Mean_Green09

I bet they remember where we are from after Saturday. After Lee blows one of their WR back into their bye week lol.

And they say oh were not over looking UNT, BS they think we are nothing more than a warm-up game.

And the good news is those throws are going to be open versus this defense. I will get into it more in the break down on Friday, but I would expect man coverage on Brelan with safety over the top and zone coverage every where else. Very zone oriented defense from what I've seen.

UNT is facing no easy task this week they are trying to become the ONLY un-ranked out of conference foe to win on the road in the SEC. Louisville is the only team to win on the road in an SEC venue this year. Heck only 6 out of conference teams won on the road in an SEC last year. If I was writing up the defensive game plan this week, I would do everything I could to slow down RB’s Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall. Load the box and leave the corners one on one. After watching tape the Georgia wide outs don’t scare me as much as their backs. QB Aarron Murray is about as accurate as they come. If UNT can’t collapse the pocket again this week he is going to pick them apart. Every pass I’ve seen when Murray has had a clean pocket and a chance to deliver he has put the ball in the WR hands. Head across, wrap up, and drive through. Tackle, tackle, tackle and team pursuit. Can’t stress how important it is that UNT limits Gurley and Marshall’s YAC this week. They are going to get theirs no doubt, but UNT can really limit the damage if they continue their solid fundamentals. I know all of Georgia’s top guys are talking a good game about not looking ahead, but I think they still are. When you got a big game against LSU looming after playing a top ten in South Carolina and then you see UNT on your schedule in between them. I know those other younger Georgia players are looking us a practice. Got news for those guys in practice they don’t hit as hard as UNT is about to hit you. UNT has a chance to win because Dan McCarney is our head coach. His toughness has carried over into this team and you don’t go into the SEC and win with finesse. 17. The number of times UNT threw on first down against Ball St. If UNT really wants to play like they can win this game then why not continue the open play calling. If you’re McCarney and Canales and you believe your O-Line can protect Derek Thompson why not let him throw it around? Clemson threw it 11 times on first down. Four of their drives they started with a first down pass. Each one accounted for points. They had 9 drives start with a running play only two accounted for points. I get the chew clock theory, but if you think you can win, play with aggression. I’m not saying be stupid and throw a ton, but we don’t have to clam up and chew clock just to have a chance. We are not facing a lockdown defense there are holes. UNT is going to need Derek to play with passion. I think the offense feeds off it. I don’t want to see pissed off Derek, liked we have seen in past games. I like it when the senior shows some emotion. After a performance like last week you can’t help, but wonder if team is really beginning to rally around him. I’d say he playing the best of any QB in the metroplex right now. Okay Chancellor had another good game, so now I’m wondering if UNT will shy away from him. You can’t go away from him like they did against Ohio. Find ways for him to get the ball. UNT needs a big game from him to have a chance. Just wondering would you take giving up a touchdown every game on the first possession if you knew we’d only give up no more than a FG in the second half of every game? If this game gets away from UNT late do you put in Dajon or Andrew? Last thing and this is more of a discussion point so let me know how you feel. I’m sure you guys have seen the news about Bo Pelini and the remarks he made about the Nebraska fans. If you haven’t go check it out. How would you feel if you were a coach and fans and students left early or didn’t show up to watch you pull off a comeback or upset. How do you think Coach Mac feels after pulling off maybe his best win in a nearly empty stadium? I know he would never make those statements out loud, but I wonder what he was thinking. http://tmgbr.com/2013/09/18/mid-week-thoughts-uga-vs-unt/

ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia opened as a 36.5-point favorite for Saturday's game against North Texas, which should be enough to light a fire this week under the Hutson Masons, Reggie Carters and Jonathon Rumphs on the ninth-ranked Bulldogs’ roster. But before Georgia's coaching staff can help its reserves gain some on-field seasoning, the starters must first take control against a resilient Mean Green (2-1) club that outscored Ball State 31-7 after the first quarter on Saturday to win, 34-27. “Just this past weekend, you saw Michigan playing Akron, and I don't know what their mindset was going into the game, but I know what it was, I'm sure, when the game was over,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said, referring to Saturday's game in Ann Arbor, where the Wolverines needed a last-minute goal-line stand to defeat Akron, 28-24. “I think everybody's just got to understand that we must focus very, very hard on improving, but we need to focus very hard on our game plan.”..................................................................................... http://espn.go.com/blog/colleges/georgia/post/_/id/20407/reserves-to-play-if-starters-take-control

First and foremost let me just say Congratulations to Dan MaCarney his staff and the team. That was one hell of an effort. It may not have been pretty at times early on, but that was a great win. Forget about analyzing the game for a moment I have to say I don’t care what your feelings were about this program, but you have to be damn proud at this point. They are 2-1, they have played tough, and they have shown a lot of heart. As a fan it sucks to lose, but it really sucks when your team doesn’t show effort, which is not a problem at UNT. You have Dan MaCarney and the senior leaders for that. Now onto to the game…….. Saturday was an example of effort combined with execution. Okay maybe not early on, but that is how it finished. Did you notice that we finished off Ball St. the same way that Ohio finished us off last week? The game plan was great. The defense is for real! Don’t listen to the fan that tells you he is concerned with the total yards given up. The game isn’t designed to let whoever has the most yards to win. If that were the case why did Alabama beat A&M? I’m content on giving up yards as long as we don’t give up points. In today’s game it’s near impossible to stop an opponent from gaining 300 yards on you. You can thank the spread for that. The old adage is if you get outscored in the second half that means you got outcoached. Well for all 3 games now UNT has outcoached its opponents in the second half. UNT has outscored its opponents 46 – 6 in the second half! The adjustments have been great let’s hope they continue. Would you live with giving up a touchdown on the first possession of every game if you knew they weren’t going to score more than a touchdown in the second half? Say what you want about Derek Thompson, but the kid is one hell of a competitor. I hope that he and Chancellor can do what Zach Orr and Marcus Trice have done for the defense. The defense was hitting so hard it was hurting me just watching. You would have thought the UNT players saw the Ball St. players talking to their women before the game. Especially Laramie Lee! I want that guy on my side in fight. It’s great to have options at WR isn’t it? I bet no-one is happier than Chancellor. He can finally show case his talents. Big props to Darnell Smith, he is developing into a great 3rd possession WR. Every successful team needs one. Georgia is up next and we know they are good and all that other stuff. However, last year after their bye week they almost lost to Kentucky (29-24). That was the game before their big match-up with Florida. Similar to this year they have a big game versus LSU looming next week. They are going to do all the coach speak and say “we aren’t looking ahead”, but you know they are. We could make them sweat a little bit this weekend. Just saying These guys deserve better attendance than that. You would have thought UNT was 0-3 and lost every game by 20. I do want to thank every student that showed up and stayed throughout the game. I know the team appreciates it and so do the alumni. Give yourself a pat on the back. Okay, now go spread the good word and get your friends in the stands. Finally, there is a revolution starting in Denton. It started with Mean Joe asking this team to “put the MEAN back in the GREEN”. It has stuck and resonated with the senior leaders and they have got everyone to buy in. Now it’s time to get the students, alumni, and casual fans to buy in too. Apogee is our home and you don’t invite guests into your house looking like a mess. Saturday it was a mess and a disgrace. We are all better than that. I understand that some people had a legitimate excuse, but watching other games on T.V. is not one. It’s un-acceptable. We expect these guys to go out there and lay their bodies on the line for us fans and the university. We put un-worldly pressure on these guys to perform so we can sleep better at night. So if you believe you’re entitled to seeing good football, you better be ready to give something back. We owe the team something better than Saturday. It’s time to rise up and join the Mean Green Revolution. Like other fans have mentioned bring everybody you know to be a witness. I don’t care who it is whether it be your family, friends or the old lady from down the street. Get bodies in seats. If you think you’ve seen effort from this team, fill the stadium up and see what happens. Hell, 75% full would be a great improvement. The time is now ladies and gentlemen. I’m calling on all the students and alumni to do whatever it takes to fill Apogee. Don’t rely on the A.D. or anybody else. With a little effort from the fans and students we can pull this off. It’s time we ALL put the MEAN back in the GREEN. Join the Revolution baby! It’s going to be a fun ride! Go Mean Green This post has been promoted to an article

To defend myself. Collin Klein was not a great QB. The way Kansas St used him was more so as a runner. That running game helped him greatly against us. Our safeties were forced to play in the box allowing throws over the top. Klein isn't playing football in the NFL so you know. Case Keenum is about the same level as this guy only Keenum was surrounded by much better talent at the skill positions. He was also a little under sized.

I appreciate the positive feedback. I do spend quite a bit of time studying our opponents. I do wish I could do more. If there is something y'all want to see or read let me know and I will try to make it happen.

North Texas Mean Green vs. Ball State Cardinals http://tmgbr.com/2013/09/13/the-break-down-2/ Date: September 14, 2013 Time: 3:00 pm CT Location: Denton, TX Line: Ball St -3.5 What They’re Saying: Sports Network: NT has a realistic chance of putting a blemish on the Cardinals’ perfect record. BSU’s defense relies on turnovers as it has trouble stopping both the run and the pass. Thompson threw as many interceptions as he did touchdowns in 2012, but his accuracy has been significantly better for his senior campaign. Although Wenning has more proven weapons to work with than his counterpart, he will be facing a much tougher defense on the road. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: North Texas 31, Ball State 27 Read More: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/game/preview/l.ncaa.org.mfoot-2013-e.39208/ ESPN Pick Center: TEAMRANKINGS – Ball St 30 – North Texas 26 numberFire – Ball St 33 – North Texas 28 http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/pickcenter/ncf/game?gameid=332570249 AccuScore.com Game Forecast Preview: Ball State is a solid favorite with a 65% chance to beat North Texas. Jahwan Edwards is projected for 107 rushing yards and a 72% chance of having at least 1 rushing TD. In the 35% of simulations where North Texas wins, Derek Thompson averages 2.63 TD passes vs 0.66 interceptions, while in losses he has a ratio of 1.38 TDs to 0.83 interceptions. Brandin Byrd averages 99 rushing yards and 0.86 rushing TDs when North Texas wins and 89 yards and 0.48 TDs in losses. Ball State has a 34% chance of forcing more turnovers than they commit. Positive turnover margin helps them win 76% of the time. SPREADS / TOTALS: Current Point Spread is NTEX +3 — Over/Under line is 61. http://accuscore.com/game-forecast-previews/college-football/9-14-2013/ball-state-north-texas-eagles-109 Coach Pete Lembo – “Everybody is keeping things inside and in front,” Lembo said. “It’s very hard to get explosive plays against them. They are a very physical team that is very much on the same page. It’ll be a huge challenge for us.” What to Expect When_______________. UNT has the Ball: The Mean Green are quite predictable when it comes to their offense. They want to run the ball on first down to establish positive yardage on second down. Their running game which has been referred to as a hammer features 3 220 lb. backs ( Brandin Byrd, Antoinne Jimmerson, & Reggie Pegram). UNT is what I would refer to as a team that uses the run to set up the pass. If UNT is un-able to run the ball then it will turn into a long day for the Mean Green. In order to free up some pressure from that running game, UNT will rely on WR’s Brelan Chancellor and Darnell Smith. Chancellor is going to get the most attention so Smith will need to continue his good play along with a guy like Carlos Harris. Harris and Smith need to force teams to pay attention to them, until they do Chancellor is going to blanketed. Senior Derek Thompson has played well, but the big mistake continues to be is down fall. He needs to get the ball out of his hands quickly in this game, and that’s what UNT is going to try and do. The longer Thompson holds on to the ball the more chance of something bad happening. He just seems to get uncomfortable when he has to go through his full progression. Again expect for UNT to try and grind this one out. They will look to establish the run game and move the chains. They will do anything to keep the Ball St. offense off the field. On defense Ball is not as good as last week’s foe Ohio, but they can still cause some problems for UNT. The defense line is quite possible the best in the MAC. They do a great job of pressuring the QB. Their line backers are the weak point of the defense; they had a tough time making the right reads against Army last week. One has to wonder if UNT can exploit them with dare I say TE? Coach MaCarney said this week that UNT was going to try to get the ball more to the TE, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one. Ball St. has a good secondary and should be able to match-up man for man with the Mean Green. They will most likely roll extra coverage to Brelan Chancellor to force someone us to beat them. Ball St. has the Ball: The Cardinals are the complete opposite of UNT. They rely on the pass to set up the run. They will put the ball in the hands of their All-Conference caliber QB Keith Wenning. He is going to throw it early and often on Saturday. It doesn’t really matter what down and distance the Cardinals are a threat to put it in the air. Wenning has an above average crew to toss the ball to. His favorite target is SR Willie Snead; he has been targeted 28 times already this year! Snead is not a big target, but does a great job in getting open. Ball St. will use motion to get him all alone on one side of the field. They like the setup of 3 receivers to the far side of the field with Snead lined up short side. This gives them a lot of options because the guys on the other side of field are good players too. Look for them to force the Mean Green to roll an extra safety towards Snead, because UNT does not have a guy who can cover him one on one. The Cardinals running game is not explosive, but it is effective. Their main guy Jahwan Edwards is not likely to play so they will turn to Horactio Banks who has done a nice job filling in so far. If there is a weakness on this offense it’s the O-Line. They lost 147 career starts from last year’s group. UNT will need to take that weakness and use it to its advantage. If there is one way to slow down a good passing team it’s with a good pass rush. The UNT defensive line has to play huge in this game. I mean like really huge. The front four whoever it is needs to do a good job of collapsing the pocket. Wenning is not a scrambler, but he does have good enough feet to elude pressure when he needs to. The line backers for UNT are about as solid as it gets. Expect to see this group flying all over the field making plays. In the secondary UNT is average. They have guys who can make plays, but too often you see one of those guys getting caught out of position. One of the biggest concerns is the play action pass. The UNT safeties bit on the first play last week and helped give up a huge touchdown. Playing in position this week is a key because they are facing a good group of wide receivers and a very talented QB. Impact Players: Ball St.: QB Keith Wenning Wenning is what I would consider to be the best the QB that the Mean Green have faced in the past two years. He is a great game manager, but has the ability to make plays. He is a very patient QB who is not going to make the type of mistake to cost his team the game. I think UNT is going to have a tough time trying to slow Wenning and his talented WR crew down. He is going to get his yards, but UNT needs to limit the big plays and force field goals. STAT PREDICTION: 27-41 325 yards 4 TD’s 1 int North Texas: Offensive Line This week I think the pressure is on the O-Line, I don’t think they have quite lived up to the hype this year. If UNT wants to win this game it will need the big fellas up front to do some damage. Let’s face it UNT is at its best when these guys are mashing up defensive linemen and opening up holes. This week they have the upper hand and I look for them to come out pissed and ready get after someone. STAT PREDICTION: 230 yards rushing 3 TD’s 1 sack Game Prediction: Okay I admit I had the green goggles on last week. I really thought UNT had grown up enough to go on the road and come away with a win. I was wrong. So for this week I’m taking a step back removing all my green and looking at this game subjectively. To me this game comes down to this; can UNT out score Ball St? I know very Bill Belichick of me to say that. Let me explain that in more detail. I just don’t think UNT can hang with the Ball St. offense. It’s one thing if UNT was a better team at executing or converting third downs, but they just aren’t. Against a really good offense you have to be able to score points and while the Ball St defense isn’t great UNT just doesn’t have the offense. I have to see it first before I trust this team. The defense can only do so much for you in a game. Last week they gave the UNT offense every opportunity to turn the tide, but they just couldn’t quite get over the hump. That alone has me leaning towards Ball St this week. They are better on offense than Ohio. They are going to put more pressure on the UNT defense, so it’s up to the offense to step its game up. I just don’t see it right now. Too many questions for the UNT offense. Right now I’m in the show me stage of the season. Okay, you gave me some hope in week one, but brought me back down in week two. Now go out and show me that we as Mean Green fans can trust you again. That’s why this week I’m going with Ball St. I hope I’m wrong and that the magic of Apogee helps the Mean Green pull off the upset. Ball St. 34 – UNT 27 Go Mean Green! Read More: http://tmgbr.com/2013/09/13/the-break-down-2/ "Inside the Film Room" segement a little different this week. Instead we give you a look at some Ball St. trends on offense. We also have the Projected Starters Listed, Positional Advantages, & Game Play Advantages added. Check it out. I appreciate the feedback This post has been promoted to an article

Saturday is one of those “box of chocolate” games. You don’t know what Mean Green team we are going to get. Is it going to be the one that plays inspired and good football or is it going to be sloppy like the Troy game last year. I don’t know about you, but that scares me and most likely Ball St. fans and coaches too. With all the talk surrounding how good Ball St. QB Keith Wenning is it’s easy to forget about his targets. Willie Snead and Jamill Smith have racked up 23 catches 374 yards (16.2 yards per cat.) and 3 touchdowns together. The Mean Green secondary is going to have its hands full. Can UNT please convert a 3rd down and while they are at it convert more than one. I’m hoping for a 50-60% conversion rate. 3rd Downs always play a big part in winning or losing, but in this game I think it’s magnified. I don’t know about you, but I bet Coach MaCarney wants to keep Wenning and that offense off the field. Read More: http://tmgbr.com/2013/09/11/mid-week-thoughts-on-north-texas-vs-ball-st/

Always have to be careful when blitzing a top pocket passing QB. I agree you have to if your front four aren't getting the job done, but I think our front four can get some pressure on this guy. Their O-Line isn't the greatest so guys like Mason, Polk, and Bellazin all need to collapse the pocket.

Tebow has a better throwing motion than Collin. He was essentially a battering ram. None the less I get the point of the article. We struggle against guys who can sit back there and sling it around. If UNT doesn't get any pressure on this kid Keith Wenning its going to be a long day. Like 300 + yards. I would consider him in the top 20 amongst QB's in college football from what I've seen.

Just wondering how does one consider Collin Klein a pocket passer?

I would refer to the term "benching" loosely here. UNT is going to need Zach on Saturday, he is going to play. I bet he plays well. Ball St. has got quite a few good wide receivers and the back seven as a whole will need to be on top of its game.

Got news for you when your a run based offense not executing the run, it doesn't matter what you do. They are simply going to tee off against you. Especially if they have coverage guys who can match up with your guys one on one. If you don't feel that you have guys who can win those match ups then why throw? Your putting the QB in a bad situation too. We haven't proven that our guys can win those match-ups yet. Either way teams are going to stack the box on us regardless if we even out the pass run ratio. The only way they don't is if we hit one or two passes over the top. Those have to be timely play calls when you have what we got at WR. Take a calculated risk, but not 50/50. If you got two guys like Chancellor sure because they cant roll coverage to one side then. It doesn't matter anyways because there is no stat that proves the point by simply throwing more on first down we win more games. Don't related the 3rd down percentage to just what happens on first down either, because you got two other downs in their that effect what the out come on 3rd down is. The truth is plain and simple. You don't execute you don't win. Saturday we didn't execute we didn't win. The truth is NOT. Well we didn't throw it enough on first down and that caused our defense to be the field longer because we didn't convert third down. And we didn't convert third down because we were faced with third and long which came back to us not throwing on first down. So next week we are going to open it up more by just throwing to throw the ball.

No it doesn't lol. You could punch holes in that logic all day long. The third down conversion had more to do with UNT's failure to execute not because its run to pass ratio. You can be faced with third and long all day just as well if you pass it more on first down. The ratio doesn't play a factor, the execution does.

Gotta believe that Mac comes from the school of thought that if you put the ball in the air 3 things can happen and 2 of them are bad. Personally I could care less what our run to pass ratio is on first down. It doesn't keep their team out of the endzone does it? Last time I checked a game wasn't determined how well a team did on first down. There are much greater forces to worry about than that ratio. I don't think its a trust issue either. We could come out an throw the ball every first down and then be behind the chains. How would that feel? We'd probably have people upset then too. Everybody is an offensive coordinator now a days. The play calling is what it is. Better execution and we win the game. You could have a tremendous balance offense, but if you don't take care of the ball or avoid mental mistakes it doesn't mean jack. My greatest concern at this point is correcting the mental errors and execution. Not something as petty as what our run to pass ratio is on first down. Show me the stat where passing equally as much as you run on first down equals wins and maybe I will agree that we need to do it more. We still have to complete that pass for it to be effective.

I believe game time is always better than holding a clip board. If he doesn't play another snap this year then I think it becomes a problem though. At this point he better be the solid 2.

That was a tough one to take in. It hurts all us Mean Green fans the same way. I don’t care if you’re the extreme optimistic or extreme pessimistic it still hurts the same. When you go on the road you can’t afford to give your opponent so many opportunities to put you away and still hope to win the game. That’s exactly what UNT did; they failed to capitalize on their opportunities while Ohio did just enough to win. It was a very sloppy game for both teams UNT was lucky enough that Ohio was playing badly too. Ohio could have ended that game by halftime, but they didn’t. Give credit to the UNT players for hanging tough and trying to grind out a victory. In recent years that score would have ended up 42-14. Instead UNT battled its way back to a tie and even had a chance to win the game at the end. As a UNT fan you have to be happy with that. What you don’t have to be happy with is the execution. http://tmgbr.com/2013/09/09/weekly-rant-ohio-vs-unt-final-thoughts/ This post has been promoted to an article

Would you take Derek Thompson having these stats: 252-336 for 3264 yards 24 TD's 10 int's But we have no RB that gains over 500 yards this year?

Overall talent wise they are about as good as Ohio. They are a top tier MAC team. Offensively they are going to put the ball in their QB's hands and say go win us the game. Their WR's are outstanding, their RB's are good but not great. O Line is their offensive weakness. Have to put pressure on their QB if we want to win. On Defense they can be scored on. I would say its an average defense that does what it needs to in order to win games. They have a good pass rushing defensive line, and a good secondary. Their Linebackers are a weakness. Going to be another good test of where UNT is as a program.

Ohio Bobcats vs. North Texas Mean Green http://tmgbr.com/2013/09/06/the-breakdown-9/ Date: September 7, 2013 Time: 6:00 pm CT Location: Athens, OH Line: Ohio -4.5 What They’re Saying: USA Today: “Ohio should be able to bounce back with the home field advantage working in its favor. The Bobcats were embarrassed last week which means they will come out with a chip on their shoulder. However, another stellar outing by Thompson could keep North Texas in contention. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Ohio 35, North Texas 31. Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/game/preview/l.ncaa.org.mfoot-2013-e.39207/ ESPN Pick Center: TEAMRANKINGS - Ohio 30 – North Texas 27 numberFire - Ohio 32 – North Texas 29 AccuScore.com Game Forecast Preview: Ohio is a solid favorite with a 69% chance to beat North Texas. Beau Blankenship is projected for 112 rushing yards and a 67% chance of having at least 1 rushing TD. In the 31% of simulations where North Texas wins, Derek Thompson averages 2.43 TD pass. http://accuscore.com/game-forecast-previews/college-football/9-7-2013/north-texas-eagles-ohio-bobcats-51 Odds Shark: North Texas Mean Green Trends: When playing in September are 4-6 When playing on turf are 5-5 After outgaining opponent are 1-9 When playing outside the conference are 3-7 Ohio Bobcats Trends: When playing in September are 8-2 When playing on turf are 5-5 After being outgained are 6-4 When playing outside the conference are 8-2 http://www.oddsshark.com/ncaaf/bobcats-vs-mean-green-betting-preview-september-07-2013 What to Expect When_______________. UNT has the Ball: UNT is coming off an offensive explosion. They tore into a weak Idaho team last week. UNT should still be able to find success on offense this week, but not quite the same results. Look for UNT to do many of the same things it did versus Idaho. UNT is going to spread the field with 3 WR and 4 WR sets. The use of the short to intermediate passing game will be in full force. Unlike last year UNT has shown that it has playmakers at the WR position other than star Brelan Chancellor. Guys like Carlos Harris, Darvin Kindsy, Carl Caldwell, Darnell Smith, and Lynrick Pleasant all flashed the ability to make plays after the catch. While Darius Terrell showed his talents to be a guy who can attack the middle of the field. Brelan Chancellor proved that he again is the Mr. Everything for UNT. He was all over the field and will be a big part of the game plan. Expect all the WR’s to get in on the action on Saturday. The new threats in the passing game are a big bonus to the already talented backfield. UNT will employ a committe of RB’s again on Saturday. Expect to see Brandin Byrd, Antoinne Jimmerson, Reggie Pegram, and Rex Rollins all get touches. It’s this running game that gives UNT a chance to pull off a huge win on Saturday. Finally, you will see an improved QB for the Mean Green. Senior Derek Thompson silenced his critics……….at least for one week. He really played well and efficient. UNT will need that same type of effort on Saturday to have a chance. He doesn’t have to put the huge numbers again, but he can’t turn the ball over and he has to be accurate. Ohio is basically hitting the restart button after week one. They were just over matched versus Louisville. That won’t be the case here. I expect their secondary to have a much better day. Against Louisville they were often confused and out of position. Why? Well they tried to get too cute. Give them credit for thinking they had a game plan to stop Teddy Bridgewater, but it wasn’t even close to being successful. This week is totally different. They will be able to really press the Mean Green WR’s and in turn force them to throw it over the top. The one problem facing Ohio in this match-up of Green will be the Offensive Line. I think you will really see the Defensive Line from Ohio having a tough time getting Mean Green QB Derek Thompson on the ground. Also, I think Ohio will have a tough time stopping the Mean Green ground attack. Ohio has the Ball: Ohio is a spread team who has the run first mentality. The zone read and dive play will be very prevalent on Saturday. Ohio wants to establish the run up the middle with the fire plug RB Beau Blankenship. Once he gets established Ohio will branch out into the zone read with a capable runner in QB Tyler Telleton. Now against Louisville Ohio was not able to establish any type of running game and it really made the Bobcat offense in-effective all day. The Offensive Line really struggled to win any battle or even create a stalemate. You could tell that the O-Line play really made Telleton un-easy in the pocket. He rushed a lot of throws and was very in-accurate. You can expect to see that change. Apart from the two cogs of Telleton and Blakenship look for WR’s Donte Foster, Chase Cochran, and Matt Waters to make plays. Each one of those guys flashed some ability to make plays against Louisville. Donte Foster is the prime target of Telleton, Ohio really wants to get him involved. Cochran is a speedy WR whom they are going to get involved in the screen game. He should have plenty of opportunities because North Texas likes play off the ball. Also, don’t think that Blankenship is just a pounder, he has great ability to make plays as a receiver out of the backfield. Ohio tries to get him involved with swing passes out their 4 wide stacked set. UNT is going to face a much better and dynamic offense on Saturday. The key for the Mean Green will be to stop the running game and force the Bobcats to throw the ball. That will free up that pass rush to make some plays. UNT’s pass rush is the best in C-USA right now, they came away with 5 sacks last week. If UNT is un-able to stop or slow down the running game, it will be a long day. The biggest concern would be the play-action over the top. UNT safeties have a knack for biting on the run read and letting the receiver run right past them. Marcus Trice and Lairamie Lee can ill afford to play out of position in this game. The entire UNT defense will need to play solid disciplined football. Giving up a few big plays is understandable, but it’s more important that they keep those big plays from turning into TD’s. Impact Players: Ohio: QB Tyler Tettleton I’ve said it before already, but Tettleton is not going to play bad again like he did last week. I think he is going to have a solid game and Ohio will need it to win. I think he will be efficient in the passing game and is going to make a few plays with his feet. He is too good a QB for the Mean Green to keep him bottled up. STAT PREDICTION: 20-30 289 yards 2 TD’s 1 INT. 35 yards rushing North Texas: WR Brelan Chancellor UNT would be wise to do everything it can to force feed its best player. Chancellor has that ability to turn a simple play into an amazing play. He almost had a Sports Center Top 10 play last week on his last punt return. Ohio is going to try to take him away, but you can only do so much. UNT will find a way to get him involved. STAT PREDICTION: 7 rec 110 yards 1 TD, 3 carries 32 yards, 120 return yards Game Prediction: This game doesn’t get any bigger for the Mean Green. It’s a chance to really get momentum building. It’s a chance to take a huge step in the right direction. A chance to prove that they can go on the road and win a big game. Coming into the season most UNT fans chalked this game up as a loss, but now not so much. There is a general belief that UNT can not only compete, but can win this one. Why not? It's not a crazy thought. I've gone back and forth over this game since about Tuesday. I'm really torn on who I think will win. I just think that the level of talent and execution will be pretty close. On one hand you can see that Ohio has better starters, but UNT can go deeper. To me this game boils down to a couple of key points. UNT has to stop the run on defense and has to move the chains on offense. Converting 3rd downs and keeping drives alive will allow that depth to be a factor. It will also keep that crowd quite. A crowd that is predicted to be pretty rowdy. If I went with my heart I would pick UNT. If I go with my head I would pick............... UNT! The time is now for the Mean Green, no better place to prove to me and all the fans that this is a team to be reckon with in CUSA. Going through all the history and the stats and watching the tape and looking at who is playing the game I came out thinking that UNT is the better team on Saturday. Ohio has one to many issues to overcome and while the crowd and black uniforms will give them a boost of energy I still don't think that they can win this game. This is not your past UNT teams. They are not going to roll into Athens Saturday and play undisciplined football. This is a focused team. Its a team with great senior leadership. That leadership has gotten everyone to buy into the program. Now you add in talent to that and UNT has what it need to win this game and it will win the game! North Texas 33 – Ohio 28 Go Mean Green! Read More: http://tmgbr.com/2013/09/06/the-breakdown-9/ New this is week is a segment called "Inside the Film Room. We give you a look at what formations Ohio likes to run. We also have the Projected Starters Listed, Positional Advantages, & Game Play Advantages added. Check it out. This post has been promoted to an article