Owen: ACU is coming off its first winning season in the Div. I era. At 6-5 in 2018, the Wildcats finished the season winning four out of its last five games to cap off the year. Junior quarterback Luke Anthony finished last year throwing for 23 touchdowns and will be joined with a strong level of upper class experience. The Wildcats offensive production was better than most teams last season averaging 30 points per game. However, their defense struggled throughout the year giving up 44 points or more in three games. Meanwhile North Texas is bringing in one of its best recruiting classes in recent memory. The Mean Green were successful bringing in 21 three-star recruits to boost their chances repeating as conference champions. UNT is also coming off of its second consecutive nine-win season with blowout wins over Arkansas, Incarnate Word and a bowl appearance with #23 Utah State. Despite ACU bringing back a strong core of their offense and defense, North Texas is on another level of college football. Expect it to be ugly at best.
Wildcats vs. UNT: ACU 17 UNT 52
Tavian: A couple of years ago I would’ve thought this is a game ACU could sneak in a victory, but North Texas finished with a winning record of 9-4 with key wins over SMU and Arkansas and cliching a bowl berth. They bring back senior quarterback Mason Fine who’s the NCAA’s active career leader with 9,417 yards. The Mean Green also bring back three starting receivers and all C-USA junior running back DeAndre Torrey behind a stacked offensive line. Their defense on the other hand will need some work since they only have 5 returning players on that side of the ball. So you might think, do we even have a chance? And the answer is yes. The Wildcats will be returning junior quarterback Luke Anthony who threw for over 3,000 yards, along with playmakers on both offense and defense. This will be a dog fight in the first half, but at the end of the day I’m going to have to side with UNT.
Wildcats vs. UNT: ACU 27 UNT 49
Lexi: The Wildcats head to North Texas to play in their first game of the 2019 season. There has been a lot of anticipation about this game since coming off their 6-5 season. The North Texas Mean Green ended their 2018 season 9-4 and are predicted to finish first in their conference this year. The Wildcats are picked to finish 7th. I think that the Wildcats will surprise everyone with a win against the Mean Green. With Jeremiah Chambers, Luke Anthony and Billy McCrary returning I feel like the Wildcats will pull out a surprise attack on the Mean Green. I’m assuming that it will be a fairly close game, but I feel like the Wildcats will have just the right amount of energy to go show UNT what the Wildcats are really about. With the pre-season ranking in the back of their minds, I feel like it will be a good motivator to get the Wildcats going to pull out a win.
Wildcats vs. UNT: ACU 34 UNT 31
Jalen: ACU football will be entering their third season as a Div. I school with many promising expectations. Coming off of 3,000+ passing yards and 23 touchdown season, junior quarterback Luke Anthony will be the key factor into ACU’s success on the along with senior running backs Tracy James and Billy McCrary, who both ran for over 700 yards last season. This year’s class of 2023 is loaded with many freshmen ready to take over the upperclassmen who are transitioning out. UNT however has been showing true glimpses of a breakout season this year. Their offense is stacked with talent which include senior quarterback Mason Fine, junior running back DeAndre Torrey, and senior wide receiver Rico Bussey Jr. As for the 2020 season, UNT will be ready to push even further with 16 new commits coming into Apogee Stadium. Their defense does need some adjustment as they gave up close to 375 yards of offense last year. This game will be an interesting one, but I’m going to choose UNT to win this matchup.
Wildcats vs. UNT: ACU 14 UNT 35
