Saturday, September 13
Denton, TX
2:30 PM CT
University of North Texas
vs
Washington State
Mean Green Return Home to Host Washington State
9/9/2025 1:54:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team returns home to host Washington State Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT, aiming to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2018. The game can be seen on ESPNU, 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, UNT's goal to sellout DATCU Stadium, his personal connection to Washington State, quarterback Drew Mestemaker overcoming adversity and how the Mean Green are handling success so far this season.
Rockin' at DATCU
The atmosphere inside and outside DATCU Stadium will be rocking when 2-0 UNT hosts a national brand in Washington State on Saturday. The Mean Green are looking to sellout DATCU Stadium for the first time against the Cougars with festivities for fans leading up to and during the game.
"Hopefully we can get over the mark and get this thing sold out for the first time ever.," Morris said. "From the ticket sales, it sounds like it's been going great. I think it will be a great atmosphere for our players and and it will make a huge difference in the game."
In July, UNT Athletics announced, "Rockin' at DATCU", which will showcase musical entertainment from the Denton community throughout the day, headlined by North Texas alumnus and music icon Tom "Bones" Malone's national anthem and halftime performance alongside the Green Brigade.
Saturday's contest will also serve as the centerpiece for Family Weekend at North Texas, where families return to campus to celebrate with their students.
"This is a huge game for us and one that I have had circled on my schedule," Mestemaker said. "I know us in the facility have been looking forward to this game, so to have the support of the community and the crowd there would be awesome."
Fans will be treated to a pair of undefeated teams meeting on the field early in the season. North Texas is coming off an overtime win at Western Michigan after shutting out Lamar, 51-0, in its season opener, while the Cougars have defeated Idaho and San Diego State in their first two games.
UNT safety Patrick Smith-Young hopes the crowd can help effect a Washington State offense that will be playing on the road for the first time in 2025.
"The fans are a part of the defense on third down when they get loud and excited," Smith-Young said. "Hopefully they can feed off what we do on the field and the energy that we have and see a team that's flying around with a lot of passion and effort. Having them is going to help us do that because getting loud on third down, everyone knows that's like a 12th man on the field."
Morris' Roots to Pullman Run Deep
While UNT and Washington State will share the field for the first time in program history on Saturday, the connections between the programs are abundant.
Eric Morris served two different stints on staff at Washington State, first coaching inside wide receivers under Mike Leach during the 2012 season and then in 2022 as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. UNT's nickels and outside linebackers coach, Jordan Malone, also has ties to the Cougars, having spent five seasons in Pullman from 2020 to 2024.
"They are coming to our house as a really good program," Morris said. "(Jimmy Rogers) has lost three games since he's been a head coach, which is incredible. I have a little bit more of a personal respect for that place being in Pullman two different times. I know what it's like to be a Coog bringing that blue collar attitude to work every day. I know they'll come out and be ready to play."
During Morris' second stop at Washington State, he engineered an offense that ranked first in the Pac 12 and 10th nationally in red zone efficiency. He guided quarterback Cameron Ward, who followed Morris from Incarnate Word, to a breakout season with 3,094 passing yards and 23 touchdowns.
Having been in Pullman just three seasons ago, Morris still has existing relationships with some of the players who will be on the visitor's sideline Saturday.
"I'm real familiar with a bunch of guys, especially on the offensive side of the ball that I recruited over there," Morris said. "I've coached them, seen them and know them, so anytime you get to build relationships with kids you want to see them be successful throughout their careers, just obviously not Saturday at 2:30 in DATCU."
Comes With the Territory
Drew Mestemaker had as good of a start to a career as one could expect of a quarterback who had not started a game since his freshman year of high school. Through his first two starts, he recorded 791 passing yards with five touchdowns, while adding two scores on the ground.
The UNT offense seemed to click on all cylinders with him behind center, averaging 39.5 points per game in his two starts entering Saturday's game at Western Michigan. However, a scoreless first quarter in Kalamazoo that yielded just 14 yards on two drives was the first sign of struggle for Mestemaker to overcome in a live game.
"I think that was the first time he got in the game and was seeing something completely different when they pressured different than we thought they would," Morris said. "Those things will happen, but I thought after the first two drives he got settled in after a couple throws and did some nice things. It comes with territory at that position and you learn from playing these games. I was happy with way he progressed through the game and his positivity on the sideline."
Mestemaker finished with 224 yards and two touchdowns in the win, which included some clutch throws late in the game.
"I don't think I played my best, but we still came out with a win," Mestemaker said. "It's about overcoming those battles and overcoming them as a team as well to come out with a win even though we went through that adversity."
Handling Success by Going 1-0
North Texas enters a familiar scenario from a season ago when it started 2-0 before traveling to Lubbock and suffering the first loss of the season. The Mean Green will look to take the lessons learned from last season to ensure a different outcome when they step on the field Saturday.
"I think it's just stacking days and weeks back-to-back," Mestemaker said. "Every week is a new opponent and you have to go 1-0 if you want to win in the long run. Continuing to take it week by week and trying to win every day is key."
The 1-0 mentality has been a phrase consistently used by players and coaches during the 2025 season. Being able to stay focused on the task at hand and taking care of business each week will remain a crucial mindset for the Mean Green as another 1-0 week will present UNT its first 3-0 start to a season since 2018.
"After the first game, we said the best part about being 1-0 is having the chance to go 2-0," Smith-Young said. Now being 2-0, the best thing to do is to go 3-0, so we're focusing on taking it each day and each game one step at a time."
Head coach Eric Morris and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, UNT's goal to sellout DATCU Stadium, his personal connection to Washington State, quarterback Drew Mestemaker overcoming adversity and how the Mean Green are handling success so far this season.
Rockin' at DATCU
The atmosphere inside and outside DATCU Stadium will be rocking when 2-0 UNT hosts a national brand in Washington State on Saturday. The Mean Green are looking to sellout DATCU Stadium for the first time against the Cougars with festivities for fans leading up to and during the game.
"Hopefully we can get over the mark and get this thing sold out for the first time ever.," Morris said. "From the ticket sales, it sounds like it's been going great. I think it will be a great atmosphere for our players and and it will make a huge difference in the game."
In July, UNT Athletics announced, "Rockin' at DATCU", which will showcase musical entertainment from the Denton community throughout the day, headlined by North Texas alumnus and music icon Tom "Bones" Malone's national anthem and halftime performance alongside the Green Brigade.
Saturday's contest will also serve as the centerpiece for Family Weekend at North Texas, where families return to campus to celebrate with their students.
"This is a huge game for us and one that I have had circled on my schedule," Mestemaker said. "I know us in the facility have been looking forward to this game, so to have the support of the community and the crowd there would be awesome."
Fans will be treated to a pair of undefeated teams meeting on the field early in the season. North Texas is coming off an overtime win at Western Michigan after shutting out Lamar, 51-0, in its season opener, while the Cougars have defeated Idaho and San Diego State in their first two games.
UNT safety Patrick Smith-Young hopes the crowd can help effect a Washington State offense that will be playing on the road for the first time in 2025.
"The fans are a part of the defense on third down when they get loud and excited," Smith-Young said. "Hopefully they can feed off what we do on the field and the energy that we have and see a team that's flying around with a lot of passion and effort. Having them is going to help us do that because getting loud on third down, everyone knows that's like a 12th man on the field."
Morris' Roots to Pullman Run Deep
While UNT and Washington State will share the field for the first time in program history on Saturday, the connections between the programs are abundant.
Eric Morris served two different stints on staff at Washington State, first coaching inside wide receivers under Mike Leach during the 2012 season and then in 2022 as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. UNT's nickels and outside linebackers coach, Jordan Malone, also has ties to the Cougars, having spent five seasons in Pullman from 2020 to 2024.
"They are coming to our house as a really good program," Morris said. "(Jimmy Rogers) has lost three games since he's been a head coach, which is incredible. I have a little bit more of a personal respect for that place being in Pullman two different times. I know what it's like to be a Coog bringing that blue collar attitude to work every day. I know they'll come out and be ready to play."
During Morris' second stop at Washington State, he engineered an offense that ranked first in the Pac 12 and 10th nationally in red zone efficiency. He guided quarterback Cameron Ward, who followed Morris from Incarnate Word, to a breakout season with 3,094 passing yards and 23 touchdowns.
Having been in Pullman just three seasons ago, Morris still has existing relationships with some of the players who will be on the visitor's sideline Saturday.
"I'm real familiar with a bunch of guys, especially on the offensive side of the ball that I recruited over there," Morris said. "I've coached them, seen them and know them, so anytime you get to build relationships with kids you want to see them be successful throughout their careers, just obviously not Saturday at 2:30 in DATCU."
Comes With the Territory
Drew Mestemaker had as good of a start to a career as one could expect of a quarterback who had not started a game since his freshman year of high school. Through his first two starts, he recorded 791 passing yards with five touchdowns, while adding two scores on the ground.
The UNT offense seemed to click on all cylinders with him behind center, averaging 39.5 points per game in his two starts entering Saturday's game at Western Michigan. However, a scoreless first quarter in Kalamazoo that yielded just 14 yards on two drives was the first sign of struggle for Mestemaker to overcome in a live game.
"I think that was the first time he got in the game and was seeing something completely different when they pressured different than we thought they would," Morris said. "Those things will happen, but I thought after the first two drives he got settled in after a couple throws and did some nice things. It comes with territory at that position and you learn from playing these games. I was happy with way he progressed through the game and his positivity on the sideline."
Mestemaker finished with 224 yards and two touchdowns in the win, which included some clutch throws late in the game.
"I don't think I played my best, but we still came out with a win," Mestemaker said. "It's about overcoming those battles and overcoming them as a team as well to come out with a win even though we went through that adversity."
Handling Success by Going 1-0
North Texas enters a familiar scenario from a season ago when it started 2-0 before traveling to Lubbock and suffering the first loss of the season. The Mean Green will look to take the lessons learned from last season to ensure a different outcome when they step on the field Saturday.
"I think it's just stacking days and weeks back-to-back," Mestemaker said. "Every week is a new opponent and you have to go 1-0 if you want to win in the long run. Continuing to take it week by week and trying to win every day is key."
The 1-0 mentality has been a phrase consistently used by players and coaches during the 2025 season. Being able to stay focused on the task at hand and taking care of business each week will remain a crucial mindset for the Mean Green as another 1-0 week will present UNT its first 3-0 start to a season since 2018.
"After the first game, we said the best part about being 1-0 is having the chance to go 2-0," Smith-Young said. Now being 2-0, the best thing to do is to go 3-0, so we're focusing on taking it each day and each game one step at a time."
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
S
/ FootballPostgame Press Conference | UNT vs. South Florida
Saturday, October 11
Eric Morris Weekly Press Conference vs. South Florida | Mean Green FB
Tuesday, October 07
Glory To The Green: Recap vs South Alabama | Mean Green FB
Monday, September 29
Broadcast Highlights vs South Alabama | Mean Green Football
Sunday, September 28