Saturday, November 6
Hattiesburg, MS
2:00 p.m.
University of North Texas
at
Southern Miss
Photo by: Manny Flores
Confident Mean Green Prepare For Southern Miss
11/2/2021 1:15:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team will look to start a winning streak on Saturday as they head to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to play Southern Miss. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., and the game can be seen on ESPN+ with the radio broadcast on KHYI 95.3/KNTU 88.1/Varsity Network App.
Head coach Seth Littrell spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, the positive momentum gained from last week's win over Rice and what the Mean Green are expecting to see from Southern Miss.
Littrell expects a fight from Golden Eagles
After picking up its first conference win of the season last week, UNT will now travel to play a Southern Miss team still looking for its first C-USA victory after four losses.
Littrell said he fully expects a battle from a team that is in the same position his was last week.
"We're playing at their house and they've been in a similar situation we've been in," Littrell said. "They're playing hard, and defensively, up front they always have twitchy and big guys that can disrupt the run and pass game. Offensively, they're trying to find their way like we have been. Obviously, they're in Year 1 in the system and in the first year under a new staff and everyone is trying to figure that out, but I do know they play extremely hard and they're looking to get a win.
"It always is a tough game, especially at their place. It's not an easy place to play. We're excited about the chance to go out there and compete. Southern Miss always has players and a ton of athletes. There's a reason why they're traditionally one of the better teams in our conference."
After a stellar defensive performance last week against Rice, the Mean Green will have their hands full with Southern Miss running back Frank Gore, Jr., the son of future NFL Hall of Famer Frank Gore, who's averaging close to 70 yards per game on the ground.
"He's a terrific player," Littrell said. "He has all the weapons and he does a great job with his vision and zone running ability. He's powerful. He can run through you but also around you. He's a great back but they also have other weapons that can go and get the ball and are very explosive. He's a terrific player but they also have other weapons that can hurt you."
Mean Green gain momentum after snapping skid
After dropping six straight games, UNT needed something to go its way against Rice and pulled out a thrilling overtime victory on the road to set its season back on the right track.
Littrell said getting back in the win column and remembering how it feels to win a game was big for the team moving forward.
"I think it was huge," Littrell said. "Our kids have been fighting hard and faced a lot of adversity and battled through and finally found a way to win, especially at this point of the year without any wiggle room. Now we have to build off that and make sure all the positives from that game we continued to build on and correct the mistakes that will eventually get you beat. I'm excited about getting the win, but now we enjoyed that for 24 hours and it's time for the next opportunity and to get ready for Southern Miss."
Shuffle the deck
This year, UNT has faced several injury issues affecting large numbers of specific position groups.
The most recent has been in the secondary, and on Saturday, the fallout was on full display.
Two players, DeShawn Gaddie and Sean-Thomas Faulkner made starts out of their natural positions on Saturday, and in Faulkner's case, the first start of his Mean Green career.
Gaddie, who had started at safety all season prior to Saturday, shifted to cornerback and finished the day with seven tackles, a half-tackle for-loss and two pass breakups. Faulkner, who made 22 career starts at The Citadel, moved from his backup role in the hybrid Eagle position to start at safety. He had a season-high 10 tackles.
"I was very proud of Gaddie, being out of position, and Sean Faulkner being at safety from more of a backer position," Littrell said. "He got caught on one play on a crucial fourth-and-long on a scramble, but he's more used to spying on the quarterback and a receiver got away from him, but overall I thought those guys making those transitions from backer to safety and safety to corner did some really good things. KD Davis had an awesome game. Dion Novil was unbelievable up front. A number of guys played hard and did a good job."
Aune's increased comfort, familiarity paying off
The UNT wide receiver corps looks a lot different now than it did heading into the season opener against Northwestern State, when Aune was the No. 2 quarterback.
Making his fourth straight start in last week's win over Rice, Aune played a clean game and managed the game well, Littrell said.
"The quarterback run game was good like he did against Missouri," Littrell said. "He's getting more comfortable and taking care of the ball. I thought he was a little more comfortable in the pocket with his feet and his technique. He's getting a lot more comfortable. Some of that is new guys coming in and out and we're at the point now where (receivers) are getting comfortable and getting tons of reps in practice and getting more confidence."
Head coach Seth Littrell spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, the positive momentum gained from last week's win over Rice and what the Mean Green are expecting to see from Southern Miss.
Littrell expects a fight from Golden Eagles
After picking up its first conference win of the season last week, UNT will now travel to play a Southern Miss team still looking for its first C-USA victory after four losses.
Littrell said he fully expects a battle from a team that is in the same position his was last week.
"We're playing at their house and they've been in a similar situation we've been in," Littrell said. "They're playing hard, and defensively, up front they always have twitchy and big guys that can disrupt the run and pass game. Offensively, they're trying to find their way like we have been. Obviously, they're in Year 1 in the system and in the first year under a new staff and everyone is trying to figure that out, but I do know they play extremely hard and they're looking to get a win.
"It always is a tough game, especially at their place. It's not an easy place to play. We're excited about the chance to go out there and compete. Southern Miss always has players and a ton of athletes. There's a reason why they're traditionally one of the better teams in our conference."
After a stellar defensive performance last week against Rice, the Mean Green will have their hands full with Southern Miss running back Frank Gore, Jr., the son of future NFL Hall of Famer Frank Gore, who's averaging close to 70 yards per game on the ground.
"He's a terrific player," Littrell said. "He has all the weapons and he does a great job with his vision and zone running ability. He's powerful. He can run through you but also around you. He's a great back but they also have other weapons that can go and get the ball and are very explosive. He's a terrific player but they also have other weapons that can hurt you."
Mean Green gain momentum after snapping skid
After dropping six straight games, UNT needed something to go its way against Rice and pulled out a thrilling overtime victory on the road to set its season back on the right track.
Littrell said getting back in the win column and remembering how it feels to win a game was big for the team moving forward.
"I think it was huge," Littrell said. "Our kids have been fighting hard and faced a lot of adversity and battled through and finally found a way to win, especially at this point of the year without any wiggle room. Now we have to build off that and make sure all the positives from that game we continued to build on and correct the mistakes that will eventually get you beat. I'm excited about getting the win, but now we enjoyed that for 24 hours and it's time for the next opportunity and to get ready for Southern Miss."
Shuffle the deck
This year, UNT has faced several injury issues affecting large numbers of specific position groups.
The most recent has been in the secondary, and on Saturday, the fallout was on full display.
Two players, DeShawn Gaddie and Sean-Thomas Faulkner made starts out of their natural positions on Saturday, and in Faulkner's case, the first start of his Mean Green career.
Gaddie, who had started at safety all season prior to Saturday, shifted to cornerback and finished the day with seven tackles, a half-tackle for-loss and two pass breakups. Faulkner, who made 22 career starts at The Citadel, moved from his backup role in the hybrid Eagle position to start at safety. He had a season-high 10 tackles.
"I was very proud of Gaddie, being out of position, and Sean Faulkner being at safety from more of a backer position," Littrell said. "He got caught on one play on a crucial fourth-and-long on a scramble, but he's more used to spying on the quarterback and a receiver got away from him, but overall I thought those guys making those transitions from backer to safety and safety to corner did some really good things. KD Davis had an awesome game. Dion Novil was unbelievable up front. A number of guys played hard and did a good job."
Aune's increased comfort, familiarity paying off
The UNT wide receiver corps looks a lot different now than it did heading into the season opener against Northwestern State, when Aune was the No. 2 quarterback.
Making his fourth straight start in last week's win over Rice, Aune played a clean game and managed the game well, Littrell said.
"The quarterback run game was good like he did against Missouri," Littrell said. "He's getting more comfortable and taking care of the ball. I thought he was a little more comfortable in the pocket with his feet and his technique. He's getting a lot more comfortable. Some of that is new guys coming in and out and we're at the point now where (receivers) are getting comfortable and getting tons of reps in practice and getting more confidence."