North Texas At Kansas State Lookahead

[MeanGreen61]

Exerpt from the College Football News Big XII Lookahead

North Texas at Kansas State 7:05 PM Saturday, August 30th

- Kansas State is the wild-card in the Big 12 race. On its way to a great 2007, everything fell apart as the defense collapsed and the offense couldn’t keep up as the Wildcats lost four straight to close on a sour note. In an attempt for an instant fix, head coach Ron Prince brought in an army of JUCO transfers to beef up both sides of the ball. With North Texas this week and a decent Montana State team to follow, there are two games to warm up for a trip to Louisville.

- North Texas might not be any good, but it’s a whole bunch of fun. The Kansas State secondary will be tested by a hit-or-miss Mean Green passing attack that cranked out 601 yards against SMU and eight touchdown passes against Navy. Head coach Todd Dodge is known for cultivating star quarterbacks, and he has a great one in his son, true freshman Riley Dodge.

North Texas: Is the father going to turn the reins of the offense over to the son? Not quite yet. Giovanni Vizza was named the starting quarterback, and while he has the experience, and was the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, Dodge is the more talented option. First, Dodge has to get 100% healthy after suffering a shoulder injury last year, and while he can play if needed, he’s not quite back to form.

Kansas State: As the biggest mystery of 2008, the Wildcats are also looking at some position changes. With a secondary that more or less disappeared late last year, receiver Tony Purvis and Cedric Wilson have switched sides of the ball. Purvis will now play as a CB, while Wilson adds some depth at safety. Prince also noted that DE Jack Hayes has left the program citing the competition for playing time.

North Texas has to … start throwing when it gets off the bus. UNT might try to establish a little control with a bit of a running game here and there, but this is a passing team that will throw it more than 50 times. The KSU defense struggled over the second half of last year and ended up allowing 259 passing yards per game.

Kansas State has to … start hitting Vizza from the opening bell. Vizza is tough, but UNT struggled in pass protection allowing 39 sacks and plenty of other big hits. The Wildcat pass rush should be more fearsome with Ian Campbell moving back to end after playing linebacker last year.

Keep an eye on … Kansas WR Deon Murphy. Murphy is a lightning fast receiver who is expected to break out of the shadow cast by the unlikely emergence of Jordy Nelson. Murphy caught 56 passes and five TDs in 2007, and with the departure of Nelson to the NFL, he becomes the best target for QB Josh Freeman. Murphy is also a fantastic return man, but if he’s not a top receiver, there will be some work to do on offense over the following few weeks.

The glaring stat: the two teams combined allowed 516 passing yards per game.

[GreenStreet]

Exerpt from the College Football News Big XII Lookahead

- North Texas might not be any good, but it’s a whole bunch of fun. The Kansas State secondary will be tested by a hit-or-miss Mean Green passing attack that cranked out 601 yards against SMU and eight touchdown passes against Navy. Head coach Todd Dodge is known for cultivating star quarterbacks, and he has a great one in his son, true freshman Riley Dodge.

Isn't this one of those Positive sandwiches from the business world. The writer claims UNT is not any good, yet puts up 600 yards and has a head coach who can turn players into stars.

In fact I cant think of anything else to say about this. It is almost like he is saying. Dont watch this game because KSU will destroy UNT, but if you do happen to catch the game its gonna be fun!

Edited August 23, 2008 by GreenStreet

[bigntex]

Another national sports blogger who doesn't know crap. Assuming that Riley is the more talented player is horse crap considering no one saw the entire summer of workouts. If my buddies Sam and Gio would have been in a more throwing attack their Junior and Senior seasons and lived in the Metro area, that sports writer wouldn't be talking that crap.

Hell, the guy didn't even mention an All-American in Fitzgerald. I hope UNT can kick the hell out of Prince and his band of JUCO's.

[eulessismore]

North Texas might not be any good, but it’s a whole bunch of fun.

Is that sort of like writing on the wall in the men's room, "For a good time, call (insert name and/or phone number)."

[BIG DAWG]

Prince also noted that DE Jack Hayes has left the program citing the competition for playing time

Wasn't this one of the DEs we were going after from one of the JUCOS???

[JesseMartin]

North Texas might not be any good, but it’s a whole bunch of fun.

Is that sort of like writing on the wall in the men's room, "For a good time, call (insert name and/or phone number)."

No, it's more like comparing us to 80s music.