Army takes on North Texas for the second time this season, this time in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
After setting its best record in six years and defeating Navy for the first time in fifteen seasons, Army now sets its sights on North Texas in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. This is a familiar foe for the Black Knights after the two schools played earlier in 2016.
Season so far
The Mean Green enter this game with Army with a 5-7 (3-5) record and qualified for this game due to their higher APR than other five-win schools.
The Mean Green started off the season by alternating wins and losses for the first six weeks. A loss to SMU on opening day was followed by a big win over FCS foe Bethune-Cookman. A heavy (32-0 defeat) on the road at Florida, a win in double overtime at Rice, a loss at bowl bound Middle Tennessee, and then a win at Marshall put the Mean Green at 3-3 after completing half of their schedule.
The next game was one Black Knights’ fans will remember with little fondness as Army hosted the Mean Green and went down 35-18 while committing seven turnovers. At 4-3 North Texas looked set for a big season, but they faded down the stretch losing their next three games and not being competitive in any of them.
Facing elimination from bowl contention the Mean Green faced Southern Miss at home in the penultimate game of the season sitting at 4-6 on the year. Seth Littrell coaxed the biggest performance of the year out of his team and UNT won the clash 29-23. The final contest of the season was a letdown, as the Mean Green were again uncompetitive in a 52-24 loss at UTEP.
Injuries and Suspensions
There are two massive injury issues for North Texas to deal with looking at the Army game. The first is a shoulder injury to starting quarterback Mason Fine. Fine passed for 118 yards and a score the last time the two teams played, but Army did a decent job stopping UNT through the air. At this point, Fine is expected to miss the game with this injury.
The second injury is potentially bigger news as UNT running back Jeffrey Wilson is also a doubt for the contest with a knee injury. Wilson had the best rushing day against Army of any player this season when he rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries against the Black Knights back in October. Wilson rushed for 855 yards and 13 scores on the season and, while he is more likely to play, he is unlikely to be fully healthy.
Challenges
A win against North Texas would give Amry an eight-win season for the first time in 20 years. The Black Knights have been confusing and confounding at points this season as the team has the ability to have won eight or nine games if they had played to their potential. The seven turnovers Army put up against UNT just cannot happen again. If Army doesn’t beat itself then there is no way they should lose this game.