Saturday, September 20
West Point, NY
11:00 AM CT
University of North Texas
at
Army
UNT Traveling to Face Defending Champ Army
9/16/2025 1:32:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team hits the road on Saturday to take on defending American champion Army in West Point, New York, with kickoff set for 11 a.m., and is aiming to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2018. The game can be seen on CBS Sports Network, with the radio broadcast set for 1190 AM/The Varsity Network.
Head coach Eric Morris and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, preparing for the vaunted Army triple option, what the option can do to an opposing offense, building confidence after last week's dominant victory while also trying to stay humble and what a trek it's been for Shane Whitter.
Mean Green set for first of three option opponents
On their way to their first American championship last season, the Black Knights tangled with UNT in Denton and got out of town with a 14-3 win, which was Army's lowest scoring output of the season until a 13-point effort against Navy.
Clearly, the Mean Green defensive unit a year ago held its own against the vaunted Army triple option attack, but this is a new year with several new defensive players and a new defensive coordinator with new schemes.
The good thing about Army, though, is that the plan of attack for an opposing defense rarely, if ever, changes. So UNT will be looking to replicate the defensive effort from a year ago.
"We'll probably play more option teams than anyone in America this year, with Army, Navy and then what Rice has gone to," Morris said. "It's obviously not easy to have that discipline against them. It's so foreign to our guys and what they face in practice. It'll take a great week of preparation for us. This team is obviously tricky to prepare for. We have to teach the scout offense team to run triple option so they can give us good, fast reps."
Senior safety Will Jones II wasn't here for that game last year and has never gone against an option attack as a college football player, but he said his unit is fully prepared for what's to come.
"We just have to focus on our preparation and being able to lock in and doing our one-of-11 and stay disciplined," Jones II said. "Everyone knows their job. Everyone's locked in on what we have to do as a team and individually. We have full confidence everyone will lock in and do their job."
On the flip side
While the triple-option, when run to perfection, causes headaches for opposing defenses, it also can cause some serious issues for the opposing team's offense.
When Army's offense is on the field for large chunks of time, wearing down the opposing defense, it means the other team's offense is sitting, helplessly, on the sideline waiting their turn. So it will be pivotal for UNT's offense on Saturday to make the most of every chance it gets, because there might not be many.
In last year's game, Army put together a drive of 10:50, which ended eventually in a punt, and one of 13:46 that covered 94 yards and took 21 plays but ended with an Army touchdown. That's nearly half a game in two drives. UNT's offense was successful against one of the best defenses in all of FBS, until it hit the red zone.
In four trips inside Army's 15-yard line, the Mean Green managed just three points, and they know that can't happen again this year.
Entering the game, UNT's red-zone offense has been near-perfect. In 21 trips this season, UNT has scored 20 times, which is 28th nationally, and the Mean Green have scored 16 touchdowns in those 21 red-zone trips, which is second in all of FBS. UNT was 9-for-9 on red-zone trips in last week's 59-10 win over Washington State.
"Last year, we were in the red zone four times and came out with three points," junior wide receiver Landon Sides said. "You can't beat a team with that. If we do that this year hopefully we'll come out with more than three points."
Two of those stalled red-zone trips ended in goal-line interceptions, something Morris knows is especially fatal against a team like Army.
"Taking care of the football is more important this week than in any game so far knowing the possessions will be limited for us," he said. "We have to take great pride at protecting the football every possession. They take great pride in taking it away. The quarterback has to continue to take care of the ball, and the meshes have to be great in the backfield - from QB to running back. We can't put it on the turf and allow them to gain momentum, especially on the road because it always seems to hurt more on the road."
Finding balance between confidence and humility
UNT is riding high after last week's 59-10 dismantling of Washington State and has found itself in the national college football narrative after the impressive display on Saturday at DATCU Stadium that ended in the program's best record to start a season since a 4-0 start in 2018.
But everyone in the program knows there's a fine line between letting confidence build from that performance and also being sure to stay humble as they prepare to face the defending conference championship on their field.
"Seeing and reading everything, of course it feels good," Sides said. "Finally, we have some people recognizing us. But at the same time, you have to be humble, as well. We're getting all this praise, but praise can end just like that. Yes, it's nice. Yes, we're 3-0, but I don't want to be known as 3-0, I want to be known as 12-0."
Morris said he's always looked forward to the chance to see the West Point campus but knows that, along with all the other outside distraction, isn't the reason his team is making the trip to New York this weekend.
"Any time you play a team that is a reigning champion, it starts there," he said. "What they've been able to build there, this is their homecoming there, and there's a bunch of stuff going into it. I'm excited to go see the place. I've always seen it on TV watching the noon games on CBS growing up - with the history and the Hudson River behind us, it'll be a really great experience for us. But if we lack focus and motivation, we have some really big problems right now."
Whitter making most of his chance
Senior linebacker Shane Whitter has come a long way from Burlington, North Carolina, to American Defensive Player of the Week honors this week.
After making five starts in 12 games last season for the Mean Green, Whitter has finally found his role as a defensive centerpiece for a unit that is off to a scorching start this season, having allowed the fewest points through the first three games since the 1984 season.
Prior to his time at UNT, Whitter was primarily a special teams player at Oklahoma but wanted his shot to be an every down player. Now, he has it. And he's clearly making the most of it.
"He transferred in here and to watch him continue to grow and get better, this is his last year and to watch how he prepared his body and trained and now he's reaping the reward for it? That's what you want to see," Morris said. "This is his fifth or sixth year playing ball and he's finally to the point where he's playing at such a high level. PFF team of the week and conference player of the week, it's a really fun thing, as a coach, to see."
Head coach Eric Morris and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, preparing for the vaunted Army triple option, what the option can do to an opposing offense, building confidence after last week's dominant victory while also trying to stay humble and what a trek it's been for Shane Whitter.
Mean Green set for first of three option opponents
On their way to their first American championship last season, the Black Knights tangled with UNT in Denton and got out of town with a 14-3 win, which was Army's lowest scoring output of the season until a 13-point effort against Navy.
Clearly, the Mean Green defensive unit a year ago held its own against the vaunted Army triple option attack, but this is a new year with several new defensive players and a new defensive coordinator with new schemes.
The good thing about Army, though, is that the plan of attack for an opposing defense rarely, if ever, changes. So UNT will be looking to replicate the defensive effort from a year ago.
"We'll probably play more option teams than anyone in America this year, with Army, Navy and then what Rice has gone to," Morris said. "It's obviously not easy to have that discipline against them. It's so foreign to our guys and what they face in practice. It'll take a great week of preparation for us. This team is obviously tricky to prepare for. We have to teach the scout offense team to run triple option so they can give us good, fast reps."
Senior safety Will Jones II wasn't here for that game last year and has never gone against an option attack as a college football player, but he said his unit is fully prepared for what's to come.
"We just have to focus on our preparation and being able to lock in and doing our one-of-11 and stay disciplined," Jones II said. "Everyone knows their job. Everyone's locked in on what we have to do as a team and individually. We have full confidence everyone will lock in and do their job."
On the flip side
While the triple-option, when run to perfection, causes headaches for opposing defenses, it also can cause some serious issues for the opposing team's offense.
When Army's offense is on the field for large chunks of time, wearing down the opposing defense, it means the other team's offense is sitting, helplessly, on the sideline waiting their turn. So it will be pivotal for UNT's offense on Saturday to make the most of every chance it gets, because there might not be many.
In last year's game, Army put together a drive of 10:50, which ended eventually in a punt, and one of 13:46 that covered 94 yards and took 21 plays but ended with an Army touchdown. That's nearly half a game in two drives. UNT's offense was successful against one of the best defenses in all of FBS, until it hit the red zone.
In four trips inside Army's 15-yard line, the Mean Green managed just three points, and they know that can't happen again this year.
Entering the game, UNT's red-zone offense has been near-perfect. In 21 trips this season, UNT has scored 20 times, which is 28th nationally, and the Mean Green have scored 16 touchdowns in those 21 red-zone trips, which is second in all of FBS. UNT was 9-for-9 on red-zone trips in last week's 59-10 win over Washington State.
"Last year, we were in the red zone four times and came out with three points," junior wide receiver Landon Sides said. "You can't beat a team with that. If we do that this year hopefully we'll come out with more than three points."
Two of those stalled red-zone trips ended in goal-line interceptions, something Morris knows is especially fatal against a team like Army.
"Taking care of the football is more important this week than in any game so far knowing the possessions will be limited for us," he said. "We have to take great pride at protecting the football every possession. They take great pride in taking it away. The quarterback has to continue to take care of the ball, and the meshes have to be great in the backfield - from QB to running back. We can't put it on the turf and allow them to gain momentum, especially on the road because it always seems to hurt more on the road."
Finding balance between confidence and humility
UNT is riding high after last week's 59-10 dismantling of Washington State and has found itself in the national college football narrative after the impressive display on Saturday at DATCU Stadium that ended in the program's best record to start a season since a 4-0 start in 2018.
But everyone in the program knows there's a fine line between letting confidence build from that performance and also being sure to stay humble as they prepare to face the defending conference championship on their field.
"Seeing and reading everything, of course it feels good," Sides said. "Finally, we have some people recognizing us. But at the same time, you have to be humble, as well. We're getting all this praise, but praise can end just like that. Yes, it's nice. Yes, we're 3-0, but I don't want to be known as 3-0, I want to be known as 12-0."
Morris said he's always looked forward to the chance to see the West Point campus but knows that, along with all the other outside distraction, isn't the reason his team is making the trip to New York this weekend.
"Any time you play a team that is a reigning champion, it starts there," he said. "What they've been able to build there, this is their homecoming there, and there's a bunch of stuff going into it. I'm excited to go see the place. I've always seen it on TV watching the noon games on CBS growing up - with the history and the Hudson River behind us, it'll be a really great experience for us. But if we lack focus and motivation, we have some really big problems right now."
Whitter making most of his chance
Senior linebacker Shane Whitter has come a long way from Burlington, North Carolina, to American Defensive Player of the Week honors this week.
After making five starts in 12 games last season for the Mean Green, Whitter has finally found his role as a defensive centerpiece for a unit that is off to a scorching start this season, having allowed the fewest points through the first three games since the 1984 season.
Prior to his time at UNT, Whitter was primarily a special teams player at Oklahoma but wanted his shot to be an every down player. Now, he has it. And he's clearly making the most of it.
"He transferred in here and to watch him continue to grow and get better, this is his last year and to watch how he prepared his body and trained and now he's reaping the reward for it? That's what you want to see," Morris said. "This is his fifth or sixth year playing ball and he's finally to the point where he's playing at such a high level. PFF team of the week and conference player of the week, it's a really fun thing, as a coach, to see."
Players Mentioned
Eric Morris Weekly Press Conference vs. Army | Mean Green FB
Tuesday, September 16
Glory To The Green: Recap vs Washington St | Mean Green FB
Monday, September 15
Broadcast Highlights vs Washington State | Mean Green Football
Sunday, September 14
Postgame Press Conference | UNT vs. Washington State
Sunday, September 14