University of North Texas Athletics
Saturday, September 26
Denton, TX
6:30 PM CT
University of North Texas
vs
Houston Christian
Mean Green Looking to Rebound on Senior Day
9/22/2026 4:12:00 PM | Football
DENTON - The UNT football team returns home this weekend to play Houston Christian on Saturday, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+, with the radio broadcast 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, a standout performance for Tayven Jackson, the underdog mentality UNT expects to see from Houston Christian, a career day for Justin Stevenson and a hope for a big crowd Saturday night.
QB1 showed a lot in loss
Obviously, Brown would've preferred a win last Saturday in San Marcos, but he said loss aside, the way his quarterback performed was very encouraging outside of one fumble.
Jackson worked his way into the record books when he completed 42 of his 56 pass attempts for 492 yards and three touchdowns. His 492 passing yards was the most by an FBS quarterback this season and he became the seventh FBS quarterback since 1995 to throw for at least 490 yards and complete at least 75% of his passes on at least 55 pass attempts in a game.
"We had some positive performances in a loss," Brown said. "Tayven was special. He had a great day. I thought he was special with 493 yards passing. Outside of [Mississippi quarterback] Trinidad Chambliss [against LSU], I'm not sure a quarterback in the country played as well as he did."
Through his first three games with the Mean Green, Jackson has 917 passing yards and five touchdowns and ranks seventh in FBS in passing yards per game, fifth in completions and 10th in total offense.
Brown, UNT know position big underdog is in
Brown has plenty of experience playing and coaching at the FCS level, and the first-year UNT coach knows exactly the attitude Houston Christian is coming into Denton with – a shock the world mentality.
Brown even brought up the Mean Green's season opener just a couple of weeks ago against defending national champion Indiana, when they were large underdogs before going toe-to-toe with the Hoosiers for three quarters.
"This game is about us," Brown said. "I have a healthy respect for them. I came up at that level. Three weeks ago, we were in that position and went toe-to-toe with Indiana for three quarters. They're the heavy underdog coming in, so we have a good understanding of how they're going to come in. I was at that level as a player and coach and we were in their same shoes a few weeks ago."
Senior defensive lineman Justin Benton echoed his coach's sentiment.
"Houston Christian has a really good RB and an older, experienced O-line," he said. "We have to respect any opponent and we prepare for them just like we do for any team."
Stevenson coming off big day
Senior wide receiver Justin Stevenson had a career day on Saturday in San Marcos, as the Utah transfer caught 10 balls for 122 yards.
But Stevenson's statistics from the game weren't necessarily what stood out for Brown.
A former wide receiver himself, Brown said he judges the play of his wideouts differently than the average football eye.
"Justin is really improving as a player," Brown said. "I judge wide receivers totally different than you all do. To me, they should run routes and catch balls. That's why they're here. What they do after they catch the ball and what they do when the ball doesn't come to them is what sets them apart. Running routes when you're not getting the ball, blocking for your teammates, that's what I see, and he's on his way.
"We're still pushing Justin to be better. He has a ton of talent. He's having success so he's starting to realize it, but we have to keep pushing him. We have multiple guys who can lead us week in and week out. That's a real positive for us."
Brown hopes for big crowd on Senior Day
In the past, UNT has typically celebrated Senior Day before the final home game of the season.
But this year, the Mean Green will celebrate seniors prior to Saturday night's game – just the second home game of the season, and Brown said it's by design.
"I thought it was fair for our players," he said. "Our last home game is Thanksgiving weekend when students aren't here. I started noticing this at high school level with teams doing Senior Day the first game of the season and that's the most healthy your team is. How many times have you seen Senior Day and there's guys who can't suit up. I talked to the administration about getting more guys healthy and when students are in town. We'll have a better crowd then than we probably would on Thanksgiving weekend."
With heat not being as much of a factor as it was in the home opener, and with the nighttime kickoff, Brown said he hopes to see a good crowd because he said the team has a lot to offer to fans.
"The results have been mixed but our team's competed, even on Saturday," Brown said. "The product wasn't exactly what we wanted it to be on Saturday but this team is worthy of getting behind. I know our fans will create a great atmosphere on Saturday night. We want to give people a reason to come watch us play. We have to continue to do a better job of getting students engaged and of getting on campus and getting the students to feel like part of their student experience is being in that stadium.
"The Maniacs did a great job last home game, and I hope all those people return and bring someone with them. If our students get bought into what we're doing that's going to create a great atmosphere."
First-year head coach Neal Brown and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, a standout performance for Tayven Jackson, the underdog mentality UNT expects to see from Houston Christian, a career day for Justin Stevenson and a hope for a big crowd Saturday night.
QB1 showed a lot in loss
Obviously, Brown would've preferred a win last Saturday in San Marcos, but he said loss aside, the way his quarterback performed was very encouraging outside of one fumble.
Jackson worked his way into the record books when he completed 42 of his 56 pass attempts for 492 yards and three touchdowns. His 492 passing yards was the most by an FBS quarterback this season and he became the seventh FBS quarterback since 1995 to throw for at least 490 yards and complete at least 75% of his passes on at least 55 pass attempts in a game.
"We had some positive performances in a loss," Brown said. "Tayven was special. He had a great day. I thought he was special with 493 yards passing. Outside of [Mississippi quarterback] Trinidad Chambliss [against LSU], I'm not sure a quarterback in the country played as well as he did."
Through his first three games with the Mean Green, Jackson has 917 passing yards and five touchdowns and ranks seventh in FBS in passing yards per game, fifth in completions and 10th in total offense.
Brown, UNT know position big underdog is in
Brown has plenty of experience playing and coaching at the FCS level, and the first-year UNT coach knows exactly the attitude Houston Christian is coming into Denton with – a shock the world mentality.
Brown even brought up the Mean Green's season opener just a couple of weeks ago against defending national champion Indiana, when they were large underdogs before going toe-to-toe with the Hoosiers for three quarters.
"This game is about us," Brown said. "I have a healthy respect for them. I came up at that level. Three weeks ago, we were in that position and went toe-to-toe with Indiana for three quarters. They're the heavy underdog coming in, so we have a good understanding of how they're going to come in. I was at that level as a player and coach and we were in their same shoes a few weeks ago."
Senior defensive lineman Justin Benton echoed his coach's sentiment.
"Houston Christian has a really good RB and an older, experienced O-line," he said. "We have to respect any opponent and we prepare for them just like we do for any team."
Stevenson coming off big day
Senior wide receiver Justin Stevenson had a career day on Saturday in San Marcos, as the Utah transfer caught 10 balls for 122 yards.
But Stevenson's statistics from the game weren't necessarily what stood out for Brown.
A former wide receiver himself, Brown said he judges the play of his wideouts differently than the average football eye.
"Justin is really improving as a player," Brown said. "I judge wide receivers totally different than you all do. To me, they should run routes and catch balls. That's why they're here. What they do after they catch the ball and what they do when the ball doesn't come to them is what sets them apart. Running routes when you're not getting the ball, blocking for your teammates, that's what I see, and he's on his way.
"We're still pushing Justin to be better. He has a ton of talent. He's having success so he's starting to realize it, but we have to keep pushing him. We have multiple guys who can lead us week in and week out. That's a real positive for us."
Brown hopes for big crowd on Senior Day
In the past, UNT has typically celebrated Senior Day before the final home game of the season.
But this year, the Mean Green will celebrate seniors prior to Saturday night's game – just the second home game of the season, and Brown said it's by design.
"I thought it was fair for our players," he said. "Our last home game is Thanksgiving weekend when students aren't here. I started noticing this at high school level with teams doing Senior Day the first game of the season and that's the most healthy your team is. How many times have you seen Senior Day and there's guys who can't suit up. I talked to the administration about getting more guys healthy and when students are in town. We'll have a better crowd then than we probably would on Thanksgiving weekend."
With heat not being as much of a factor as it was in the home opener, and with the nighttime kickoff, Brown said he hopes to see a good crowd because he said the team has a lot to offer to fans.
"The results have been mixed but our team's competed, even on Saturday," Brown said. "The product wasn't exactly what we wanted it to be on Saturday but this team is worthy of getting behind. I know our fans will create a great atmosphere on Saturday night. We want to give people a reason to come watch us play. We have to continue to do a better job of getting students engaged and of getting on campus and getting the students to feel like part of their student experience is being in that stadium.
"The Maniacs did a great job last home game, and I hope all those people return and bring someone with them. If our students get bought into what we're doing that's going to create a great atmosphere."
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, September 22
Tuesday, September 15
Tuesday, September 15
Sunday, September 13