Q&A with Ronnie Turner from the Houston Chronicle

Harry · September 7, 2012

Here is a Q&A I did with Ronnie Turner from the Houston Chronicle about UNT’s game against Texas Southern:

1. How much did that season-opening win do for Texas Southern?

TSU’s 44-41 victory over rival Prairie View A&M provided a huge emotional lift for the program. The Tigers entered the game with a five-game losing streak to Prairie View and were coming off a 4-7 finish in the previous season. First-year coach Darrell Asberry had a successful regular-season debut and gave fans reason to be optimistic about the remainder of the year. The Tigers’ offense showed great promise, racking up 544 yards en route to helping TSU overcome a 20-7 first-quarter deficit. And a normally weak unit, special teams, was very solid, led by senior kicker Robert Hersh, who kicked a game-winning 47-yard field goal as time expired. The defense, however, had its hat handed to it by Prairie View’s potent offense, allowing 500 yards. Defensive coordinator Kevin Ramsey definitely has his work cut out.

2. Does this team look at a game with UNT as a chance to put itself on the map?

For TSU, a game such as this provides the best test and opportunity to show the college football world how far the program has come. However, the Tigers are hardly at the strength they’ll need to contend against an FBS program, even one not quite as dominant as North Texas. Plus, TSU’s recent matchups against FBS teams haven’t been kind in the least bit. The Tigers are 0-4 against FBS teams since 2008, having been outscored 245-13 in those matchups. Connecticut was the last FBS team to put a beating on TSU, rolling to a 62-3 victory in 2010. The likely best-case scenario for TSU against North Texas is to keep the outcome respectable and to make sure key players leave Denton as healthy as they arrived.

Read more:http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2012/09/7032.html/