The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – North Texas – INSIDE SLANT
North Texas racked up 524 yards in its 30-23 win over Louisiana-Lafayette last week, and the Mean Green are pushing ahead in the final five games of its schedule.
UNT (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt) plays at Middle Tennessee this weekend.
We ran the ball effectively,” North Texas head coach Dan McCarney told the Denton Record-Chronicle. “We want to establish a good running game, and (we) had some guys step up and make plays in the second half.”
Running back Antoinne Jimmerson took a screen pass 74 yards for the go-ahead touchdown against a ULL defense that could have had a better call against the play.
“He’s a really good player and he made an exceptional play,” ULL head coach Mark Hudspeth told the paper. “They had the right call against us. We were in the worst defense. Everyone was in man and they ran off all of our guys with vertical routes. Once they blocked the guy who was covering the running back, he was free.”
North Texas was scoring just 19.5 points per game, and hadn’t scored more than 21 against an FBS team going into the game. UNT needed a playmaker to step up along with receiver Brelan Chancellor and Jimmerson, a redshirt freshman, did just that. He also scored a receiving touchdown earlier in the game.
“We executed that play,” McCarney told the paper. “No. 22 (Jimmerson) is getting better. He continues to learn, improve and grow.”
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NCAAF Team Report – North Texas – NOTES, QUOTES
–Linebacker Zach Orr was named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week after the 30-23 win over ULL. Orr led the North Texas defensive effort with nine tackles and had a key interception to help North Texas to the win.
–North Texas knocked off Louisiana-Lafayette, which entered the game with a 4-1 record. It was the first win for the Mean Green over a team with a 4-1 record or better since 2001.The last North Texas win over a team with a 4-1 record or better was when the Mean Green knocked off a 5-0 Middle Tennessee team in 2001. That win was the start of a 26-game conference winning streak.
–Quarterback Derek Thompson passed for a season-high 282 yards against Louisiana- Lafayette, marking the fifth straight game in which Thompson has topped 200-yards in passing, which is a career-best.
–The Mean Green is 3-4 through seven games, which is the best mark after seven games since 2004. The 2-1 league record is the best conference record through three games since 2005.
SERIES HISTORY: North Texas leads MTSU 7-4 (last meeting, 2011, UNT won 59-7)
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: UNT is emerging as one of the top offenses in the league, even though the receiving group isn’t very dynamic. Quarterback Derek Thompson is solid and the trio of Brandin Byrd, Antoinne Jimmerson and Jeremy Brown is probably the best running back group in the league. The offensive line is steady as well.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: Linebacker Zach Orr anchors this group, which has gotten better as the season has gone along. Against a MTSU team that lost its best player in running back Ben Cunningham for the year, the Mean Green should be able to make some great strides.
QUOTE TO NOTE: It is never easy to come from behind. It’s a credit to our kids. There wasn’t any panic when we fell behind.” — UNT head coach Dan McCarney.
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NCAAF Team Report – North Texas – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK’S GAME: North Texas at Middle Tennessee, Oct. 28 — UNT is coming off the biggest win in the Dan McCarney era and can’t afford a letdown. That could happen against a MTSU team that people are overlooking because of struggles last year and its 45-3 loss to Mississippi State last weekend.
KEYS TO THE GAME: UNT just has to remember what it did last week against ULL and that’s stick to what’s working — the run game and getting running backs involved in the pass game. Defensively, UNT just can’t let MTSU get going through the air since its run game took a big hit due to injuries.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
QB Derek Thompson — Thompson’s veteran, calming influence over the Mean Green has the unit rolling as of late.
LB Zach Orr — Orr is one of the best players in the Sun Belt and was honored for his performance last week. He’ll need another solid game this week.
DB Marcus Trice — The Oklahoma transfer has proven to be one of the league’s top playmakers in the secondary in his first season of eligibility. MTSU should be passing it a lot and he’ll get some chances this weekend to make plays.
ROSTER REPORT
–DB Freddie Warner (knee) is out for the rest of the season.
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