Saturday, November 5
Denton, TX
3 PM CT
University of North Texas
vs
FIU
Mean Green Back At Apogee For Homecoming Game
11/1/2022 12:46:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team will look continue building momentum after last week's domination at Western Kentucky when it returns home to Apogee Stadium to host FIU on Saturday, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+ with the radio broadcast on KHYI 95.3/KXXN 97.5 (Wichita Falls)/The Varsity Network.
Head coach Seth Littrell and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, looking to secure bowl eligibility before the season's final game and facing an upstart opponent in FIU, who still has a shot at bowl eligibility and has a motivation of its own.
Bowl eligibility on the horizon
After scratching and clawing their way to bowl eligibility last season with a stunning win over then-No. 15 UTSA in the regular-season finale, the UNT football team is taking a more relaxed approach to playing in December this season.
With three regular-season games remaining, the Mean Green need just one more win to secure a bowl bid, and they also have more goals in mind for the final stretch of the season such as earning a berth in the Conference USA Championship Game.
"It's huge - getting bowl eligible," Littrell said. "It all starts this week against FIU, and in order to reach our goals that we've set for ourselves, we have to win this Saturday and continue to stack them up. Our guys are well aware of what's at stake. They're hungry and have a chip on their shoulder and want to get better."
While they might have some wiggle room for a bowl bid that they didn't have last season, Littrell said the team must take the same approach as last year when it won the final five games of the regular season to attain bowl eligibility with each week basically serving as a win-or-go-home playoff game. Win out, and the Mean Green would play in the conference championship game for the second time in their final season in C-USA.
"It's about resetting and focusing on 1-0 this week," Littrell said. "You're in a playoff mentality. Each week is the next most important, and our focus right now is on FIU."
Senior linebacker KD Davis agreed with his coach's sentiment, saying it would be nice to get the bowl eligibility goal out of the way this week so the team can focus on bigger and better things over the last few weeks of the regular season.
"It showed a lot of character bouncing back last year," Davis said, "We got deep into the end of the season and we had to win our last game against a great team to go to a bowl. If we knock it out early, it'll take a lot of stress off."
Sophomore running back Ayo Adeyi said even though the Mean Green are a couple of games clear of FIU in the conference standings, the Panthers still have a lot to play for, as well.
"They're 2-2 and we're 4-1 (in league play)," he said. "But if they win out they could be going to a bowl and maybe even a championship game. They're definitely fighting for something."
FIU surging heading into matchup with UNT
After a rough start to the season, FIU is heating up down the back stretch of the season for first-year head coach Mike MacIntyre.
A little more than a month ago, the Panthers were beaten 73-0 by Western Kentucky, but the team has now won two straight games to even its conference record at 2-2, including a double overtime victory last week over LA Tech and a road win at Charlotte the previous week.
Sophomore quarterback Grayson James, a Duncanville High School product, has flourished lately with two straight 300-yard passing days, and he's getting more chemistry with and confidence in his weapons, led by wide receivers Tyrese Chambers and Kris Mitchell.
Even after the early season struggles, Mean Green defenders agreed on Tuesday that they can't be taken lightly.
"They're on a roll," junior linebacker Mazin Richards said. "We're not taking them lightly. We have to show up and treat them like we do everyone else."
PARKING ADVISORY | With a large crowd anticipated for homecoming on Nov. 5, UNT fans are encouraged to pre-purchase parking online. Blue lot passes are expected to be sold out prior to game day but can be purchased in advance for $30. Orange lot passes have been discounted to $10 and are available now. Parking can be purchased HERE.
Head coach Seth Littrell and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, looking to secure bowl eligibility before the season's final game and facing an upstart opponent in FIU, who still has a shot at bowl eligibility and has a motivation of its own.
Bowl eligibility on the horizon
After scratching and clawing their way to bowl eligibility last season with a stunning win over then-No. 15 UTSA in the regular-season finale, the UNT football team is taking a more relaxed approach to playing in December this season.
With three regular-season games remaining, the Mean Green need just one more win to secure a bowl bid, and they also have more goals in mind for the final stretch of the season such as earning a berth in the Conference USA Championship Game.
"It's huge - getting bowl eligible," Littrell said. "It all starts this week against FIU, and in order to reach our goals that we've set for ourselves, we have to win this Saturday and continue to stack them up. Our guys are well aware of what's at stake. They're hungry and have a chip on their shoulder and want to get better."
While they might have some wiggle room for a bowl bid that they didn't have last season, Littrell said the team must take the same approach as last year when it won the final five games of the regular season to attain bowl eligibility with each week basically serving as a win-or-go-home playoff game. Win out, and the Mean Green would play in the conference championship game for the second time in their final season in C-USA.
"It's about resetting and focusing on 1-0 this week," Littrell said. "You're in a playoff mentality. Each week is the next most important, and our focus right now is on FIU."
Senior linebacker KD Davis agreed with his coach's sentiment, saying it would be nice to get the bowl eligibility goal out of the way this week so the team can focus on bigger and better things over the last few weeks of the regular season.
"It showed a lot of character bouncing back last year," Davis said, "We got deep into the end of the season and we had to win our last game against a great team to go to a bowl. If we knock it out early, it'll take a lot of stress off."
Sophomore running back Ayo Adeyi said even though the Mean Green are a couple of games clear of FIU in the conference standings, the Panthers still have a lot to play for, as well.
"They're 2-2 and we're 4-1 (in league play)," he said. "But if they win out they could be going to a bowl and maybe even a championship game. They're definitely fighting for something."
FIU surging heading into matchup with UNT
After a rough start to the season, FIU is heating up down the back stretch of the season for first-year head coach Mike MacIntyre.
A little more than a month ago, the Panthers were beaten 73-0 by Western Kentucky, but the team has now won two straight games to even its conference record at 2-2, including a double overtime victory last week over LA Tech and a road win at Charlotte the previous week.
Sophomore quarterback Grayson James, a Duncanville High School product, has flourished lately with two straight 300-yard passing days, and he's getting more chemistry with and confidence in his weapons, led by wide receivers Tyrese Chambers and Kris Mitchell.
Even after the early season struggles, Mean Green defenders agreed on Tuesday that they can't be taken lightly.
"They're on a roll," junior linebacker Mazin Richards said. "We're not taking them lightly. We have to show up and treat them like we do everyone else."
PARKING ADVISORY | With a large crowd anticipated for homecoming on Nov. 5, UNT fans are encouraged to pre-purchase parking online. Blue lot passes are expected to be sold out prior to game day but can be purchased in advance for $30. Orange lot passes have been discounted to $10 and are available now. Parking can be purchased HERE.
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