2010 North Texas Mean Green Football Preview

2009 Results: 2-10 (1-7 Sun Belt), No Bowl

Head Coach: Todd Dodge (4th year @ N. Texas, 5-31 Overall)

Home Venue: Fouts Field (30,500), Benton, Texas

The North Texas Mean Green have been this writer’s personal bugaboo in each of the last two season previews: I’ve picked them to do really well but they have been epic failures twice in a row. In fact, Todd Dodge has won fewer games in the last three seasons than I expected his team to win in each of the last two! After two seasons of massive disappointment, you’d figure that I would have written off the Dodge era in Benton but is this the season that things turn around?

OFFENSE

One reason that I was so high on North Texas last year was the presence of quarterback Riley Dodge, who turned down the Texas Longhorns to play for his dad. Unfortunately, Dodge hurt his shoulder and his athleticism is now being used at wide receiver. In his stead under center will likely be senior quarterback Jeff Tune (646 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT), who played well in seven games last year, or sophomore Derrick Thompson. There will be a lot of help for either man at the surrounding skill positions, as the Mean Green returns six players who caught more than 20 passes last season, led by senior Jamaal Jackson (71 catches, 701 yards, 6 TDs), a 1st team All-Sun Belt performer in 2009. More impressively, that number doesn’t include Dodge, who appeared to be one of the top performers in the spring.

The running game should also be a major advantage for the Mean Green. Junior Lance Dunbar (1,378 yards, 17 TDs) joined Jackson on the 1st Team All-Sun Belt team and should be one of the conference’s best once more. He should expect plenty of holes to run through thanks to one of the nation’s most experienced offensive lines that features four returning starters.

Things are looking up offensively in Benton. While Dodge’s mobility will be missed at quarterback, there is so much explosiveness with the four wideout set and a strong tailback to balance things out. With a veteran line, it would be a big surprise if North Texas didn’t have a strong year putting points up on the board.

DEFENSE

While Dodge has had his issues getting his offense clicking during his tenure, his handling of his defense has been downright poor. While North Texas allowed 12 fewer points per game last year than they did in 2008, they still gave up nearly 36 points per outing! Clearly, there is dire need for improvement. The good news is that with eight returning starters, there is some reason to for hope.

The area in need of biggest improvement is against the run, where the Mean Green gave up nearly 200 yards per game on the ground in 2009. However, three starters return up front, led by junior Brandon Akpunku, who made 47 tackles last year while leading the team in sacks. Six of eight players in the two deep up front are upperclassmen and this group should be much better on the ground this season.

There is also good news in the back seven. Senior linebacker Craig Robertson was the team’s leading tackler in 2009 and his 107 stops earned him 2nd Team All-Sun Belt honors. He’ll be relied upon to have another big year for the Mean Green to improve their run defense. More good news is that he has one of the league’s top secondaries playing behind him, led by junior safety DaWaylon Cook (85 tackles), who was a beast in run support in 2009. If the line can provide more of a pass rush, the secondary is here to take advantage of rushed passes.

With so much experience returning across the board and a few standout performers on hand, things look ripe for another big improvement on defense in 2010. While North Texas won’t make anyone mistake them for the Texas Longhorns, they should field a respectable defense for the first time under Dodge.

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SCHEDULE

Dodge will have a lot of pressure to deliver this season as the schedule is set up really well for a run at a bowl berth. The Mean Green are one of the only league teams to have six home games, including four of their first six before a mid-season off week that should allow them to get off to a strong start. Furthermore, they only face two teams from BCS conferences and they actually host Kansas State late in the year. With non-conference tilts against Rice and Army and a favorable early league draw, avoiding both favorites until late in the year, this is the kind of schedule that can get North Texas bowl eligible.

OUTLOOK

I’m afraid I’m falling into a trap for the 3 rd consecutive season but I like this team. They’re deep along both lines, they have a great allotment of skill players and a good secondary and they have a few standout players on both sides of the football. Furthermore, they have about as easy of a schedule as they could manage without playing any D-1AA teams, so it is put up or shut up time for Dodge in his 4 th year. I think his team will play with a purpose and this could easily produce a six win season and a potential bowl berth.

PREDICTED RESULT: 6-6 (5-3 Sun Belt)