– Last Updated on June 8, 2018 7:51 am
2017 Football Preview – Conference USA – Mean Green
Looking for 2017 North Texas Mean Green predictions? The Mean Green are entering the 2017 season looking to make strong improvements after a bowl bid in year 1 under Coach Litrell?
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- 2017-18 College Football Preview – North Texas Mean Green
- Head Coach: Seth Litrell
- 2016 Record: 5-8
- North Texas Mean Green Odds to win the 2017 FBS Championship: +50000
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- ***More 2017 NCAA Football Team Season Previews***
Can the Mean Green get over .500 in year 2 under Seth Litrell?
2017 North Texas Mean Green Predictions: Team Strengths
Strong running game.: The Mean Green started incorporating a spread offense in 2016 and while you would expect a big increase in passing attempts, the best offensive unit was clearly the running backs.
Jeffrey Wilson has been the leading rusher each of the past two seasons and almost reached 1,000 yards last season. Expect him to crack it as he becomes the focal point of the office.
Behind him on the depth chart is Willie Ivery who is also a threat out of the backfield. He had 3 games with over 95 yards on the ground and they can be a great 1-2 punch.
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Deep and Experienced LB core: The linebackers are led by hard hitting outside linebacker Joshua Wheeler and should be much more athletic and quicker off the snap this season.
Wheeler is a candidate to be an All-Conference player and should reach 100 tackles this year.
Brandon Gardner is a tackling machine and should pick up a handful of sacks this year.
Helping out the linebackers is a very capable secondary. The corners and safeties were a top 40 unit last year and only gave up 51% completion percentage while snagging 14 interceptions.
The leader in the secondary is second team all-conference safety Kishawn McClain, who was the leading tackler and also picked off 3 passes.
I don’t believe they can finish in the top 40 again, but this should still be a very strong unit when the season comes to a close.
2017 North Texas Mean Green Predictions: Team Weaknesses
How strong can this offensive line be?: The biggest issue with the Mean Green going into this season will be the pass blocking. They gave up 43 sacks adjusting to the spread offense.
This will be their second year in the blocking scheme and three returning starters should produce better numbers than last year. How they fare against the athletic pass rushers in the division will determine how far they go this season.
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The receivers will need to step up in Year 2 The Mean Green switch from a pro style offense to a spread should have seen a big boost in numbers, but the team didn’t have a receiver with over 550 receiving yards.
The biggest hole on the team should give Notre Dame transfer Jalen Guyton plenty of opportunity to surpass the pedestrian numbers single handedly this season.
If Guyton can build a connection with sophomore QB Mason Fine then this weakness may turn into a strength as the season comes to a close.
North Texas Mean Green Prediction: 6-6
North Texas will have a slightly better year 2 under Seth Litrell.
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The offense will need to find a go to receiver to pair with a talented young QB, and if they can do that it should lead to a .500 season.
2017 North Texas Mean Green Football Schedule
- 9/2/17 TBD LAMAR
- 9/9/17 TBD @SMU
- 9/16/17 TBD @IOWA
- 9/23/17 TBD UAB
- 9/30/17 TBD @SOMS
- 10/14/17 TBD UTSA
- 10/21/17 TBD @FAU
- 10/28/17 TBD ODU
- 11/4/17 TBD @LATECH
- 11/11/17 TBD UTEP
- 11/18/17 TBD ARMY
- 11/25/17 TBD @RICE
What do you think about our 2017 North Texas Mean Green predictions? Please leave us a comment below telling us how you think they’ll do in 2017!
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