DENTON – In a unique circumstance, North Texas (3-5, 2-4 C-USA) will host a road game in its final regular season game of 2020 when they take on UTEP (3-4, 0-3 C-USA) at 6 p.m. ET from Apogee Stadium in Denton.
Live coverage of this game is on ESPN3 with WatchESPN.com also providing the live streaming for mobile device users.
UNT and UTEP were originally scheduled to play on Oct. 31, but the game was postponed to 12/12, and then moved to Denton on Friday (still considered a road contest for UNT) due to issues surrounding CoVID-19 in the city of El Paso.
Friday’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Kyle Youmans (pxp) and Hek’ma Harrison (analyst), and on the radio on the Mean Green Sports Network with Dave Barnett (pxp) and Hank Dickenson (analyst).
Series History
North Texas and UTEP will meet Saturday for the 29th time, with the Mean Green holding a 17-8-3 advantage, including a 52-26 win last season by the Mean Green on Nov. 2, 2019 in Denton.
* Head coach Seth Littrell is 3-1 against UTEP in four meetings.
* North Texas leads the series 7-6-1 in road games, including a win in their last trip to El Paso, 27-24 in 2018.
Success Against UTEP
Several members of the Mean Green have had success in previous meetings with the Miners.
* Senior wide receiver Jaelon Darden (Houston) has combined for 16 catches for 162 yards and six touchdowns in three career meetings with UTEP, including a six-catch, 60-yard and three-touchdown performance in the win last season in Denton.
* Senior linebacker Tyreke Davis (Denton) has combined for 14 tackles, a half tackle for loss, an interception and a quarterback hurry in a trio of appearances against the Miners.
* Senior defensive lineman Dion Novil (Abilene, Texas) has combined for 11 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and has blocked a kick in his two career appearances against UTEP.
* Redshirt freshman wide receiver Deonte Simpson (Beaumont, Texas) had his breakout performance as a true freshman in last season’s meeting – catching two passes for 53 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career.
* Redshirt senior running back Nic Smith (Fort Worth) has carried 28 times for 143 yards in three career meetings with the Miners.
That’s Offensive
North Texas enters Week 15 with the eighth-ranked total offense in the nation, and top total offense in Conference USA at 518.0 yards per game.
