Quick Reaction: North Texas 52 South Alabama 38

There was good football tonight

North Texas wins. That is the most important statistic of any game. Let us not forget. We focused on the specifics of the defense and offense in the preseason in order to highlight the path to winning. We believed in the offense, and hoped we would see improved defense.

We can stand encouraged. The offense was better than most anything we saw last year. The defense got the stops we asked for, in the timely moments we wanted them to do so. NT won 52-38 on the road and put up 550 yards of offense. You can look at South’s 582 and tisk tisk all you want but you have to acknowledge that a good chunk of that yardage came when the game was well and done and completely done. Oh. Do not forget that NT was without Spruiells, Allen Jr, and Brice — three big secondary contributors according to the depth chart.

Box score

Before we continue, some thoughts from former NT great Mason Y’Barbo:

Overall happy with the win. Offense looked really good for first game. Tempo and execution was nice and not many penalties. Even with guys out they executed. Morris is the man idc if it’s week one. Defense looked like the same sorry shit early on but settled in kind of. They were improved from last year but far too many missed tackles still and zero pressure. Morris won’t survive keeping the same DC/scheme.

1. Chandler Morris Is Legit

His stat line: 32-41 415 yards 3 TDs through the air. 5 for 17 and 2 scores on the ground. He was ridiculously accurate with 78% pass completion percentage. Add in Wyatt Young’s 31 yard toss and NT passed for 446 yards on the night. No interceptions. We liked what Chandler Rogers brought last year but thought there was room for improvement in certain areas. Morris has highlighted just that. He operated the Run/Pass/Option game with remarkable efficiency, looking cool and collected throughout. Nothing fazed him. Nothing hurried him. He was running a pass-game option and picked the right choice every time.

2. Damon Ward Jr. Had A Career Night

The Warden caught 12 passes for 230 yards and 2 scores. That is a night. He was targeted 13 times — that’s only one pass that went toward him that went awry. He has always showed some potential as a possession receiver in the various offenses in his career, but broke out tonight with a ridiculously productive game.

Also of note: DT Sheffield with 7 for 74, Jeremiah Aaron with 2 for 55, and Ragsdale, Price combining for four for 22. I love passing to the backs.

3. Defense Was Solid

There were many moments in this game where people — including myself — were skeptical of the progress pro-ported to have been made. I mean, we can’t ignore that South put up 582 and Jamaal Pritchett had 10 for 197 and a score. Gio Lopez threw for 432. I think the crucial number that separates this from last year is that South only had 150 yards rushing. The last time NT allowed 150 or less was November of 2022 vs FIU in that 52-14 win. It is very notable. Gio Lopez threw for a bunch of yards but NT only allowed 38.

We predicted they would score because they can, and have talent. They did. They put up 38 when we predicted 38. We did forget that there would be suspensions due to the offseason legal issues and the squad still held it down and got crucial stops.

4. Special Teams Were Special

Forget the terrible first missed field goal. Remember that but for a holding call that Juwaun Price was awesome returning the ball. He scored but they called it back. It still gave NT a great starting position so it didn’t matter too much.

Of course the highlight of the day was the blocked punt/TD score for the return unit. That kind of stuff is free scoring and makes all the difference. Instead of putting everything on the offensive group, that allowed NT some cushion and allowed the defense to play with some freedom that changed the dynamics of the game.

Coaching

Eric Morris won a road game against a bowl champion — nothing to sniff at. We said all week that South Bama would be a good test of the run defense, and that they shouldn’t be taken lightly. We saw their dangerous play — 400+ from the QB and 150 total rush yards. NT met the challenge, was aggressive even after taking a half-time deficit and missing out on their 4th down chance. Those are coaching things that put a level of confidence in the squad that should not be dismissed. We are bullish on this squad because of that aggression. They play on the front-foot and it shows.,

Ultimately what matters is Touchdown NT and even more so: NT wins. NT is 1-0 and comes home to Denton to what should be a nice home crowd. Pack DATCU, buy the gift shop stuff. Go Mean Green.