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College Football 2010 Rankings: No. 113 North Texas
North Texas, Orlando Sentinel Preseason Rankings 2010, college football — posted by andrea adelson on May, 10 2010 6:00 AM
Discuss This: Comments(0) | Add to del.icio.us | Digg it The Orlando Sentinel’s 2010 college football preseason rankings will count down Football Bowl Subdivision teams from 120 to 1.
Today at No. 113: North Texas.
Why are they No. 113? Coach Todd Dodge is most definitely on the hot seat, going 5-31 in his last three seasons at North Texas. The faithful are going restless, and speculation swirled after the 2009 season ended that Dodge would be gone. Going into 2010, the starting quarterback position is unsettled and Dodge is going to have to win, and win early to save his job.
Spring prospectus
2010 schedule
Capsule, by Matt Reinstetle
North Texas Mean Green
Coach: Todd Dodge (5-31, 4th season)
2009 Record: 2-10 (1-7 8th in Sun Belt)
Look back: 2009 started off well for North Texas as it beat Ball State 20-10 in the season opener. Then the Mean Green went on a six-game losing streak, which ended with a 68-49 win over Western Kentucky – the worst team in the country. A four-game losing streak followed, and redshirt freshman QB Riley Dodge broke his right arm in the season finale against Arkansas State.
Offensive starters lost/returning: 1/10
Defensive starters lost/returning: 3/8
Key losses: DB Adryan Adams (36 tackles), DB Kylie Hill (37 tackles and 1 interception) and DE Eddrick Gilmore (21 TFL).
Top returnees: QB Riley Dodge (1,975 passing yards and 9 touchdowns), DB DaWaylon Cook (56 tackles), RB Lance Dunbar (17 touchdowns and 1,378 rushing yards) and LB Craig Robertson (107 tackles).
Strengths: Junior running back Lane Dunbar will lead the Mean Green rushing attack. Dunbar was a first-team All-Sun Belt selection in 2009. The Mean Green were No. 2 in rush offense behind Middle Tennessee State. Junior cornerback Royce Hill leads the secondary. Hill had 31 tackles and one interception last season. He sat out spring practice with a shoulder injury but he will be back this summer.
Weaknesses: Since Riley Dodge’s switch to receiver, the quarterback position is wide open between senior Nathan Tune and sophomore Derek Thompson. Dodge said that the decision on who is the No. 1 QB will not be determined until the fall.
Outlook: North Texas heads into the summer without establishing a No. 1 quarterback, but Dodge was happy with his squad as spring practice concluded.
“I was really pleased,” Dodge told the Denton Record-Chronicle. “We have grown so much as a football team and have so much more competition and care on this team about the 2010 season. It’s like night and day from any point that I have been here. It’s a great feeling.”
North Texas has a three crucial three-game home stretch against conference foes Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas State and FIU beginning Oct. 2. The Mean Green immediately head into a tough three-game stretch beginning Nov. 6 against the top three teams in the Sun Belt from 2009 – Troy, Middle Tennessee State and the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
The rest of the countdown:
