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6. North Texas The Mean Green overcame a 1-6 start by winning their last five regular-season games (including a win over undefeated UTSA) to earn the program’s fifth bowl trip in six years under coach Seth Littrell. But after an 18-9 mark from 2017-18, North Texas is only 14-21 over the last three seasons and the pressure is building on Littrell. A step forward in ’22 will require more consistency out of the passing game (197.1 yards a contest last fall), which could come in the form of Memphis/Arizona transfer Grant Gunnell after he joined the mix to push Austin Aune after spring ball. The Mean Green are deep at running back – a unit bolstered by promising sophomore Oscar Adaway III returning from an ACL tear to join Ikaika Ragsdale and Ayo Adeyi. Players returning from ailments also boost the receiving corps with Tommy Bush and Jyaire Shorter joining Damon Ward and Roderic Burns to form a standout receiving corps. Four starters return along an offensive line that should rank among the best in the conference. The hire of veteran play-caller Phil Bennett had a massive impact on North Texas’ defense last fall. In 2020, this unit surrendered 6.94 yards per snap and 42.8 points a game but cut those totals to 27.5 a contest and 5.7 yards a play. Improving on those numbers will require replacing ends Grayson and Gabriel Murphy (transferred to UCLA) and tackle Dion Novil. Linebacker KD Davis is among Conference USA’s top returning defenders for ’22. Key swing games against Louisiana Tech, FAU and Rice take place in Denton. Read more: https://athlonsports.com/college-football/conference-usa-football-2022-predictions