In whats actually a very competitive C-USA, The Owls of Rice travel with their perfect 4-0 conference record to Denton to take on the Mean Green of North Texas. UNT is a single game from becoming bowl eligible again, something that hasn't happened since 2004.
When Rice has the ball:
The Owls offense has not exactly been the scariest unit in the nation this season. They're only averaging 5.5 yards per play, and are converting just 34% of their third downs. However, they have been decent at making sure they dont go three and out, extending drives 73% of the time. They also are excellent at finishign the drives they do get to the redzone. converting all but one into points. They've done it on the ground, averaging 4.8 yards per carry and scoring 17 time so far. Charles Ross has been the workhorse, carrying the ball 113 times despite missing two games this season. He's gone over 100 yards in four of his six game,s and is demolishing opponents in the maroon zone, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. QB Taylor McHargue is a solid enough athlete, carrying the ball for 328 yards and five scores. This helps to offset the troubles he's had in the passing game, where the senior has completed only 50% of his passes this season. Third downs have been a nightmare for McHargue, where he has only completed 39% of his passes and has converted only 28% of his passes for first downs. The one thing they have been able to do is hit some big plays, with Jordan Taylor averaging 15.8 yards per catch and scoring 5 TDs.
North Texas has been able to play pretty well against conference opponents, limiting C-USA foes to just 4.3 yards per play. They've been able to do it despite totaling 27 tackles for loss only during their four games. Senior DE Aaron Bellazin leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss amongst his 22 stops. He also has four sacks and a pair of hurries. His fellow bookend is a dangerous pass rusher despite accumulating only 1.5 sacks. Brandon McCoy has six more QB hurries, so he should end up with a respectable amount of sacks. The North Texas pass defense has accumulated 11 ints, but has allowed opposing passers to complete 60.6% of their passes for 7.3 yards per attempt. They also have given up 41 plays of 15 yards or more, and a lot of that has come when theyve been in close games.
When North Texas has the ball:
Derek Thompson has been able to complete 67.7% of his passes this season, for nearly 8 yards per attempt. However, he's made plenty of mistakes with 10 ints, all but 1 coming when the game was within 7 points. Brelan Chancellor has been the big play threat for the offense, averaging 17 yards per catch. Darnell Smith has been the possession receiver, catching 46 passes for 11.3 yards per catch. On the ground, Brandin Byrd has taken 106 carries for 457 yards and six scores. His backfield mate Reggi Pegram has 94 carries for 338 yards and six more touchdowns. The run game has produced only 38 runs of ten yards or more and only three yards per carry in the redzone. The one positive has been the run game's ability to create first downs, converting 41% of their chances.
The Owls defense has struggled some this year to defend against the run where theyve allowed four 200 yard games and three more 100 yard games. They rank 57th in the nation, surrendering 38 runs of 10 yards or more. They've failed to make a lot of plays in the backfield, totaling just 44 tackles for loss through their eight games. Christian Covington leads teh team with seven, with three sacks and 34 total tackles. The leader along the front seven though is LB Michael Kutzler who has 56 tackles, 5.5 of them for loss with a pair of sacks. The pass defense has been a bit better, allowing opponents to complete only 52.1% of their passes for just over seven yards per attempt. The secondary has been ballhawkish, picking off ten passes with three by Bryce Callahan who has also defended six passes.
Whats our Take:
The Mean Green on offense has been fairly efficient this year, averaging just over 30 yards per drive and going three and out on just a quarter of their drives. They also have been able to get themselves into third and manageable situations pretty regularly, needing just under 6 yards to convert on average. Rice has struggled to moe the ball at times, but has scored 45 points the last two weeks, and only once this season failed to score at least 23. If Rice can protect McHargue he might be able to actually get something going.
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