North Texas Daily

Football is quite a strange game.

Stakes are high on the field. Each play is a violent ballet that will either end short on the turf, or end in celebration in the end zone. At the conclusion of this dance there is just one winner, and against Army, North Texas was the better team.

That gave the Mean Green four wins, and more importantly, huge momentum and hope for a bowl berth. They only needed two more wins to become bowl eligible, and after knocking off one of the top defenses in the country, many, including myself, were certain it would be a pretty easy road to six wins.

But as we all saw, that was not the case.

Sometimes that’s the way football goes.

Week in and week out things can change, especially when you are a program in a turnover year the way North Texas is. This was on display the past two weeks, as the Mean Green have faltered to drop to 4-5.

Put a freshman quarterback in the driver’s seat and you will have mistakes against very beatable teams such as the University of Texas at San Antonio

Have a defense that can be inconsistent at times and you get what you had against Louisiana Tech.

The UTSA contest had the feeling of a massive swing game. If North Texas had knocked off the Roadrunners in the Alamodome, the Mean Green could have become bowl eligible against Louisiana Tech on homecoming.

Sadly, this did not happen. Fine turned the ball over three times against UTSA, junior running back Jeffery Wilson fumbled at the goal line and North Texas botched what could have ultimately been its chance for a bowl game.

Saturday night against Louisiana Tech, Seth Littrell’s squad was able to hang with the Bulldogs for a half, but were eventually over-matched by the top offense in Conference USA and were downed 45-24.

Not only were the Mean Green downed on Saturday, but so were their bowl game chances, though the dream is not over.

There are still three games to play, North Texas is now in a very difficult situation. In order to claim a bowl berth, the Mean Green must win two of its final three games.

What makes that challenge even more monumental is they will face C-USA leading Western Kentucky University, 3-2 in conference play Southern Mississippi University and finally a struggling University of Texas at El Paso squad. But it might not even matter when the team gets around to UTEP.

The Mean Green have to beat either the Hilltoppers at Western Kentucky or defeat Southern Miss at home to set a final day dash for a bowl game berth with a win near the border at UTEP. It’s going to be a crazy final three weeks for North Texas, but it is absolutely doable.

It could have been avoided, however, and it all goes back to the loss at UTSA.

The Mean Green needed that win, bad.

Coming back for homecoming with a chance to clinch a bowl game berth? Tell me that is not a winnable game against a conference opponent. The wave died before it started, unfortunately.

This season is not over, but it just got a lot harder. North Texas’ bowl game chances are hurt, but with some bandages and a little bit of grit the Mean Green can make it into the postseason.

If North Texas wants to achieve their goals and continue to prove people wrong, they’ll need to rub some dirt in the wounds and get back to business.

Featured Image: North Texas sophomore wide reciever Terian Goree (3) runs the ball near the sideline. Goree had one touchdown against the Bulldogs. Colin Mitchell