North Texas has boasted the nation's leading rusher in each of the past two seasons and with both players back and healthy there is no reason why the team shouldn't be among the nation best in rushing in 2005. Cobbs, who was slated for a big year in 2004, was sidelined with knee injures which kept him off the field for nearly the entire campaign. The injuries to Cobbs led to the emergence of Thomas, who went on to lead the nation in rushing (189.9 ypg) while scoring 17 touchdowns. Thomas set numerous records, including an NCAA freshman mark for 200-yard rushing games (five) in a season. He also set a UNT and Sun Belt record with 1,801 yards, earning him the league's Offensive and Freshman Player of the Year awards. Fans will finally get to see if Cobbs and Thomas can coexist in the backfield. Having a powerful rushing attack should only help the growing pains of quarterback Daniel Meager, who takes over for the departed Scott Hall. Meager, who is a redshirt freshman, should also benefit from the return of Johnny Quinn, who is one of the most dangerous wideouts in the SBC. Quinn is coming off a career year in which grabbed 49 balls for 785 yards and nine scores.

During the Mean Green's tremendous run through the Sun Belt over the past four years the defensive unit has been a staple of consistency. However, that was not the case last season. North Texas struggled with inexperience in '04 and allowed a whopping 414.2 total ypg and that is something Coach Dickey hopes the team can change in 2005. The defense should show signs of improvement this year, but how much improvement depends on the progress of the young, inexperienced players. The biggest concern for this unit comes on the defensive line, where North Texas must replace all four starters from a year ago. End Eli Hutchinson, who has the most experience on the line, will make the start tonight for the Mean Green and should be the leader of this unit throughout the season. The linebacking corps is no doubt the strongest unit of the Mean Green defense. Led by middle linebacker Derek Mendoza, the squad will be the anchor to an otherwise weak defense. Corner T. J. Covington will lead a secondary which was torched for 241.1 passing ypg last fall.

The Blue Raiders, who were horrendous on the ground last season, racking up just 106.5 ypg, started the 2005 campaign where they left off, totaling just 34 yards on 25 carries in the loss to Alabama last week. Eugene Gross led the inept ground attack with just 37 yards on 12 carries, while Alex Suber contributed a meager 22 yards on seven carries. The ineffective ground attack probably hindered a passing game that ranked 15th in the nation last season. QB Clinton Marks completed 12-of-18 attempts for just 117 yards and one score which is far off from his 2004 numbers, when he passed for 2,749 yards on the season. Coming into the season Chris Henry was supposed to be the main target for Marks, but in the opener Henry caught just one pass for negative four yards. Instead of using Henry, Marks more often than not threw towards Cleannord Saintil, who grabbed five balls for 64 yards. Expect the Blue Raiders' passing game to post much better numbers against a weak UNT secondary.

While the MTSU offense struggled to post points, the defense had trouble handling the Crimson Tide offense, allowing 345 yards in the setback. The Blue Raiders did hold the Tide to just 212 passing yards, which is an improvement from 2004 when the MTSU defensive unit allowed 273.5 ypg through the air. The defense was unable to pressure the QB, recording just one sack on the night. MTSU also struggled against the Crimson Tide's ground attack, allowing 133 yards and two scores. After missing all of last season with a neck injury, linebacker Jonathan Bonner returned last week and collected 5 1/2 tackles. Although the return of Bonner was special, the leader on the defensive side against Alabama was Bradley Robinson who had 8 1/2 stops and one interception in the setback. MTSU must do a better job up front, or expect then to struggle against the run again.

Middle Tennessee State should give the Mean Green a good fight, but expect UNT to run Cobbs and Thomas all the way to a 26th straight Sun Belt Conference victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: North Texas 34, Middle Tennessee State 20

09/07 11:28:01 ET

PlummMeanGreen · September 9, 2005

I believe the NT/MUTS game will be close for 3 quarters, then comes the 4'th quarter.

The 4'th quarter will belong to the NT offensive line, Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas. The Mean Green "D" will bend much of the game, break a few times, but not break at strategic times in that 4'th quarter.