North Texas Daily

Akshay Mirchandani / Sports Editor

Well, that was bad. The Mean Green football team got manhandled by the Lousiana Tech University Bulldogs 42-21 on Thursday night. This is especially disappointing coming off UNT’s 43-6 win over the Southern Methodist University Mustangs, and it starts conference play on a sour note. There weren’t many positives to take from the game and the team will have to rebound next week against Nicholls State University.

1. Offense, quarterbacks takes steps back: The Mean Green offense didn’t just take one step back, but multiple against La. Tech. Their performance brought back images of their season opener against the University of Texas where they couldn’t get anything going. With the exception of the last one, every possession in the first half for the Mean Green ended in a punt and they were 5-16 on third down for the game. Sophomore quarterback Josh Greer went 13 of 27 for 77 yards and no touchdowns. He had a decent second half and led the team on a scoring drive, but overall Greer looked lost and couldn’t put much together. It wouldn’t be surprising if head coach Dan McCarney looks to open up his quarterback competition again. Redshirt freshman Dajon Williams played a lot in the second half and was 4 of 6 for 88 yards and led the offense on two scoring drives. The game was basically over by that point, but if the offense falls behind in a game again, putting Williams in to spark it may not be a bad idea.

2. Defense struggles: La. Tech quarterback Cody Sokol shredded the Mean Green defense to the tune of 243 yards and five touchdowns. Obviously, like the Texas game, the UNT defense was worn out from being on the field for 32:08. The defense should have a bounce back performance next week against Nicholls State, but clearly La. Tech gave them fits tonight and that is something to be concerned about.

3. Bad start to conference play: This was UNT’s first conference game of the season and a chance for them to show they can still be a contender in Conference USA. There were people that even picked the Mean Green to win their division. Getting blown out to La. Tech at home shows that UNT clearly still has a ways to go before they are even mentioned in the discussion for a C-USA title. La. Tech showed that they are a better team. Tthe University of Texas-San Antonio seems to be the best team in conference and Rice University will still be a tough out. That should make any Mean Green fan uncomfortable.

4. SMU was worse than we thought: There was a lot of excitement about the Mean Green’s win over SMU last week. It was a game that potentially restarted rivalry between the two teams and it was a potential statement win. After tonight, it almost seems as if SMU was a worse team than anyone thought. UNT did score 43 points in that game, but 15 came off field goals and there was also a defensive touchdown. Perhaps the Mean Green did what they were supposed to do against a bad SMU team and that win wasn’t as big as we thought.

5. Pathetic attendance: On Saturday, 22,398 fans were on hand to watch the home opener and it was the fourth largest crowd that Apogee Stadium has ever had. Against La. Tech, just 16,998 fans were on hand. Yikes. Now, maybe it being a Thursday night game had a little something to do with that, but the fact that Apogee still can’t draw at least 20,000 people on a consistent basis is worrisome. The student section seemed full and loud, but the alumni section looked very sparse again. The Mean Green have had quite the home field advantage at Apogee since McCarney took over, but they can’t expect to get any better with an attendance number like tonight.

Featured photo: Redshirt freshman quarterback Dajon Williams look to throw the ball Thursday night against Louisiana Tech University. Williams completed 4 of 6 passes for 88 yards. Photo by Ryan Vance – Staff photographer