Hits: 78
North Texas (1-2 0-0) went to Iowa City to face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0 0-0) in search of their first win over a Power 5 conference school since facing off against the Texas Tech Raiders in 1999, defeating the Raiders 21-14 in Lubbock. Instead, the Mean Green fell to Iowa 31-14 with the Hawkeyes scoring 21 unanswered points and shutting out the Mean Green in the second half.
September 18th, 1999 against Texas Tech. 21-14 win in Lubbock.
— Zachary Babb (@ZacharyABabb) September 16, 2017
Going into the half, North Texas held a slim 14-10 lead over the Hawkeyes. The first half seemed especially sloppy as both teams were called for all sorts of penalties. Both teams were fairly equal on most stats. The second half was a different story for the Mean Green however.
Iowa was also its own worst enemy where they fumbled the football inside the NT 5 yard line into the end zone causing a touchback that later resulted in a Mean Green 41 yard rushing touchdown by Jeffery Wilson. Akrum Wadley also committed a Personal Foul – Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty several yards outside of the endzone taking a possible second touchdown off the board; Iowa had to settle for a 42 yard field goal by Miguel Recinos as the second quarter was starting to unwind.
Jeffery Wilson to the house. #GMG @MeanGreenFB pic.twitter.com/OU3cwVQWqX
— SWC Round-Up (@swcroundup) September 16, 2017
Third Down Not Friendly to the Mean Green
For the offense, North Texas did not convert a single third down to extend any drives. When it came to defense, the Hawkeyes were able to convert 11 of 18 (61%) on 3rd down and were four of five on 4th down.
Shanbour Gets His First Touchdown in a Mean Green Uniform
Quinn Shanbour completed a 13 yard pass to Jalen Guyton to put the Mean Green up 14-10 late in the second quarter.
Quinn Shanbour to Jalen Guyton, and UNT is up 14-10 on Iowa at the half! #Quinning #GoMeanGreen pic.twitter.com/vghKJZkP5B
— TexasFootball.com (@dctf) September 16, 2017
Iowa Did What Iowa Does Best – Run The Ball
The Hawkeye offensive line wore down the Mean Green Defense as the game progressed, only giving the offense four total attempts to put together any kind of offensive drives. It was especially evident in the 4th quarter where the Mean Green had the ball for a shocking 2:37 for two series — 5 plays totalling 10 yards and an interception. In total, the Hawkeyes held the ball for an eye popping 21:21 — 43 total plays totalling 228 yards and three touchdowns.
Penalties a Problem for All Three Phases
Offense, Defense, and Special Teams all committed penalties that hurt the team at various points in the game. Those errors killed Mean Green offensive drives, extended Hawkeye offensive drives, and just overall hurt the team on special teams (Kick Interference). As I tweeted during the game, prior to the Iowa game North Texas had only committed 12 penalties for 98 in two games; Saturday afternoon the Mean Green committed 13 penalties for 113 yards.
12 penalties for 109 yards have kept North Texas from being in a better position to win this game. Had 12 penalties for 98 yds 1st 2 games.
— NT Sports Stats (@NTSportsStats) September 16, 2017
Critical Errors Continue to Plague Special Team Unit
While there were no turnovers due to a muffed point, there was a blocked field goal attempt, a shanked punt, and several penalties committed by the Special Teams unit against Iowa. These errors must be fixed if North Texas is going to have any chance of competing against its conference opponents, with the first Conference USA opponent coming up next on Saturday, September 23rd in Denton, TX against the UAB Blazers.
A Tail of Two Halves
| Stats by Team/Half | North Texas 1H | Iowa 1H | North Texas 2H | Iowa 2H |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points Scored | 14 | 10 | 0 | 21 |
| Total Yds | 212 | 214 | 93 | 221 |
| Rush Att-Avg | 10 – 8.7 | 24 – 3 | 7 – 3.6 | 35 – 4.8 |
| Rush Yds | 87 | 71 | 25 | 167 |
| Pass (C-A-T-I) | 11-17-1-0 | 11-19-1-0 | 7-12-0-1 | 5-8-1-0 |
| Pass Yds | 125 | 143 | 68 | 54 |
| Penalties | 6-69 | 4-53 | 7-50 | 2-10 |
| 1sts (Rsh-Pss) | 11 (3-6) | 12 (4-6) | 6 (2-4) | 16 (11-4) |
| 3rd Downs | 0-3 (0%) | 4-9 (44%) | 0-3 (0%) | 7-9 (78%) |
| 4th Downs | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| Total Plays | 27 | 43 | 19 | 43 |
| Avg Yds/Play | 7.9 | 5 | 4.9 | 5.1 |
| Time of Poss | 10:36 | 19:24 | 8:38 | 21:21 |
| Field Goals | 0-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-2 | 4-4 | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-Avg | 2-25 | 1-47 | 3-72 | 0-0 |
| Sacks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Media Coverage
Denton Record Chronicle
North Texas Daily – Mistakes doom Mean Green in loss to Power Five foe Iowa
Post Game Press Conference
Highlight Reel
2017 C-USA Standings
| EAST | Conference | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Marshall | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Old Dominion | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Florida Intl | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Florida Atlantic | 0-0 | 1-2 |
| Middle Tennessee | 0-0 | 1-2 |
| Charlotte | 0-0 | 0-3 |
| Western Kentucky | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| WEST | Conference | Overall |
| Louisiana Tech | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| Rice | 1-0 | 1-2 |
| UT San Antonio | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| UAB | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Southern Mississippi | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| North Texas | 0-0 | 1-2 |
| UTEP | 0-1 | 0-3 |