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Drc Fb Offensive D, Dodges Analysis Of Ou Game

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Football: Offensive D

UNT's defense aims to rebound

12:15 AM CDT on Thursday, September 6, 2007

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas head coach Todd Dodge believed coming into the season that the Mean Green's defense would be its strength, and nothing that transpired Saturday during a historic loss to Oklahoma changed his mind.

The Mean Green reviewed every play in a 79-10 pounding that saw UNT set a record for points allowed in a game and concluded that a few factors accounted for a game that got out of control, including a few mismatches against a nationally ranked team and a host of costly mistakes.

"Give credit where it is due," Dodge said. "We played a very talented and focused team. There were also some individual matchups that got out of control. They didn't run the ball right at us. They got their athletes out in space and let them make plays."

The Sooners scored two touchdowns on plays longer than 40 yards and averaged 16.1 yards per pass completion. Wide receiver Malcolm Kelly scored on a 65-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Bradford.

UNT will look to eliminate those mistakes and big plays on Saturday when the Mean Green travels down the road to face rival SMU in Dallas.

UNT is hoping a defense that was expected to be among the best in the Sun Belt Conference will start to take shape against the Mustangs. The Mean Green has three Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference players on its defense in lineman Jeremiah Chapman, linebacker Maurice Homan and safety Aaron Weathers.

Those three players are among nine returning starters on the Mean Green's defense that moved into a 4-3 alignment after spending last year in the 3-4.

That experience didn't pay off against an Oklahoma team that was ranked No. 8 nationally and came into the season looking to wash away memories of a heartbreaking overtime loss to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

"We made a lot of little mistakes, and when you do that against a good team it makes for a big explosion," Holman said. "They have some marvelous athletes, but it is what we did to ourselves, plus their marvelous athletes, that made the game turn out the way it did."

UNT's players and coaches said that they were out of position for much of the night and didn't handle a few of the wrinkles Oklahoma threw at them well. Dodge estimated that the Sooners gained 100 yards early in the game on bubble screens alone.

The bright side is that the Mean Green believes it was the talent the Sooners possessed, not its new scheme that caused its downfall.

"We got to see what the best looks like and what full speed looks like," Holman said. "Everything from here is downhill. Nothing can get much faster than what we saw."

As lopsided as the scored turned out to be, Dodge was also able to pick some positives out of the game.

"We forced four three-and-outs," Dodge said. "We ask our defense to force five. We also put them in multiple second-and-long situations. We feel like in the future, we will be able to play good first-down defense."

Reaching that goal quickly could be the key to UNT's game against SMU. The Mustangs return several of their key offensive players, including former Ryan quarterback Justin Willis.

SMU struggled offensively in its season-opening 49-9 loss to Texas Tech and will have its backs to the wall entering its game against UNT. The Mean Green won the first game in a home-and-home series last season. A 0-2 start to the season and another loss to UNT would be devastating for the Mustangs.

UNT knows it won't be able to afford to make the same mistakes it made against Oklahoma in a rivalry showdown with an SMU team aiming to avenge last season's loss at Fouts Field. The Mean Green is still adapting to its new spread offense and does not have as many experienced players on the offensive side of the ball.

UNT hoped its defense would carry it early in the season. The challenge is one the Mean Green believes it is better prepared to handle after its game against Oklahoma.

"We are going to be a lot better in this game against SMU," UNT senior linebacker Brandon Monroe said. "We won't make as many mistakes."

OU's big night

The following is a look back at the record-setting offensive numbers Oklahoma put up in a win over North Texas on Saturday:

79

The number of points UNT allowed, which set a new school record

668

The total number of yards UNT allowed, the most since the Mean Green gave up 673 yards to Texas in its 2004 season opener

14.4

The average number of yards Oklahoma gained per pass attempt

5.9

The average number of yards Oklahoma gained per rushing attempt

UNT to look at new kick returners

Redshirt freshman defensive back Chris Neal and freshman cornerback Kevin Ealey will return kickoffs Saturday against SMU, Dodge said Wednesday.

Starting defensive back Antoine Bush, starting slot receiver Korey Washington and backup defensive back Evyn Roman returned kickoffs in the Mean Green's season opener at Oklahoma and combined to average 13.7 yards a return.

Dodge said he decided to give Neal and Ealey an opportunity to return kickoffs because of concerns that Bush was tiring out while starting at cornerback and serving as the Mean Green's top kick returner.

Ealey played as a backup against Oklahoma last week. Neal did not travel for the first game of the season, but will be a member of UNT's traveling squad this week. Neal was a second-team all-state kick returner as a junior at Kaufman High

Briefly …

There is a possibility that right tackle Robert Peachey will return from a hamstring injury this week for the Mean Green's game at SMU, Dodge said. The sophomore will be back for the Mean Green's game against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 22 if he does not play against the Mustangs. UNT has a bye following its game at SMU on Saturday. Peachey did not practice Wednesday. … Senior running back Jamario Thomas did not practice on Wednesday.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

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SilverEagle Mentor

SilverEagle

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Redshirt freshman defensive back Chris Neal and freshman cornerback Kevin Ealey will return kickoffs Saturday against SMU, Dodge said Wednesday.

Starting defensive back Antoine Bush, starting slot receiver Korey Washington and backup defensive back Evyn Roman returned kickoffs in the Mean Green's season opener at Oklahoma and combined to average 13.7 yards a return.

Dodge said he decided to give Neal and Ealey an opportunity to return kickoffs because of concerns that Bush was tiring out while starting at cornerback and serving as the Mean Green's top kick returner.

You know, if this report was about any other school and it's player, I'd find this very funny. <_<

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NTPhiKap99 Newbie

NTPhiKap99

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Dodge said he decided to give Neal and Ealey an opportunity to return kickoffs because of concerns that Bush was tiring out while starting at cornerback and serving as the Mean Green's top kick returner.

That does tend to happen when you have to return 12 kickoffs I don't expect to have that kind of problem the rest of the way.

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