Ranking of Most Anticipated Mean Green Football Games

Harry · August 18, 2014

There are many reasons to make your way out to Apogee this season, or turn on the TV during an away week and watch your Mean Green while enjoying some great food and great company. Here are some top reasons to watch each game this season and be the best possible fan.

1. Texas

The game in Austin against the Longhorns is going to be an exciting matchup with important implications for obvious reasons. The Longhorns are going through a transition period with head coach Charlie Strong, as well as playing with a QB that just recently suffered a left foot injury in April. However, the Mean Green are in the midst of transitions as well. Among them is an important transition at the quarterback position. This game will be by far the most exciting for Mean Green fans as we hang on to every moment just waiting for the ones that will show the nation that North Texas is a real program and here to stay.

2. UTSA

The buzz surrounding this game hasnt lost any steam since the heartbreaking loss to UTSA last season. It is arguable that UTSA ruined the Mean Greens chances of having a conference championship game at Apogee in their first season with C-USA. Anyone that was at that game or watched it last season is itching for some payback and that is more than enough of a reason to be in San Antonio for the last week of the regular season.

Read more: http://thestudentsection.org/2014/08/17/ranking/

NT03 · August 18, 2014

SMU #1

GMG24 · August 18, 2014

1 TU

2 SMU

3 UTSA

the rest equal

Green P1 · August 18, 2014

UT, SMU, UTSA, all others.

UNTexas · August 18, 2014

Looking forward to rice as well. The others? Maybe Indiana

SMU #1 tied with Rice.

Christopher Walker · August 18, 2014

Anyone notice the sudden onslaught of new UNT fan or parody sites?

Kind of interesting to consider it all from a cultural view.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Christopher Walker

Andrew · August 18, 2014

Whoever we play in our bowl game, SMU, Texas, and then UTSA....

Mean Green 93-98 · August 18, 2014

#1 SMU at Apogee

#2 at UT

#3-6 C-USA home games (La Tech, Southern Miss, FAU, FIU, in that order)

#7 at Indiana

#8 at Rice

#9 at UTEP

#10 Nicholls State at Apogee

#11 at UAB

#12 at UTSA (I still can't care about them, and it's being away makes me care even less)

MeanGreenTexan · August 18, 2014

1. SMU

2. UT

...

3. Rice

4. Indiana

...

5. UTSA

...

the rest

Eagle1855 · August 18, 2014

For me, it's as follows:

1. Texas

2. Rice

3. UTSA

4. SMU

Texas, because it signals the start of the 2014 and I want to see an upset. Rice and UTSA, conference-mates, peer schools in Texas that will be key games if we are to compete in the West. I've dropped SMU below these because I truly feel complete ambivalence towards their program, though I do believe it will be a good gauge of where our program is.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Eagle1855

NT91 · August 18, 2014

USM

GrayEagle · August 18, 2014

I kind of like Harry's ranking.

A win at UT would mean more to the program than any win over SMU could ever do. Losing to UTSA last year likely cost us a conference championship and must be atoned regardless of how you feel about their program. Harry ranks SMU third and I believe that's where they should be. Rice should always be important to us because of their history, it's in Texas, and they're usually going to be our nemesis for a division championship (for now). (Southern Miss and La Tech will regain their former status in time). The only change that I would make is to move Indiana to #5. I think that it would be cool to beat a B1G school on their home turf and would probably elevate our status a bit. The rest of the rankings is spot on as far as I'm concerned.

wardly · August 18, 2014

I didn't realize how much I disliked SMU until I went to a North Texas/Mustang basketball game at Moody and saw a sign that said " my maid goes to North Texas". Problem is, she probably did.

meangreenthirteen · August 18, 2014

Anyone notice the sudden onslaught of new UNT fan or parody sites?
Kind of interesting to consider it all from a cultural view.

We...we finally made it

:7p: :konlang: :hippo:

pastorgrant · August 18, 2014

Beating Texsa would do more for our program than any game in the time I've been watching UNT. That's got to be #1 for that reason alone.

meangreen15 · August 18, 2014

1. Texas-could be a giant springboard if we can pull off the upset

2. SMU-a W here will help us gain more respect in the metroplex

3. UTSA & Rice- not only are they conference division opponents, but the outcomes of these games over the next few years will have a huge impact on recruiting

5. Indiana- any W against a power 5 school will really help our image as a program on the rise

Mean Green 93-98 · August 18, 2014

SMU has to be #1. For not being a real rival, is there any school we think of more as a rival? We've been wanting to play them in a regular series forever, and this game finally begins that. And this one comes at a time when SMU has been down, so perhaps they're ripe for the picking. Also, we're competing against SMU for recruits, and what happens in this game has a very good chance of affecting recruits' opinions one way or the others. Additionally, it's at Apogee and the home opener. If it were well-promoted, it would easily be a sellout. I don't see how any other game really comes close.

Texas would be great if we got the upset. But let's be real, it's this year's bodybag game. When's the last time we won our annual bodybag game, or even came close? We were thrilled with our performance against Georgia last year, and they beat us 45-21. I'm not saying it can't happen, and the fact that there are some question marks with UT increase the possibility of an upset and thus the anticipation factor. But anyone who would give us better than a 40% chance of winning is not thinking realistically, and even that's a little high. Personally, my anticipation factor is significantly higher for a game we have a realistic chance of winning.

Jason Howeth · August 18, 2014

Anyone notice the sudden onslaught of new UNT fan or parody sites?
Kind of interesting to consider it all from a cultural view.

I've definitely noticed it and I love it. Pigeon kind of made me mad in the beginning, but then I got over it and they posted better articles. NT is definitely getting a bigger internet presence at the least.

foutsrouts · August 18, 2014

Saturday

Aug. 30 at Texas Longhorns

Darrell K. Royal - TX Mem. Stadium, Austin, TX 7:00 p.m. CT

LHN Buy

Tickets Saturday

Sept. 6 SMU Mustangs

Apogee Stadium, Denton, TX 11:00 a.m. CT

FSN --- Thursday

Sept. 11 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Apogee Stadium, Denton, TX 7:00 p.m. CT

CBSSN Buy

Tickets Saturday

Sept. 20 Nicholls State Colonels

Apogee Stadium, Denton, TX 2:30 p.m. CT

ASN Buy

Tickets Saturday

Sept. 27 --- Open Date --- --- Saturday

Oct. 4 at Indiana Hoosiers

Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN TBA Buy

Tickets Saturday

Oct. 11 at UAB Blazers

Legion Field, Birmingham, AL 2:30 p.m. CT

ASN Buy

Tickets Saturday

Oct. 18 Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Apogee Stadium, Denton, TX 6:00 p.m. CT

ASN Buy

Tickets Saturday

Oct. 25 at Rice Owls

Rice Stadium, Houston, TX Time TBA

FS1 or FSN Buy

Tickets Saturday

Nov. 1 --- Open Date --- --- Saturday

Nov. 8 Florida Atlantic Owls (HC)

Apogee Stadium, Denton, TX 6:00 p.m. CT

FCS Buy

Tickets Saturday

Nov. 15 at UTEP Miners

Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, TX Time TBA

FS1 or FSN --- Saturday

Nov. 22 FIU Golden Panthers

Apogee Stadium, Denton, TX 2:30 p.m. CT

ASN Buy

Tickets Saturday

Nov. 29 at UTSA Roadrunners

Alamodome, San Antonio, TX Time TBA

FS1 or FSN Buy

Tickets Saturday

Dec. 6 C-USA Championship Game

Hosted by team with highest C-USA winning % TBA

UNT90 · August 19, 2014

SMU has to be #1. For not being a real rival, is there any school we think of more as a rival? We've been wanting to play them in a regular series forever, and this game finally begins that. And this one comes at a time when SMU has been down, so perhaps they're ripe for the picking. Also, we're competing against SMU for recruits, and what happens in this game has a very good chance of affecting recruits' opinions one way or the others. Additionally, it's at Apogee and the home opener. If it were well-promoted, it would easily be a sellout. I don't see how any other game really comes close.

Texas would be great if we got the upset. But let's be real, it's this year's bodybag game. When's the last time we won our annual bodybag game, or even came close? We were thrilled with our performance against Georgia last year, and they beat us 45-21. I'm not saying it can't happen, and the fact that there are some question marks with UT increase the possibility of an upset and thus the anticipation factor. But anyone who would give us better than a 40% chance of winning is not thinking realistically, and even that's a little high. Personally, my anticipation factor is significantly higher for a game we have a realistic chance of winning.

If we had last year's special teams in the game against K St. 2 years ago, things could have been different... Edited August 19, 2014 by UNT90

pastorgrant · August 19, 2014

Am I the only one who wasn't thrilled about the Georgia game? I came out of there thinking we were a pretty good team but that we blew it in that game. I was bummed.

Also UT isn't what Georgia was when we played them. I am not saying we are a lock, but I think we have a puncher's chance and I will be bummed if we lose.

GreenMachine · August 19, 2014

I didn't realize how much I disliked SMU until I went to a North Texas/Mustang basketball game at Moody and saw a sign that said " my maid goes to North Texas". Problem is, she probably did.

quit having little weiner syndrome. We have a lot of SMU knuckleheads that report to North Texas grads at my work.

DallasGreen · August 19, 2014

I kind of like Harry's ranking.

A win at UT would mean more to the program than any win over SMU could ever do. Losing to UTSA last year likely cost us a conference championship and must be atoned regardless of how you feel about their program. Harry ranks SMU third and I believe that's where they should be. Rice should always be important to us because of their history, it's in Texas, and they're usually going to be our nemesis for a division championship (for now). (Southern Miss and La Tech will regain their former status in time). The only change that I would make is to move Indiana to #5. I think that it would be cool to beat a B1G school on their home turf and would probably elevate our status a bit. The rest of the rankings is spot on as far as I'm concerned.

Spoken like a true closet SMU fan. No game comes close to being more important. Lose and we're 0-2 and headed for a long season. After 42 years of working in Dallas I can assure you that these people think of us as a commuter junior college at best. As Arthur Perkins communicated to what was then The Campus Chat in 1990 " We at SMU like North Texas as they furnish some of the best maids and butlers in University Park". If you can't get up for this game check your pulse, of course I do forget that this is brain dead little "d" so let's go students take up the slack for the townsfolk who aren't even aware UNT has football!!!