UNT begins second half of the season against Louisiana Tech
Brett Medeiros / Senior Staff Writer
Coming off its first conference victory of the season and with half of the season in the books, the UNT football team will travel to Louisiana to take on the Louisiana Tech University. Both teams currently sit tied for third in the Conference USA West Division.
“Louisiana Tech is a program where even through it has a new coach and new coaching staff, they still won nine games last year and had lots of success,” head coach Dan McCarney said. “We are going to be in for a real good challenge this week”
UNT is looking to win its first game on the road this season. The team is also attempting to end a 26-game skid of losing a game following a victory. The last time the Mean Green won consecutive games was in 2003.
“As a team, we should win every week, but at the same time we could lose every week just as easily,” sophomore defensive back Kenny Buyers said. “We struggle a little bit on the road for whatever reason. I don’t know what it is, but we are going to be serious road warriors this week.”
The nationally-ranked Mean Green defense and return game hopes to provide a boost in front of a hostile crowd.
In the last two games, the UNT defense has allowed 423 combined yards. It is the lowest number of yards given up in a two-game span since 2002.
Senior wide receiver Brelan Chancellor ranks third in the nation in punt return yards per game and in the top 20 in kick return yards per game.
The Bulldogs have won just one game in the last four opportunities but are coming off a 38-35 victory against the University of Texas-El Paso Miners two weeks ago, where sophomore running back Kenneth Dixon rushed for 206 yards on 25 carries. On defense, the Mean Green have given up 155 yards per game on the ground
“They’re going to bring a lot of blitzes on defense,” senior quarterback Derek Thompson said. “I don’t look too much into bye weeks. Some people say that teams can even get rusty because of bye weeks.”
With a victory, the Mean Green will have its first winning record since defeating Ball State 34-27 in the season opener on Sept. 14.
The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Ala. CBS Sports will televise the game.
Sophomore tight end Marcus Smith runs the ball while evading Middle Tennessee opponents during a home game on Saturday. Featuer photo by Ryan Vance / Staff Photographer
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