University of North Texas Athletics
Saturday, September 19
San Marcos, TX
11:00 AM CT
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Texas State
Mean Green Set For In-State Clash in San Marcos
9/15/2026 3:56:00 PM | Football
DENTON - The UNT football team hits the road again this weekend to play an in-state game at Texas State on Saturday, with kickoff set for 11 a.m. The game will be nationally televised game on USA Network. The radio broadcast is set for 1190 AM/The Varsity Network.
First-year head coach Neal Brown and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, the rivalry aspect of playing an in-state school, playing against a desperate team looking to avoid an 0-3 start, a look back at the dominant win over UNLV, another star running back in Denton and Brown's lengthy track of record of working with some of the game's biggest names.
Texas State rivalry being renewed
In-state games always mean a little more in college football. Aside from bragging rights, recruiting battles are also won on the playing field across the country when teams inside the same state borders square off.
Aside from games against SMU, the Mean Green have played Texas State more than any other team in their history and the rivalry is being renewed on Saturday after 28 years without a regular-season meeting. The teams did play in the 2025 First Responder Bowl to conclude the 2024 season.
"For us it's about having a really good week and going down there and matching their intensity," Brown said. "We're treating this as a rivalry game. It's our second most played game besides SMU. It's been fun to educate the players about this rivalry and we're looking forward to renewing it this week."
Brown said aside from just state bragging rights, the game obviously means a lot on the recruiting front, especially with Texas State's move to the new Pac-12 and the increased visibility the program will get across the country.
"It's a rivalry game," Brown said. "Any time you play those games - and we'll play UTSA and Rice too this year - any time you line up in a game with a team that shares a state, there's something extra you're playing for. Recruiting matters. They have several commits we recruited and we have several commits they recruited. It definitely has recruiting implications."
Fifth-year defensive lineman David Onuoha is a New Jersey native who's new to Texas, but it hasn't taken him long to realize what a big deal the in-state rivalry games in the state are.
"It's all about just trying to own Texas," he said. "You want to win matchups in this state. I'm new to Texas so being in such a big state with so many football teams, everyone is trying to be the top dog in Texas. Any time you get a program in the state the main objective is to beat them."
UNT preparing for dangerous, desperate team
The Mean Green will be entering a potentially scary situation on Saturday when they travel to UFCU Stadium in San Marcos.
Sure, the Mean Green (1-1) are coming off a dominant win over UNLV on Saturday that has earned them praise across the college football landscape. And sure, the Bobcats enter the game with an 0-2 mark after losses at now-No. 1 Texas and against archrival UTSA this past week. But that could potentially make them more dangerous.
"Yeah, they're desperate, but we better be desperate too," Brown said. "We haven't done anything. They'll be hungry. They have everything in front of them. They still have their whole conference schedule in front of them. But we haven't done anything, so it's a huge game for us. We're on a national TV and we can go prove what kind of program we are."
Onuoha, who transferred to UNT from UMass, sounded Tuesday like his coach's message has rubbed off on him. And he has a bit of a personal anecdote to illustrate just how hungry he is still.
"They're hungry but we're even hungrier," he said. "We just won one game. I was at UMass last year, and I just won my first game since 2024, and I'm very hungry. I know y'all are laughing, but I'm serious. I'm still hungry. They're going to be hungry and we're going to be hungry too. The main goal is just to keep it rolling."
Brown saw a lot to like and areas to improve upon on UNLV film
The Mean Green's 44-6 win over UNLV on Saturday in what was being billed as a premier G6 showdown drew the attention of the entire college football world.
Brown said he saw a lot to praise his team about, but there was plenty he wants to see improved upon as well.
The main thing that stood out to Brown was the performance of Matt Powledge's defensive unit, which dominated the Rebels. In fact, UNT was the first team to hold UNLV to less than 20 points since Iowa State held them to three points on Sept. 18, 2021. The game Saturday snapped a 36-game streak of UNLV scoring at least 20 points, which was the longest streak in FBS.
"Defensively, I thought we swarmed to the ball," Brown said. "I thought our defensive staff had a nice plan. Our blitz and line movement were tight up front. We didn't give [UNLV quarterback] Jackson [Arnold] a lot of room to escape and our coverage was a lot better.
"Offensively, it was just ok. We scored 44 but I wasn't overly thrilled when I watched the tape. I thought we played slow. We didn't get great movement. [Running back] Jahiem [White] was special and we made some plays on some deep balls but we didn't play consistently enough."
With that said, Brown said UNT fans should have plenty to be excited about heading into the game Saturday and looking at what could lie ahead for the Mean Green this season.
"I think people are excited," he said. "It was going to be a statement type game. UNLV got a lot of exposure early on and they won 10+ games last year and were in some preseason top 25s. My message to our team was that we don't want people to forget about North Texas. The staff and a lot of players went to Oklahoma State, but we're here to stay. But that was one week. This is a more talented team we're facing this week."
White proving to be the next in a line of UNT RB greats
It hasn't taken long for Jahiem White to acclimate himself to Denton.
The senior transfer from West Virginia had some big shoes to fill at the running back position coming to a program that has historically produced some great college running backs.
So far, so good.
White rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries and caught another two balls for 34 yards and a highlight-reel, tackle-breaking touchdown. He also had a 43-yard run that could've been mistaken for the famous Marshawn Lynch "Beastquake" run had he found the end zone like Lynch did.
"He's a difference maker," Brown said. "I thought he would be. I felt good from the time he got here. Mid-winter is when he started doing some activity (after knee surgery). High-end athletes just heal faster and heal better. Our medical team did a great job. What I've been super impressed with is that there's no mental hurdle. A lot of times great players have an injury and it takes a while for them to overcome it, and there's bene none of that. That speaks to his mental makeup and his courage. I'm fired up for him."
First-year head coach Neal Brown and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, the rivalry aspect of playing an in-state school, playing against a desperate team looking to avoid an 0-3 start, a look back at the dominant win over UNLV, another star running back in Denton and Brown's lengthy track of record of working with some of the game's biggest names.
Texas State rivalry being renewed
In-state games always mean a little more in college football. Aside from bragging rights, recruiting battles are also won on the playing field across the country when teams inside the same state borders square off.
Aside from games against SMU, the Mean Green have played Texas State more than any other team in their history and the rivalry is being renewed on Saturday after 28 years without a regular-season meeting. The teams did play in the 2025 First Responder Bowl to conclude the 2024 season.
"For us it's about having a really good week and going down there and matching their intensity," Brown said. "We're treating this as a rivalry game. It's our second most played game besides SMU. It's been fun to educate the players about this rivalry and we're looking forward to renewing it this week."
Brown said aside from just state bragging rights, the game obviously means a lot on the recruiting front, especially with Texas State's move to the new Pac-12 and the increased visibility the program will get across the country.
"It's a rivalry game," Brown said. "Any time you play those games - and we'll play UTSA and Rice too this year - any time you line up in a game with a team that shares a state, there's something extra you're playing for. Recruiting matters. They have several commits we recruited and we have several commits they recruited. It definitely has recruiting implications."
Fifth-year defensive lineman David Onuoha is a New Jersey native who's new to Texas, but it hasn't taken him long to realize what a big deal the in-state rivalry games in the state are.
"It's all about just trying to own Texas," he said. "You want to win matchups in this state. I'm new to Texas so being in such a big state with so many football teams, everyone is trying to be the top dog in Texas. Any time you get a program in the state the main objective is to beat them."
UNT preparing for dangerous, desperate team
The Mean Green will be entering a potentially scary situation on Saturday when they travel to UFCU Stadium in San Marcos.
Sure, the Mean Green (1-1) are coming off a dominant win over UNLV on Saturday that has earned them praise across the college football landscape. And sure, the Bobcats enter the game with an 0-2 mark after losses at now-No. 1 Texas and against archrival UTSA this past week. But that could potentially make them more dangerous.
"Yeah, they're desperate, but we better be desperate too," Brown said. "We haven't done anything. They'll be hungry. They have everything in front of them. They still have their whole conference schedule in front of them. But we haven't done anything, so it's a huge game for us. We're on a national TV and we can go prove what kind of program we are."
Onuoha, who transferred to UNT from UMass, sounded Tuesday like his coach's message has rubbed off on him. And he has a bit of a personal anecdote to illustrate just how hungry he is still.
"They're hungry but we're even hungrier," he said. "We just won one game. I was at UMass last year, and I just won my first game since 2024, and I'm very hungry. I know y'all are laughing, but I'm serious. I'm still hungry. They're going to be hungry and we're going to be hungry too. The main goal is just to keep it rolling."
Brown saw a lot to like and areas to improve upon on UNLV film
The Mean Green's 44-6 win over UNLV on Saturday in what was being billed as a premier G6 showdown drew the attention of the entire college football world.
Brown said he saw a lot to praise his team about, but there was plenty he wants to see improved upon as well.
The main thing that stood out to Brown was the performance of Matt Powledge's defensive unit, which dominated the Rebels. In fact, UNT was the first team to hold UNLV to less than 20 points since Iowa State held them to three points on Sept. 18, 2021. The game Saturday snapped a 36-game streak of UNLV scoring at least 20 points, which was the longest streak in FBS.
"Defensively, I thought we swarmed to the ball," Brown said. "I thought our defensive staff had a nice plan. Our blitz and line movement were tight up front. We didn't give [UNLV quarterback] Jackson [Arnold] a lot of room to escape and our coverage was a lot better.
"Offensively, it was just ok. We scored 44 but I wasn't overly thrilled when I watched the tape. I thought we played slow. We didn't get great movement. [Running back] Jahiem [White] was special and we made some plays on some deep balls but we didn't play consistently enough."
With that said, Brown said UNT fans should have plenty to be excited about heading into the game Saturday and looking at what could lie ahead for the Mean Green this season.
"I think people are excited," he said. "It was going to be a statement type game. UNLV got a lot of exposure early on and they won 10+ games last year and were in some preseason top 25s. My message to our team was that we don't want people to forget about North Texas. The staff and a lot of players went to Oklahoma State, but we're here to stay. But that was one week. This is a more talented team we're facing this week."
White proving to be the next in a line of UNT RB greats
It hasn't taken long for Jahiem White to acclimate himself to Denton.
The senior transfer from West Virginia had some big shoes to fill at the running back position coming to a program that has historically produced some great college running backs.
So far, so good.
White rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries and caught another two balls for 34 yards and a highlight-reel, tackle-breaking touchdown. He also had a 43-yard run that could've been mistaken for the famous Marshawn Lynch "Beastquake" run had he found the end zone like Lynch did.
"He's a difference maker," Brown said. "I thought he would be. I felt good from the time he got here. Mid-winter is when he started doing some activity (after knee surgery). High-end athletes just heal faster and heal better. Our medical team did a great job. What I've been super impressed with is that there's no mental hurdle. A lot of times great players have an injury and it takes a while for them to overcome it, and there's bene none of that. That speaks to his mental makeup and his courage. I'm fired up for him."
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