Quick Hits: Dan McCarney Coach’s Show – Episode 2
Alex Lessard | Staff Writer
Head coach Dan McCarney hosted his second radio show of the year Monday night at Rudy’s BBQ. With game one in the books, here are some of the main points McCarney covered.
The offense
While North Texas hung around until the fourth quarter in its 31-13 loss to Southern Methodist University, senior quarterback Andrew McNulty and the offense failed to take advantage of their opportunities to score.
“We were really thriving off our defense and special teams early in that game,” McCarney said. “It seemed like every time something positive happened, we’d come up with a missed assignment or a missed throw or a missed route.”
Nonetheless, McCarney remained positive in regards to the offense, citing the unit’s execution and success the past five weeks in practice.
“There were times our defense couldn’t even slow them down, much less stop them because the execution and tempo were so good out on the field and down in the red zone,” McCarney said. But it sure didn’t look like it Saturday.”
North Texas forced three turnovers in Saturday’s loss but still finished on the wrong end of the turnover margin. The Mean Green threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball four times, two of which were recovered by SMU.
“We’ve got to take better care of the football. We’ve got to execute,” McCarney said. “When you get these short fields after a turnover or a forced fumble by the punt team, you’ve got to knock those in the end zone and score touchdowns.”
The Fans
McCarney expressed his enthusiastic thanks to every Mean Green fan that made the trip for the matchup against the Mustangs. Although there is limited statistical proof, McCarney said it was one of the biggest road crowds he’s ever seen with North Texas.
“To see this kind of support, it’s really special,” McCarney said. “Don’t think it didn’t affect us as we came out of that locker room.”
McCarney also emphasized how important a large crowd will be Saturday in the home opener against Rice University, the first conference matchup of the season.
Preparing for Rice
In its last game against the University of Texas, Rice dominated time of possession, getting of a total of 98 plays. Rice lost the game 42-28, but McCarney said the Mean Green defense will need to step up in order to slow down a potentially explosive offense.
“We’ve got to protect the edges. We’ve got to be really good in coverages and know they’re going to move the ball at times,” McCarney said. “Sooner or later, they’ll make a mistake and we’ll capitalize.”
Featured Image: A fan holds up a cutout of Head Coach Dan McCarney during Saturday’s game against SMU. Ryan Vance | Senior Staff Photographer
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