U S A Today Mean Green Report

MeanGreen61 · September 24, 2007

INSIDE SLANT

Just when North Texas (0-3, 0-1 Sun Belt) looked to be on the verge of an upset, special teams play and a stalled offense led to a 30-20 home loss in its conference opener against Florida Atlantic.

The Mean Green had two punts blocked and gained less than 30 yards in the fourth quarter. UNT also squandered a 10-point third-quarter lead.

"Any time you have a turnover or a blocked punt, it gives the other team the potential to score," junior quarterback Daniel Meager told the Denton Record-Chronicle. "It makes it a lot easier for them to score when they don't have far to go."

UNT had two interceptions in the end zone, which might have made the biggest difference in the game, along with the special teams miscues.

"We had two interceptions in the end zone that really hurt our momentum," first-year coach Todd Dodge told the Denton Record-Chronicle. "I thought if we could have converted some of those opportunities it might have been a different result."

UNT's passing game continued to rack up big numbers, but unfortunately, the breakdowns in special teams and turnovers were too much to overcome.

UNT has a most difficult test on Sept. 29 when it plays at Arkansas, which is coming off back-to-back tough losses to Alabama and Kentucky.

NOTES, QUOTES

—UNT had two punts blocked against Florida Atlantic. Punter Truman Spencer had gone 142 punts and 33 consecutive games without a block.

GAME BALL GOES TO: RB Jamario Thomas — The senior, who led the nation in rushing as a true freshman, has struggled since with injuries. However, he had 121 yards rushing, scored a touchdown and averaged 6.4 yards a carry against Florida Atlantic.

KEEP AN EYE ON: WR Korey Washington — The sophomore had six receptions against Florida Atlantic. Casey Fitzgerald and Brandon Jackson had 10 each, but Washington's emergence will make the offense better.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "When you are a competitor as our coaches and players are, for 24 hours it is devastating. We felt really good about preparation and our kids' focus. I liked their focus before the game. This hurts." — Coach Todd Dodge.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

LOOKING GOOD: UNT is moving the ball effectively with the passing game, and the running game had its best output of the season against Florida Atlantic.

WRs Casey Fitzgerald and Brandon Jackson — The junior and senior have combined for 62 receptions in three games.

DB Aaron Weathers — The Mean Green are not a good defensive football team, but the senior, a former all-conference player, has performed well.

STILL NEEDS SOME WORK: QB Daniel Meager — The junior has thrown for more than 900 yards the last two weeks, but he threw three interceptions against Florida Atlantic.

—UNT's special teams proved most costly against Florida Atlantic as the Mean Green had two punts blocked.

—The Mean Green offensive line needs to continue to get better in all phases, particularly protecting quarterback Daniel Meager.

ROSTER REPORT: Sophomore OL Robert Peachy (hamstring) returned to the starting lineup last week.

Senior OL Josh Alexander (knee) is out for the season.

Backup LB Bryant Seidle (shoulder) is likely out for the season.

Edited September 24, 2007 by MeanGreen61