University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: Thoughts From Last Night
9/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
By Ryan Kasmiersky, September 4, 2009, 12:15 p.m.
Ok, so now that last night has had a chance to sink in, I find myself still in a little bit of shock. Don't get me wrong I was one of I think two members of the Green Gang that thought we were going to win, but I did not see what happened last night coming like it did.
The Mean Green dominated Ball State for 50 of the 60 minutes in the game. Defensively, the guys were the best North Texas fans have seen in a few years. When the offense made mistakes, the defense picked them up by making huge plays on the field and giving them another chance.
The way I judge games at the end of the day, minus the score, is between a couple of key stats. First and foremost time of possession is huge with an offense like this. North Texas held the ball for 37:18. As the year goes on, if this offense gets the ball for that long, there will be some high numbers in the score column.
The only thing that disappointed me on the offensive side was that they left so many points on the field. As Riley said after the game though, "Who cares right now, I'll take the win."
The next most important stat in my book is redzone scoring. North Texas went 4-for-6 in this category against Ball State's 1-for-3. If you win both the time of possession and the redzone scoring, and limit turnovers, you give yourself a great chance to win the game. North Texas won two of the three categories and tied the turnover battle and they won the game.
Still, even with those winning those key areas, you have to be proud of the way North Texas Football finally responded to adversity. The questions all fall have been about that topic. Everyone saying this team has the talent, but when they are put up against the wall after something goes wrong, how are they going to respond?
Well, I think that question was answered in grand fashion on both sides of the ball. With the go ahead touchdown, and then the fumble recovery late in the game to get that last field goal.
All in all, the win was a sweet one. North Texas jumps to 1-0 for the first time in four years and we need all of you to come out to Fouts next Saturday as Ohio rolls into town. The louder the better as Mean Green Football tries to move to 2-0 for the first time since 1994 when it won the Southland Conference Championship.
