(09-09-2017 09:13 AM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  Tonight the two Dallas/Fort Worth teams for C-USA and the AAC will face off at Ford Stadium. SMU won their week one FCS game by a score of 58-14, while North Texas won theirs by a score of 59-14.

Some of the Mean Green's main weapons will make their season debut tonight. North Texas didn't open up their playbook in week 1, and I suspect SMU didn't either. The team that shows up with the better defense will most likely win this match up that dates back to 1922.

My opinion:

Both teams look very similar in what they do. I give North Texas the advantage in running game and the secondary. SMU probably has the better O-line and seems to have the advantage in receiving, due to Sutton. Home field means little in this game. The North Texas fan base will fill a considerable number of seats in SMU's stadium.

I believe North Texas will win tonight, and Morris might begin to feel his seat warming up.

Good write up. One key I'm looking at is how well the teams protect their quarterback. For North Texas, last year our offensive line was bad. We've made changes and we're now into our second year in this system. This game will be a good test to see how far they've come.

Defensively, our defensive coordinator is no longer sharing the title and he likes to bring pressure. I expect us to blitz a lot because we can't afford to sit back and let SMU pick us apart. Their starting quarterback isn't nearly as mobile as last year and didn't exactly look great last week (according to SMU fans). We need to get him on his heals and on the ground.