The North Texas Mean Green and the SMU Mustangs meet in week 11 college football action from Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Friday night.

North Texas Drops 3rd Straight

The North Texas Mean Green come into this one looking to snap a three-game skid after a 37-29 loss to UTSA last time out. Chandler Rogers has thrown for 2,445 yards, 21 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on 63.5% passing while Ayo Adeyi has a team-high 716 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. Oscar Adaway III has 409 rushing yards with 4 TDs and Isaiah Johnson has 229 rushing yards with 3 TDs. Ja’Mori Maclin has a team-high 44 grabs for 766 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns while Roderic Burns has 36 receptions for 431 yards and 4 scores. Damon Ward has 385 receiving yards while another pair of UNT receivers have 200+ receiving yards and two more receivers with 150+ receiving yards. On defense, Jordan Brown has a team-high 69 total tackles while North Texas’ defense as a whole has combined for 12 sacks and 8 interceptions.

North Texas Mean Green Team Facts

• North Texas has lost each of its last four road games against conference opponents.
• The underdog has covered the spread in seven of North Texas’ last eight games.
• North Texas has lost the first half in five of its last six games against conference opponents.
• Seven of North Texas’ last eight November games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams have gone UNDER the total points line.

SMU wins 5th straight

The SMU Mustangs come into this one looking to build on their 5th straight win to improve to 7-2 on the year and 5-0 in conference play after a 36-31 win over Rice last time out. Preston Stone has thrown for 2,355 yards, 21 touchdowns and 5 interceptions on 58.9% passing while Jaylan Knighton has a team-high 511 rushing yards and 4 TDs and LJ Johnson Jr. has 321 rushing yards as well on the year. Jake Bailey leads SMU with 31 grabs for 384 yards while Jordan Kerley, Jordan Hudson and RJ Maryland each have 300+ receiving yards. Three more Mustangs have 200+ receiving yards as well on the year. On defense, Kobe Wilson has a team-high 51 total tackles while Elijah Robert has a team-high 7.5 sacks and Elijah Chatman has 4.5 sacks.

SMU Mustangs Team Facts

• The favorite has won each of SMU’s last 10 games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
• SMU has covered the spread in seven of its last eight games against North Texas.
• SMU has won the first half in each of its last five games against conference opponents.
• SMU has won the first quarter in each of its last five games against conference opponents.
• Each of SMU’s last three games against non-AP-ranked teams have gone OVER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• SMU rank 7th among FBS teams for points per game this season (40.0).
• SMU rank T9th among FBS teams for points allowed per game this season (15.9).
• North Texas rank T22nd among FBS teams for points per game this season (34.8).
• North Texas has suffered the equal-most road losses by a margin of 10 points or less of any FBS team this season (3).

Chris’ Pick

I’m on the over here. SMU has been scoring points in bunches, and against a sieve of a porous North Texas defense, I don’t see there being many stops if any for the Mean Green in this game. North Texas can hold their own offensively, but I think this is going to be a track meet. I also lean towards SMU covering, but I think the over is the better play here.