University of North Texas Athletics
Saturday, October 24
Annapolis, Md.
2:30 PM CT
University of North Texas
at
Navy
10/20/2026 2:18:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team returns to action on Saturday fresh off a bye week following a rout of Charlotte, as the Mean Green are set to take on Navy in Annapolis, Maryland, at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, with the radio broadcast set for 1190 AM/The Varsity Network.
Head coach Neal Brown and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, a productive bye week, Navy being a desperate, dangerous team, the challenge of preparing for the Midshipmen's offensive attack and a unique path to UNT for Nolan Clark.
Off week served purpose, but still work to be done
The Mean Green went into last week's bye with plenty of positive momentum after a 50-10 win over Charlotte back on October 10.
Head coach Neal Brown said he was able to get a lot out of the bye week, including a few days back in his native Kentucky, but like anything else, it could have always been better.
"To be determined on the off week," Brown said. "You don't really know how the off week goes until you play a game. We were playing pretty solid going into the bye week in all three phases. But it gave us an opportunity to get rested and we got a lot of work for our young guys. I thought we just practiced OK, though, and we have to work through some of those things and get out of the bye week. We have to understand the urgency we have to prepare with."
Junior wide receiver Kyle Koch said the week off gave the team a much-needed breather from the grind of the season.
"Just having the time off gives you a break away from all of this," he said. "It's nice to get away for a couple of days. We kind of got an extra week to prepare for Navy, which was good. It was a crazy week all around in college football and a lot of good teams lost. It just shows that anything can happen on any given week."
Navy back against the wall, tough challenge, defense
Brown knows what awaits his team in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday, as Navy (2-4, 1-3) celebrates its Homecoming on a field that has seen the Midshipmen win their last eight games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
"It's a huge challenge," Brown said. "Navy was the preseason favorite in The American. Don't be deceived by their record. They've lost four games by eight points or less. They've won eight in a row at home and they play their best football there. I have a ton of respect for their staff. Coach [Brian] Newberry as their defensive playcaller and Coach [Drew] Cronic as an offensive playcaller are innovative. They're different to prepare for. We just have a ton of respect for the entire institution.
"We're going across the country and we're playing a team that is extremely hungry and they've lost some close games on the road. We've gotten some pats on the back and I'm not sure we've accomplished anything yet. We're 4-2 and lost a game we should've won. This is a huge challenge in all three phases."
Navy offense presents varying looks
It's always an adventure trying to prepare for an option-based rushing attack like those traditionally run by the service academies.
The nature of the attack makes eye discipline and assignment football of the utmost importance.
That's what awaits UNT this week, as Navy has its own brand of a run-heavy attack that stresses deception and misdirection.
"It's definitely different than what we normally see," said defensive lineman Nolan Clark. "We've been preparing for it over the summer and through camp. It's definitely a different look. You just really have to be locked in on the details and know exactly what you're doing. You have to execute at a high level against a team like that because one slip up and they're off to the races."
Brown had a lot of praise for Cronic and his system and mentioned being familiar with his dad, when he was a high school coach and Brown was a young coach at Troy.
"A lot of their principles are Wing-T principles," Brown said. "But he's mixed it with that triple option stuff that Navy had been doing or a long time. Then he has some twists that are some spread principles. But it's just all the people you've been around and you take ideas and have some original ideas of your own and you package them together. When you watch their tape it looks like they do a ton of things, but I bet if you're in that offensive meeting room it's very simple for the O-line and quarterback. That's high-level coaching when you present a bunch of challenges for the other team but it's simple for your own players. That's what it looks like to me."
Defensive tackle has taken unique path
When Nolan Clark arrived in Denton after spring ball had already been wrapped up, UNT's coaches figured he'd be a solid player who could contribute on the defensive line.
The fifth-year defensive tackle loved the game, didn't want to stop playing, and had seen his time at Brown University run its course when he graduated with an Ivy League degree.
That's when UNT came calling.
"I love football," Clark said. "I wanted to try to play as long as I could. I didn't want to stop."
He's been a key figure in stopping the run for the Mean Green using his strength and leverage.
"He's got leverage and I mean this in a positive manner, he's not overly tall but he's really strong," Brown said. "He does a really good job of getting his hands on the offensive lineman. We talk about first significant contact. He does a good job of striking and shedding. He's played double teams very well. He's better laterally than we maybe expected. He's played college football for multiple years now and he knows what it looks like. He's never a guy I'm worried about from a preparation standpoint."
Head coach Neal Brown and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, a productive bye week, Navy being a desperate, dangerous team, the challenge of preparing for the Midshipmen's offensive attack and a unique path to UNT for Nolan Clark.
Off week served purpose, but still work to be done
The Mean Green went into last week's bye with plenty of positive momentum after a 50-10 win over Charlotte back on October 10.
Head coach Neal Brown said he was able to get a lot out of the bye week, including a few days back in his native Kentucky, but like anything else, it could have always been better.
"To be determined on the off week," Brown said. "You don't really know how the off week goes until you play a game. We were playing pretty solid going into the bye week in all three phases. But it gave us an opportunity to get rested and we got a lot of work for our young guys. I thought we just practiced OK, though, and we have to work through some of those things and get out of the bye week. We have to understand the urgency we have to prepare with."
Junior wide receiver Kyle Koch said the week off gave the team a much-needed breather from the grind of the season.
"Just having the time off gives you a break away from all of this," he said. "It's nice to get away for a couple of days. We kind of got an extra week to prepare for Navy, which was good. It was a crazy week all around in college football and a lot of good teams lost. It just shows that anything can happen on any given week."
Navy back against the wall, tough challenge, defense
Brown knows what awaits his team in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday, as Navy (2-4, 1-3) celebrates its Homecoming on a field that has seen the Midshipmen win their last eight games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
"It's a huge challenge," Brown said. "Navy was the preseason favorite in The American. Don't be deceived by their record. They've lost four games by eight points or less. They've won eight in a row at home and they play their best football there. I have a ton of respect for their staff. Coach [Brian] Newberry as their defensive playcaller and Coach [Drew] Cronic as an offensive playcaller are innovative. They're different to prepare for. We just have a ton of respect for the entire institution.
"We're going across the country and we're playing a team that is extremely hungry and they've lost some close games on the road. We've gotten some pats on the back and I'm not sure we've accomplished anything yet. We're 4-2 and lost a game we should've won. This is a huge challenge in all three phases."
Navy offense presents varying looks
It's always an adventure trying to prepare for an option-based rushing attack like those traditionally run by the service academies.
The nature of the attack makes eye discipline and assignment football of the utmost importance.
That's what awaits UNT this week, as Navy has its own brand of a run-heavy attack that stresses deception and misdirection.
"It's definitely different than what we normally see," said defensive lineman Nolan Clark. "We've been preparing for it over the summer and through camp. It's definitely a different look. You just really have to be locked in on the details and know exactly what you're doing. You have to execute at a high level against a team like that because one slip up and they're off to the races."
Brown had a lot of praise for Cronic and his system and mentioned being familiar with his dad, when he was a high school coach and Brown was a young coach at Troy.
"A lot of their principles are Wing-T principles," Brown said. "But he's mixed it with that triple option stuff that Navy had been doing or a long time. Then he has some twists that are some spread principles. But it's just all the people you've been around and you take ideas and have some original ideas of your own and you package them together. When you watch their tape it looks like they do a ton of things, but I bet if you're in that offensive meeting room it's very simple for the O-line and quarterback. That's high-level coaching when you present a bunch of challenges for the other team but it's simple for your own players. That's what it looks like to me."
Defensive tackle has taken unique path
When Nolan Clark arrived in Denton after spring ball had already been wrapped up, UNT's coaches figured he'd be a solid player who could contribute on the defensive line.
The fifth-year defensive tackle loved the game, didn't want to stop playing, and had seen his time at Brown University run its course when he graduated with an Ivy League degree.
That's when UNT came calling.
"I love football," Clark said. "I wanted to try to play as long as I could. I didn't want to stop."
He's been a key figure in stopping the run for the Mean Green using his strength and leverage.
"He's got leverage and I mean this in a positive manner, he's not overly tall but he's really strong," Brown said. "He does a really good job of getting his hands on the offensive lineman. We talk about first significant contact. He does a good job of striking and shedding. He's played double teams very well. He's better laterally than we maybe expected. He's played college football for multiple years now and he knows what it looks like. He's never a guy I'm worried about from a preparation standpoint."
Players Mentioned
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