North Texas
Mean Green
Preview 2008
By
Pete Fiutak
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2008 CFN North
Texas Preview |
2008 North Texas Offense
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2008 North Texas
Defense | 2008
North Texas Depth Chart
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2007 CFN North Texas Preview
| 2006 CFN North
Texas
Preview
The team might not
have done much of anything in the win column in Todd Dodge's first
year, but it sure was fun.
There was an eight touchdown pass game from Giovanni Vizza. There
was an 18-catch, 327-yard, two touchdown receiving day from Casey
Fitzgerald, who followed it up later in the year with 13 catches for
134 yards and five scores against Navy. Dodge's offense puts up
ungodly numbers, but it also gave them up twice as fast.
Head coach: Todd Dodge
2nd year: 2-10
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 19, Def. 20, ST 2
Lettermen Lost: 24 |
Ten
Best UNT Players
1. WR Casey Fitzgerald, Sr.
2. QB Riley Dodge, Fr.
3. C Kelvin Drake, Jr.
4. QB Giovanni Vizza, Soph.
5. LB Craig Robertson, Soph.
6. CB Antoine Bush, Jr.
7. RB Micah Mosley, Soph.
8. WR Sam Dibrell, Soph.
9. S Greg Garden, Soph.
10. P Truman Spencer, Sr. |
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2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction:
3-9
2007 Record: 0-0
Aug. 30 at Kansas
State
Sept. 6 Tulsa
Sept. 13 at LSU
Sept. 20
OPEN DATE
Sept. 27 at Rice
Oct. 4 FIU
Oct. 11 UL Lafayette
Oct. 18 at UL Monroe
Oct. 25 Troy
Nov. 1 at Western Kentucky
Nov. 8 at Florida Atlantic
Nov. 15
OPEN DATE
Nov. 22 at Middle Tennessee
Nov. 29 Arkansas State
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2007 Schedule
CFN Prediction:
2-10
2007 Record:
2-10
Sept. 1 at
Oklahoma L 79-10
Sept. 8 at
SMU L 45-31
Sept. 22
Florida Atlantic
L 30-20
Sept. 29 at
Arkansas L 66-7
Oct.
6 at
UL Laf. L 38-29
Oct.
13 UL
Monroe W 31-21
Oct.
20 at
Troy L 45-7
Oct.
27
Middle Tenn L 48-28
Nov.
10 Navy
L 74-62
Nov.
15 at
Ark. State L 31-27
Nov.
24
W. Kentucky
W 27-26
Dec.
1 at
FIU L 38-19 |
Even with a slew of
promising veterans back on defense in 2006, UNT wasn't remotely close to
stopping anyone. The Mean Green gave up 45.08 points per game, the worst
in America, allowed 486 yards per outing, and got run on for 223 yards
per game.
So now the goal is to be more consistent offensively while getting some
production, any production from the defense. Both should happen, and it
should make for an interesting mix that could quickly bring UNT back to
the glory days when it went to four straight New Orleans Bowls.
Eight starters return on offense, but it's a newcomer, freshman Riley
Dodge, the coach's son, who could be the one to take the attack to
another level. A top quarterback recruit, he has all the makings of the
next Chase Daniel with even more quickness and athleticism. With
Fitzgerald back, along with several excellent weapons, it'll be showtime
in Denton.
The defense is looking towards a slew of transfers like S Greg Garden
from Navy and JUCO sensations Justin Edwards and Adryan Adams to help
the secondary, while there's movement in the front seven with a few
linebackers moving to end and young players ready to shine at
linebacker. The goal is to come up with just enough stops to let the
offense do its thing, and this year's group should be able to do that.
It's not hard to make a quick move back up the charts in the Sun Belt,
and as quickly as North Texas fell into the abyss, that's how quickly it
should move into the limelight again. And it the wins aren't there, at
least it'll be an exciting ride.
What to watch for on offense … Dodge. The new one. It's not
like Vizza can't play. He took his lumps last season, but he had a few
phenomenal moments to suggest that he's not just going to hand the
offense over. But Riley Dodge is it. He's the one who was literally born
into this offense and knows it backwards and forwards. While he might
not be that big, he's the ultimate triggerman for his father's attack,
and he plans on playing from day one.
What to watch for on defense … the transfers. Garden sat
out last year and was listed as a backup at strong safety coming out of
spring ball, but he's too talented to sit for long. The corners are a
plus, Antoine Bush is a good one, but there will be some serious
competition from Adams and Edwards from the JUCO ranks for time. The
secondary was going to be the strength of the defense anyway, and now
it'll be far better.
The team will be far better if … it stops giving the ball
away. There are going to be a ton of interceptions from an offense that
throws this much, but the 28 picks last year were the most in the
nation. Baylor threw 27, and the new most picks thrown were 23. The
defense forced 24 turnovers, but they weren't enough to overcome all the
yards and points allowed. UNT has to cut the giveaways down to around
the low 20s and has to start being on the plus side overall.
The Schedule:
It'll be interesting to see the offense against some big names early
facing Kansas State and LSU, but the real fun will the home date against
a Tulsa team that led the nation in total offense. The two toughest Sun
Belt road games, against Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee, are in
November, and they're wrapped around an off-week. On the plus side, the
Troy battle is at home and there are very winnable games against FIU, UL
Lafayette and Arkansas State to deal with.
Best Offensive Player:
Senior WR Casey Fitzgerald. Not enough was made about the
rags-to-riches story of the 2007 season. Fitzgerald was a former walk-on
who had done precisely squat over his first few seasons, and then he
cranked out five double-digit catch games with 111 grabs on the year for
1,322 yards and 12 touchdowns. There was a 99-yard scoring play against
ULM, the five-touchdown day against Navy, and the 18-catch game against
SMU. He'll be the main target all year long.
Best Defensive Player:
Sophomore LB Craig Robertson. A safety in size, he turned into an
instant star for the linebacking corps making 48 tackles with a
team-leading five interceptions. He can run, hit, and do be physical for
his size. There are several good young players ready to shine at
linebacker, and Robertson will be the leader.
Key player to a
successful season:
Sophomore
DEs Sam Owusu-Hemeng & Marquis Sykes. With the team's best
pass rushing option, Eddrick Taylor, out of the mix with off-the-field
issues, the coaching staff needs a pair of linebackers to turn into
instant stars on the outside. Others, like Kyle Russo and Ryan
Davenport, will be in the rotation, but if Owusu-Hemeng and Sykes
struggle, it's going to be a long year.
The season will be a
success if
...
UNT wins six
games. The offense should be able to simply outbomb most teams and come
up with some wins on big numbers alone. The consistency won't be there
to hope for a shot at the Sun Belt title, and there are still too many
defensive questions to demand a winning season, but the team should be
far better.
Key game:
Sept. 27 at Rice. The
first three games, at Kansas State, Tulsa and at LSU are going to be
warmups, and nasty ones. After an off-week, the Mean Green gets a game
it can win at Rice, and that'll be when the team shows what it can do
before kicking off the Sun Belt season against FIU.
2007 Fun Stats:
- Sacks:
Opponents 39 for 283 yards – North Texas 14 for 96 yards
- Opponent scoring by quarters: 1st 106, 2nd 180,
3rd 120, 4th 135
- North Texas scoring by quarters: 1st 62, 2nd
119, 3rd 61, 4th 56