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North Texas is coming off a disappointing showing against DFW Rival SMU and is traveling up north to Iowa City, IA to face Hawkeyes for just the second time in program history. Currently, Iowa leads the brief series 1-0 and won 62-16 on Sept. 25, 2015. Currently, North Texas is 1-2 against the Big 10 Conference with the sole win coming against Indiana in 2011. North Texas is still in search of the program’s 500th win although that will be a tall order against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
North Texas faces a tough battle in Iowa as the Hawkeyes are ranked in the top 50 in all but the Special Teams category (Rank 52). Special teams is the weakest unit for North Texas and the Offense is prone to stalling against higher ranked defenses as was the case against SMU. Still, the North Texas offense is 17th in the nation and first in CUSA in the passing attack. As far as running the ball goes, North Texas is 20th in the nation and second best in CUSA at 252.2 yards per game. Will the offensive unit be able to post similar numbers against perhaps the best defense it will face all season is perhaps the biggest question of this matchup.
North Texas
| EFFICIENCIES | |||
| OFFENSE (RK) | DEFENSE (RK) | SPECIAL TEAMS (RK) | OVERALL (RK) |
| 63.34 (42) | 34.94 (100) | 26.26 (108) | 44.19 (82) |
Iowa
| EFFICIENCIES | |||
| OFFENSE (RK) | DEFENSE (RK) | SPECIAL TEAMS (RK) | OVERALL (RK) |
| 62.18 (46) | 67.86 (44) | 59.29 (52) | 70.00 (37) |
University of North Texas Vitals (1-1 0-0)
| First season | 1913 |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Seth Littrell 2nd season, 6–9 (.400) |
| Location | Denton, Texas |
| Conference | Conference USA |
| Division | West |
| All-time record | 499–498–33 (.501) |
| Bowl record | 3–6 (.333) |
| Conference titles | 24 |
University of Iowa (2-0 0-0)
| First season | 1889 |
|---|---|
| Athletic director | Gary Barta |
| Head coach | Kirk Ferentz 19th season, 137–92 (.598) |
| Stadium | Kinnick Stadium (Capacity: 70,585) |
| Field surface | Field Turf |
| Location | Iowa City, Iowa |
| NCAA division | Division I FBS |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Division | West |
| Past conferences | WIUFA (1892–1897) Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1907–1910) |
| All-time record | 636–549–39 (.536) |
| Bowl record | 14–15–1 (.483) |
| Claimed nat’l titles | 1 (1958) |
| Unclaimed nat’l titles | 4 (1921, 1922, 1956, 1960) |
| Conference titles | 13 (11 Big Ten, 1 MVIAA, 1 WIUFA) |
| Division titles | 1 (2015) |
Offense
Advantage: Iowa. Despite improvements in the offense over last season, North Texas will be facing off against a defense make a course correction after allowing 467 total yards against Iowa State and five total touchdowns. The Mean Green offense has been doing a good job of racking up yards but fell short putting the ball in the endzone against the Ponies of SMU., even with 45.5 points per game in two games, good enough for a tie for 15th ranking in the nation.
When it comes to Iowa, they bring forth one of the nation best offensive lines consisting of three senior and two juniors, and a sophomore with at least one start returning from the Joe Moore Award winning team of 2016. Look for Iowa to pound the ball with Senior RB Akrum Wadley, a 1,000 yard rusher in 2016. Look for Wadley to also make catches out of the backfield.
Defense
Advantage: Iowa. I’d look for the Iowa defense to control the Mean Green ground attack. I won’t be surprised if Iowa looks to test out its pass defense against the Mean Green’s air attack. North Texas has faced some weak secondaries which have lead to some pretty high offensive numbers but Iowa is the best defense the Mean Green has faced all season.
The Mean Green defense should be looking to keep Wadley to under 200 yards. The Hawkeyes also have a good air attack, which the Mean Green secondary has shown some weakness on. If North Texas can keep the total offense to under 500 yards, they will be afforded a chance at winning the game so long as the offense does its job of putting points up on the board.
Special Teams
Advantage: Iowa. The North Texas Special Teams unit continues to be more of a weakness than an asset at the moment. With back-to-back games with at least one muffed punt, the return game is perhaps the unit’s biggest problem it must deal with. To keep the game in check, the unit must commit no mistakes/turnovers.
Media
TV: 
Radio: KNTU 88.1, KHYI 95.3 FM, KGAF 1580 AM, and TuneIn Radio
Stats: Mean Green Sports