As the season rolls on, I will update this thread with news coming from the current programs the Mean Green will be facing. The thread will contain articles about the opposing teams, injury updates, and other issues that are important to games against North Texas. Enjoy.

Fall Practice Update August 11, 2014 - McFarland Rising, RB Thinning

By Scipio Tex

SBNation.com ( 2014 Vox Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved)

A disappointed Charlie Strong spoke to the media on Tuesday. Mentioned that the team hit the wall and didn't push through it. Tuesday practice was sloppy with dropped balls, missed assignments and mental errors. "We're not good enough to waste days."

Strong's press conferences are frequent and short. No fluff. Answers and moves on.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP

Strong mentioned again that he wants his seniors to step up and lead the team. Someone needs to assert themselves and say something when practice is going badly - why is it always on the coaches to do so? Strong also pointed the finger at himself and his coaching staff for not doing enough to make that point clear. "You'd like to think we have enough seniors in our program that someone would, at some point, take over the team."


INJURIES
Miles Onyegbule QB- out for season
Greg Daniels TE- knee
Darius James OL- out two days
Jaxon Shipley WR- hamstring
Donald Catalon RB- hamstring

We haven't started on North Texas yet. Still working on us. Want to understand who we are going to be headed into the 2014 season? Read...

http://www.statesman.com/feed/sports/fal...and/fhZFg/

Game Week: Charlie Strong's North Texas Press Conference

Strong dishes on the Mean Green, Longhorn Camp, suspended players and depth charts.

- Jaxon Shipley is day-by-day and it will be a game time decision. He drilled Saturday, but they didn't want to subject him to an entire practice.

- "Team is nowhere near where it should be."

- Biggest concern? Depth.

- The defense is experienced and it all starts up front. They're ahead of the offense. They're well past basic installation and can do more exotic things now.

- The game is never about the opponent. It's about Texas.

- Strong knew Mean Green Coach McCarney at Florida - "All he ate were Twizzlers and drank Coke."

- "We want to make teams one-dimensional. We want a team to throw on every down."

- WR - we have a lot of guys, but no experience.

- RB - loves Malcolm and Gray.

- OL - We need 7-8 guys. Wickline will get it done.

http://www.statesman.com/feed/sports/gam...ess/fjCQJ/

Looks like we will have a battle of ground games on Saturday. North Texas has one of the largest and most experienced O-lines in the nation. A line that has given up very few sacks in the last 2 seasons, and was not called for a single holding penalty last season. I think we will have a real brawl down in Austin Saturday night. Go Mean Green!!!

Experienced North Texas OL will test talented Texas front

By Wescott Eberts

Only five offensive lines in the country feature more experience than North Texas.

When Navarro College transfer Josh Greer takes the first snap from center on Saturday against the Texas Longhorns for the North Texas Mean Green, he will do so behind one of the nation's most experienced offensive lines.

So while the Mean Green lost most of the skill position talent from the squad that won nine games and finished the season with an impressive destruction of UNLV at the Heart of Dallas Bowl, the offensive line should remain a team strength -- head coach Dan McCarney returns 123 starts and four starters in the trenches.

http://www.statesman.com/feed/sports/exp...ted/fjGnX/

Q&A with North Texas beat writer

By Ryan Autullo

Each week of the football season, Bevo Beat will interview a reporter who covers Texas' upcoming opponent. Brett Vito, the North Texas beat writer for the Denton Record-Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News, answered five questions about the Mean Green. Texas, a 25-point favorite, opens the season against visiting North Texas at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Q: Dan McCarney took his time assessing the quarterback battle before choosing junior college transfer Josh Greer over veteran Andrew McNulty. Why did McCarney take so long?

A: McCarney is adamant that he likes both quarterbacks and thinks UNT can win with either player. UNT’s practices are closed in the fall, so it is hard to say just how close the competition was outside of taking what the team’s coaches and players say at face value. I got the feeling that Greer was pulling away late in camp and that turned out to be the case. McCarney is big on not showing his cards until the last minute, but it does seem like it was a close race.

http://www.statesman.com/weblogs/bevo-be...as-writer/

North Texas is now preparing to face an SMU team that lost it's game even worse than UNT. Here are some early opinions from a Dallas Morning News writer, than probably didn't watch both games:

5 Thoughts: SMU offense looks miserable in blowout loss to Baylor; QB battle still ongoing


5. What’s next?- The Mustangs must put this game way behind them and correct a multitude of issues heading into next week. Luckily for SMU, North Texas is very beatable. The Mean Green were wiped out by graduation and had an awful offensive performance against Texas — quarterbacks Andrew McNulty and Josh Greer combined to throw for 17 yards. Baylor was simply a whole ‘nother animal. Even in Year 7 of the June Jones era, SMU is still not ready to compete with the big boys.

http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/...oing.html/

SMU visits Metroplex rival North Texas needing dramatic improvement in nearly every phase

UNIVERSITY PARK — SMU did not suffer a total breakdown in its opener against Baylor.

The Mustangs kept their red zone percentage intact and did not miss a field goal.

The offense never got closer than Baylor’s 33. And on that drive, the Mustangs lost three yards on four plays.

SMU’s offense was so inefficient that it crossed midfield only three times in the 45-0 loss. Four drives went backward.

The Mustangs gained 67 yards on 64 plays, averaging 1.05 yards per play, worst nationally.

At that clip, it would be a very long season.

The Mustangs head to North Texas on Saturday needing dramatic improvement in almost every phase.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college...-phase.ece

Guess we can hire Dan next year. Yeah that's all the smack I have.

(09-03-2014 10:21 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  Guess we can hire Dan next year. Yeah that's all the smack I have.

I heard SMU was looking at Coker.

Nah, he can coach

@Tepper 3h

UNT and SMU combined for 161 yards last week. Their offensive output combined would rank 120th nationally.

(09-04-2014 07:58 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  @Tepper 3h

UNT and SMU combined for 161 yards last week. Their offensive output combined would rank 120th nationally.

Not much for either program to celebrate after week 1.

Right now we are really close to a sell out. Are you going to make it up for the game?

No as I can't get away unfortunately

(09-04-2014 08:12 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  No as I can't get away unfortunately

That's too bad. I hope you get to watch it on Fox Southwest.

I will

If you see a kid in TCU gear cheering for smu yeah that's my nephew. Although he said he we start losing bad he will stop cheering. He's totally been brainwashed by the Frogs

(09-05-2014 08:09 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  If you see a kid in TCU gear cheering for smu yeah that's my nephew. Although he said he we start losing bad he will stop cheering. He's totally been brainwashed by the Frogs

Lol...That's got to hurt.

My nephew, that I have bought many UNT shirts for, is a Rice fan. I feel your pain.

The people around my seats in Ford love him because he always shows up in purple.

Mean Green Brings The Ponies To Denton For Metroplex Clash Saturday

DENTON - The start of a new 10-year series with the SMU Mustangs begins on Saturday morning as North Texas hosts the Ponies at Apogee Stadium at 11 a.m. The game can be seen on Fox Sports and heard on the Mean Green Radio Network.

The Mean Green is looking to bounce back from a season opening defeat to No. 24 Texas. SMU is also 0-1 on the year after Baylor knocked off the Mustangs 45-0. The Mean Green is facing the Ponies for the 34th time in series history, but SMU is playing in Denton for just the third time. NT has won the only two games in Denton in 1990 and 2006.

http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-...14aaa.html

(09-05-2014 08:16 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  The people around my seats in Ford love him because he always shows up in purple.

I got some looks from Mean Green fans when my brother's family attended our Rice game.