The first game of the Longhorns 2014 season will be against The University of North Texas (Denton, Texas). The game will also mark Charlie Strong’s much anticipated inaugural season and kicks off in D.K.R. at 7 p.m. In 2013, the Longhorns recorded a disappointing year (compared to past seasons), while UNT is coming off of their first bowl appearance since 2003 and first bowl victory since 2001.
Conference USA and the BIG 12 aren’t competitive equals, but North Texas is a program on the rise. For frame of reference, in 2009 UNT finished the regular season ranked 115th out of the 120 Division 1A schools; Texas finished third. Out of the many preseason ranking systems in the nation, CBS has UNT ranked No. 60 and Texas is No. 30. Although that is still a considerable difference in rankings, UNT has continued to become more successful over recent years.
Last season UNT played the University of Georgia and the Mean Green ended the first half down by just one score and took the Bulldogs into the fourth quarter with the score 21-35. Three members from last season’s 9-4 UNT squad are now on NFL rosters; Marcus Trice, Zach Orr, and Brelan Chancellor. Notable recent UNT alums include the new “total offensive weapon for the Dallas Cowboysâ€, Lance Dunbar and the Cleveland Browns starting linebacker, Craig Robertson.
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photo credit: usatoday.com
Leading UNT is Head Coach Dan McCarney, who played and was team captain at the University of Iowa from 1972 to 1974. Coach McCarney is a product of the Hayden Fry and Barry Alvarez coaching trees. McCarney spent almost ten years with Coach Fry at Iowa before leaving for Wisconsin where he spent the 1990 through 1994 seasons with Barry Alvarez. McCarney then moved to Iowa State University as Head Coach, and led the Cyclones to five bowl game appearances. Those five appearances are more than any other Iowa State coach in the program’s history. After resigning at ISU, McCarney moved on to the University of Florida where he coached defensive linemen for the “most talented team [urban Meyer has] ever coachedâ€. That roster included Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Brandon Spikes… and an assistant defensive coordinator named Charlie Strong.
Offense:
North Texas’ offensive coordinator, Mike Canales, has been a part of some of the nation’s most talented teams including the 2007 USF Bulls (who were ranked as high as No. 2 in the country). Canales has coached at the University of Arizona, BYU, NC State, and South Florida and even with the New York Jets. North Texas runs a balanced offense focusing primarily on the run. UNT will shift formations frequently, ranging from a two tight end/two running back set to a five wide spread – all with the same personnel.
The offensive unit is led by a strong and experienced offensive line that includes three linemen starting for their fourth year (Cyril Lemon-RT, Antonio Johnson-LT, and Mason Y’Barbo-LG), and another returning letterman (Kaden Kirby-C).
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North Texas has finished every season under offensive line coach Mike Simmonds (3 seasons), in the top 25 for sacks allowed, including a number one finish in 2012. However, with a three year letterman graduating from the quarterback and running back positions, the skill positions of this UNT offense are still an unknown at this point in the Summer.
Defense:
John Skladany, UNT’s defensive coordinator, arrived in 2012 and his arrival kick started a new trend of stout defense in Denton. Skladany has been coaching for over thirty years (with several prestigious programs) and has been a position coach for defensive backs, defensive linemen, and linebackers. In 2005, Skladany was the defensive coordinator for Dan McCarney’s Iowa State Cyclones and together they produced a defense that allowed only TEN rushing touchdowns all season.
North Texas’ defense finished number eight in points allowed last season (18.6 per game). They also finished fourth in the nation for turnovers with thirty-four. However, the Mean Green graduated six of the starting eleven defenders from last season and twenty-two total seniors.
The defense will be led by a strong secondary that returns three of four starters (Kenny Buyers-CB, James Jones-CB, and Lairamie Lee-S) from last season. Buyers, Jones and Lee have a combined forty-two starts and had a combined total of thirteen turnovers in 2013. At Safety Lee, had a stand out season last year by amassing 74 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and a defensive touchdown. Derek Akunne, the middle linebacker, is another stand out player for the Mean Green. Akunne is a three year letterman with twenty-four total starts and has compiled 180 tackles over the last two seasons. At the center of the defense, Derek Akunne is responsible for much of the defense’s alignments and audibles.
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Overall, Texas versus UNT should not be a game for the ages. Games like this happen every year, and for the most part they go unnoticed. However, every year there is a surprise victory in the first week. Players for top tier schools sometimes don’t prepare the same for “tune-up games†as they would for a regular conference game, which leads to poor performance. Conversely, players for the smaller school have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. As the first game with the new coaching staff, the Longhorns will also have a set of unique challenges heading into the UNT game. In summary, this looks like an easy victory on paper, but the result on the field could be much different than what that paper indicates.
