With the University of Texas at El Paso coming into town, the North Texas Mean Green have a chance to do something that’s never done in school history.
The Mean Green (6-3, 5-1) are one win away from clinching the Conference-USA Western Division title and securing a spot in the conference championship game for the first time in school history. They joined C-USA after leaving the Sun Belt Conference in the summer of 2013.
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UTEP’s season has been one of their worst in recent memory. Head coach Sean Kugler stepped down in early October after an 0-5 start to the season, and they still haven’t won a game since then. The Miners have gotten the better of North Texas three years in a row and beat the Mean Green 52-24 in El Paso last year, but things are looking much bleaker this time around.
If anything, their offense has a chance to get going against a suspect North Texas defense. However, North Texas will have some extra motivation in their back pocket.
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“They dominated us last year in every aspect of the game,” North Texas head coach Seth Littrell said in a press conference this week. “Each week in this league, it’s going to be a battle. You’ve got to be prepared.”
The key for North Texas is to keep the intensity and focus levels high. Three of their wins over conference opponents have come by seven points combined; this week provides a chance to put together an all-around performance from start to finish.
North Texas experienced a taste of success last season in head coach Seth Littrell’s first season with the team, making a bowl game with a 5-7 record but ultimately falling to Army in an overtime thriller. It’s been four years since their last bowl victory, which capped off a 9-4 season.
On homecoming, fans have a chance to witness a historic accomplishment. Kickoff is at for 4 p.m. at Apogee Stadium in Denton.
Alex Lessard covers prep and University of North Texas football for TexasHSFootball. Follow him on Twitter,@alexjlessard, and read more of his content here.
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