Louisiana Tech 56, North Texas 13: What We Learned

The defense was missing-in-action again. After a hard-fought win over UTSA last week, North Texas was beat down by Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs racked up 573 yards and running back Kenneth Dixon made history with his 195 yard, six-touchdown performance. Late in the fourth the offense made the game respectable, and instead of using that momentum, the special teams gave up a big kickoff return and the defense allowed Louisiana Tech to tack on one last score. The defensive line had its moments, but the secondary looked slow against the Bulldogs' receiving corps, and North Texas missed too many tackles, making a good Bulldogs offense look great. North Texas’ offense is improving. The scoreboard doesn’t show it, and up until the fourth quarter it didn’t seem true, but the Mean Green offense wasn’t terrible on Saturday. Quarterback DaMarcus Smith turned in a respectable game, finishing 25-of-45 with 234 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Unfortunately, Smith’s best play came when the game was already lost. He had too many missed throws and needs to find a way to get this offense going as soon as the first whistle blows (not easy when you're just getting your first starts of the season, but it is what it is). A handful of North Texas players played well, but as a unit the offense couldn’t sustain drives and the run game was nonexistent, accounting for just 82 of North Texas’ 316 yards.  The Mean Green has to learn to take advantage of its opportunities. North Texas had a few chances, maybe not to win the game but at least to keep it close. Tre Johnson gave North Texas good field position on several offensive drives behind big kick and punt returns, but the Mean Green didn’t capitalize. Even when Bulldogs penalties gave it an upper hand, North Texas failed to use what was given. When your offense is inconsistent and your defense is shaky, you can’t afford to throw away opportunities.  Discipline is important. And I’m not just talking about penalties. North Texas’ time management was absolutely awful in this game. It used all three first half timeouts in the first quarter, and even burned its first before running the first offensive play of the game. North Texas didn’t commit many penalties, but the ones that did occur were silly and untimely. The team, from the coaches to the players, didn’t look like they were on the same page. Again, it's understandable considering how the season has gone and the coaching changes. Still, something needs to be done about that quickly if this season is going to end respectably.