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Cal Football Countdown: 90 Days, A Look at North Texas

Cal's got 90 days until kickoff against UC Davis, so we're looking at their week three opponent, North Texas.

2018 Record: 9-4

Seth Litrell's Mean Green have seen a resurgence since Litrell arrived. The alma mater of Stone Cold Steve Austin finished with nine wins for the second year in a row, only three years removed from a 1-11 season in 2015.

Litrell's a big reason for that, bringing the Air Raid to Denton and even getting the Mean Green to bowl games in each of his first three years. UNT received votes in the AP and coaches polls a year ago for the first time since 2013.

Indicator #1: Mason is Fine, despite the loss of Graham Harrell

North Texas has a capable quarterback in Fine, who threw for nearly 3800 yards, completed nearly 65% of his passes, while having a 27-5 TD-INT ratio. He was under recruited coming out of the state of Oklahoma due to his size, but now he's the UNT all-time leader in passing yardage and touchdowns. He's not going to beat you with his legs, but he will find his receivers and make quick decisions.

He'll have a new offensive coordinator this year in Bodie Reeder, former OC/QB coach at Eastern Washington. Reeder had success with Beau Baldwin's protege at EWU, Gage Gubrud.

Indicator #2: Lot of Weapons Return

Four of North Texas's five top receivers from 2018 return

WR Rico Bussey: 68 receptions, 1017 yards, 12 scores

WR Jaelon Darden: 48 receptions, 575 yards, 4 scores

WR Michael Lawrence: 32 receptions, 433 yards, 2 scores

TE Kelvin Smith: 29 receptions, 269 yards, 1 score

Along with the return of leading rusher Deandre Torrey (975 yards, 15 touchdowns on the ground), there's a lot of production there for the Mean Green. In particular, Bussey's the type of big receiver (at 6'2"), that has given Cal trouble in years past.

Indicator #3: Some Returners on Defense, Lot of Production gone

Biggest returning names among the group include DE Ladarius Hamilton (11 TFLs, 7.5 sacks in 2018) and S Khairi Muhammad (4 INTs, 67 tackles in 2018). UNT is looking to replace production from guys like EJ Ejiya (25.5 TFLs, 9 sacks) and Brandon Garner (18 TFLs, 6.5 sacks) in the front seven, along with the 11 combined interceptions from Nate Brooks and Kemon Hall in the secondary.

The 3-3-5 of UNT got to take risks a bit more often last year, thanks to their offensive success and defensive experience. They'll have to figure out the best way to replace the five departed starters on defense.

One Last Thing

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North Texas pulled one of the ballsiest plays of 2018, faking a fair catch then taking the punt back in a 44-17 clownstomping of Arkansas. The return man on that play, Keegan Brewer, won't be back for UNT (he retired from football and took a job as a firefighter), but the Mean Green are one of the most disciplined groups on special teams that Cal will play this year. Watch for potential trickery in the special teams game when North Texas comes to town September 14th.

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