North Texas Football: Can Eye-Opening Win Put The Mean Green Among American Conference Contenders?

There were many eye-opening scores in a crazy week of college football, but one of the more surprising came in Denton Texas – North Texas 59, Washington State 10. 

A 28-0 second quarter made it 42-3 at halftime. 

Not that Washington State is any sort of juggernaut. The Cougars opened with a 13-10 win over FCS Idaho and then added a 36-13 victory over a San Diego State team which is 1-1, with the victory over FCS Stony Brook.

So no, the Cougars didn’t enter the game with the best resume, but still, 42-3 at the half?

Is this any way for Washington State to prepare for Saturday’s Apple Cup game against Washington?

Now does a score like this suggest that North Texas could contend in the American Conference, which seems extremely deep this year?

One could make the case for Tulane, South Florida, Navy, and Memphis being the main contenders. Can Army, with a win over Kansas State but a loss to FCS Tarleton State, be counted out?

The good thing about that last question is that this week after a bye, Army will play host to North Texas. Let’s call this an elimination game. 

Drew Mestemaker Leads UNT’s Offense

Last year, North Texas lit it up offensively, averaging 33.5 points per game, but the Mean Green got lit up defensively, allowing 34.2 points, which was 118th nationally. 

Then quarterback Chandler Morris bolted after one season in Denton for Virginia, but not before throwing for 3,774 yards and 31 touchdowns for the Mean Green.

Redshirt freshman Drew Mestemaker, who appeared in five games last season, made the last one count. He threw for 393 yards and two touchdowns (along with two interceptions) in North Texas’ 30-28 loss to Texas State in the First Responder Bowl.

Still, the Mean Green went quarterback hunting, bringing in Reese Poffenbarger, who was Cam Ward’s backup last season at Miami. Mestemaker won the competition and has thrown for 764 yards, nine touchdowns, and no interceptions in wins over Lamar, Western Michigan, and then Washington State. Against the Cougars, he completed 24 of 29 passes for 211 yards and four touchdowns. 

He has made four college starts and has thrown multiple touchdown passes in each one. Not bad for a former walk-on.

Yet the question remains, can North Texas find a spot among the American contenders?

We will find out what type of team the Mean Green are following the next four games. 

In addition to visiting Army, the Mean Green then host South Alabama, a team that lost just 33-31 to American favorite Tulane. That is followed by a home game with South Florida, which already owns wins over Boise State and Florida. Following that is yet another home game against UTSA, which is just 1-2, but the losses are to Texas A&M and Texas State.

We really don’t know what direction UTSA will go, but the same can be said for North Texas.

Assessing UNT’s Season

After opening with a 51-0 rout over FCS Lamar, North Texas traveled to Western Michigan and pulled out a 33-30 OT win.

One might raise some eyebrows because Western Michigan is 0-3, but the Broncos lost their opening game 23-6 at Michigan State. The other loss was 38-0 to Illinois – not a great showing, but at least it came against the No. 9 team in the nation. 

So, yes, there are questions about the quality of wins that North Texas has earned, but we’re pretty sure that head coach Eric Morris isn’t giving any of them back. 

Now comes the tough part as the schedule picks up, and the Army game is a fascinating matchup.

Army may not be the Army of last year when the Black Knights won the American Conference title during their first year in the league, but defending the triple option is no picnic.

Plus, the fact that the Black Knights are coming off a win at Kansas State and have had a week off seemingly makes the challenge of winning at Army more difficult. 

Last year, Army earned a 14-3 win at North Texas. I don’t know what was more shocking – Army being the only team to hold North Texas to under three touchdowns or scoring just 14 points against a team that was below average on that side of the ball a year ago.

Speaking of defense, so far this year, North Texas has allowed just 40 points. That is the fewest the Mean Green have surrendered through three games since 1984 when the total was 37.

The Mean Green this year have intercepted four passes while not throwing a single pick, a pretty enviable ratio. Junior linebacker Ethan Wesloski has a team-high four tackles for loss among his 16 tackles. Fellow linebacker Shane Whitter has a team-high 25 tackles. 

It’s been an impressive beginning, earning North Texas some high praise. The upcoming schedule, beginning Saturday, will determine whether North Texas can stay in the conversation this year.