North Texas Notes
STORY LINES
• UNT opens the 2022 season in El Paso against in-state rival UTEP in a Week Zero contest between Conference USA opponents. The game will be broadcast by Stadium. It is UNT’s first visit to El Paso since 2018.
• The August 27 game is the earliest in UNT history and the first in “Week Zero”. UNT has opened a season against UTEP 11 times (5-3-3 record), most recently in 1979. North Texas is 1-3-1 in openers in El Paso.
• The matchup at UTEP is the first season-opening league game for UNT since a 2005 win at Middle Tennessee in Sun Belt action, and its first time opening on the road since 2015.
• Seniors linebacker KD Davis and OL Manase Mose were named 2022 team captains by the coaching staff.
• North Texas leads the all-time series with UTEP 19-8-3, including six straight victories since 2017. The Mean Green have won five straight season openers with the last loss coming in 2016 (34-21 vs. SMU).
• UNT has five consecutive wins over conference opponents for the first time since 2013.
• Five of UNT’s six road games will be played in stadiums that will host bowl games this season with the lone exception being a Oct. 29 trip to WKU.
• UNT’s 2022 roster features 21 student-athletes that have already earned undergraduate degrees.
• The 2022-23 academic year is UNT’s final season of competition in Conference USA. The Mean Green will transition to The American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2023.
• The Mean Green return four starters on the offensive line that total 131 career games played a figure that ranks in the top 10 nationally. Leading the way is senior Manase Mose, who has started 48 career games.
• UNT’s five quarterbacks have made 34 collegiate starts led by 12 from Austin Aune. Other totals include Stone Earle (8), Grant Gunnell (7), Jace Ruder (5) and JD Head (2).
• UNT linebacker KD Davis is the first Mean Green defender to lead the team in tackles for three consecutive seasons since Zach Orr from 2011-13 and could be first to accomplish the feat in four straight years.
• UNT QB Austin Aune has excelled in two career games against UTEP passing for 542 yards on 31-of-62 (50 pct) with six touchdowns and no interceptions. He has also rushed for 45 yards and a score.
• Junior wide receiver Roderic Burns has recorded at least one reception in 16 straight games, tops on the team.
• The Mean Green have had eight different players return a punt for a touchdown since 2012, tied for the second-most nationally behind only Alabama (12).
• UNT’s running back group have seven career 100-yard games including three each by Oscar Adaway and Ikaika Ragsdale with Isaiah Johnson going over the century mark for the first time Southern Miss in 2021.
MORE QUICK HITTERS
• QB Austin Aune enters 2022 ranked ninth in program history with 3,777 passing yards. Next up is Jason Mills (1995-97) with 3.981.
• Aune is the fifth different QB to start an opener under Littrell in his seven seasons joining Alec Morris (2016), Mason Fine (2017-19), Jason Bean (2020) and Jace Ruder (2021).
• UNT is 4-5 in Conference USA opening games since joining the league in 2013, and 10-11 since 2001 in league openers overall.
• Seventh-year head coach Seth Littrell is 5-1 in his UNT career in season openers and 3-3 in conference opening games.
UTEP SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday’s game is the 31st all-time meeting between North Texas and UTEP. The series dates back to a 33-0 win for the Mean Green in 1951.
• UNT leads the all-time series 19-8-3, including a 7-6-1 mark in El Paso. North Texas has won four of its last six trips to the Sun Bowl.
• The Mean Green are making their first trip to El Paso since 2018 after the 2020 game was relocated to Denton due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Last year, Austin Aune completed a 58-yard pass to Detraveon Brown with 10 seconds remaining to setup a game-winning field goal from Ethan Mooney that secured a 20-17 homecoming victory.
UP NEXT
• UNT hosts SMU on Sept. 3 at Apogee Stadium in the home opener for the Mean Green and the season opener for the visitors.
• North Texas trails the all-time series 6-34-1 against the Mustangs, and has lost three straight. UNT’s last victory was a resounding 46-23 win at Apogee Stadium in 2018. The Mean Green are 4-2 against their DFW rivals in Denton and 2-2 at Apogee.
• Last season, The Mean Green defense forced five punts, had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in nine first-half possessions for SMU, but the tide turned in the second half as the defense allowed a few big plays and ultimately UNT came up short in a 35-12 loss at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park.
AUNE AGAINST THE MINERS
• Junior QB Austin Aune has excelled in two career starts against UTEP leading his Mean Green team to a pair of victories in 2020 and 2021.
• The Argyle native has thrown for 542 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 31-of62 passes. He has also rushed 10 times for 45 yards and one score.
• In 2020, Aune set a career high with five touchdown passes with 302 yards and 16-of-29 passes and added a rushing score as UNT held on for a 45-43 win.
• The junior completed 15-of-33 passes for 240 yards and a score in 2021 including a critical pass to Detraveon Brown in the fourth quarter to setup a game-winning field goal in a 20-17 victory.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT DURING 2021
• The North Texas defense improved drastically from 2021 to 2022 under the leadership of DC Phil Bennett. I also saw marked improvement over the course of the 2021 season.
• The Mean Green defense was drastically better across the board during its final six games compared to its 1-6 start to the season. Most notably UNT’s defense allowed on average 18 fewer points per game during that stretch compared to the first seven games of the year.
Texas-El Paso Notes
MINERS AT A GLANCE
UTEP HOSTS C-USA FOE NORTH TEXAS IN SATURDAY’S ‘915 GAME’
UTEP will open the 2022 season when it hosts Conference USA foe North Texas on Saturday, Aug. 27 in the earliest start date in program history. The Miners and Mean Green are set to kickoff at 7 p.m. in the Sun Bowl. Saturday’s ‘915 Game’ will be an ‘Orange Out’.
EARLIEST START EVER
Saturday’s (Aug. 27) match-up with North Texas is the earliest start date in program history.
BACK2BACK
UTEP, 7-6 in 2021, heads into this year in search of consecutive campaigns with a winning record for the first time since 2004 (8-4) and 2005 (8-4).
KEEPING THE TREND
The Miners are looking to win their fourth straight season opener, which would be a program first.
HOME SWEET SUN BOWL
The Orange and Blue are 7-1 at the Sun Bowl since 2020, with the only loss in the timeframe coming against nationally-ranked No. 16/No. 18 UTSA last year.
PROLIFIC SEASON
Starting QB Gavin Hardison threw for the fifth-most yards (3,217) in a single season program history last year. He also became the first 3,000-yard passer at the school since 2009.
PRAISE THE SACK MAN
Two-time All-Conference USA honoree Praise Amaewhule needs 5.0 sacks this year to become the program’s career record holder in the category.
SECOND MOST YARDS EVER
UTEP registered 5,096 yards in 2021, the second most ever in program history and most since 2009.
SERIES BREAKDOWN
SERIES INFORMATION
Overall: UNT leads 19-8-3
El Paso: UNT leads 8-6-1
Denton: UNT leads 11-2-2
Neutral: n/a
Postseason: n/a
Most UTEP Points: 61 (UTEP, 61-15, 1965)
Most UNT Points: 52 (UNT, 52-26, 2019)
Most Combined Points: 88 (UNT, 54-43, 2020)
Biggest UTEP Win: 46 (61-15, 1965)
Biggest UNT Win: 49 (49-0, 1978)
First Meeting: UNT won 33-0 in Denton (09.22.51)
Last Meeting: UNT won 20-17 in Denton (11.13.21)
Streak: UNT, W5
