2016 Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl Preview: North Texas vs. Army

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

 

North Texas Mean Green (5-7) vs. Army Black Knights (7-5)

Heart of Dallas Bowl Overview

The Heart of Dallas Bowl is one of the youngest in college football celebrating their seventh anniversary in 2016 with North Texas taking on Army. This young bowl is played annually at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas. The inaugural game was played in 2011 when Texas Tech squeaked past Northwestern 45-38 setting up an exciting postseason matchup for fans across the country to enjoy year after year.

The 2015 Heart of Dallas bowl served as a launching pad for a 2016 College Football Playoff team. Washington squeaked past Southern Mississippi 44-31 in a thriller. This year should be another exciting matchup with Army making their first appearance in this bowl game while North Texas previously appeared in 2014 when they destroyed UNLV 36-14. These teams met on Oct. 22 with North Texas prevailing 35-18, however it is hard to beat the same team twice in one season setting up an interesting rematch. Rest assured that both teams will be fired up to end their season with a bowl victory.

Game Information

Date: December 27

Time: 12 p.m. EST

Location: Cotton Bowl Stadium – Dallas, Texas

Network: ESPN

North Texas Mean Green

North Texas alternated wins and losses over the first five weeks to start 2-3 in 2016. The Mean Green then beat Marshall and Army in back-to-back games to get above .500, however they then lost three games in a row. Those losses came against UTSA, Louisiana Tech and to Western Kentucky falling to 4-6. Needing to win at least one of their final two games to qualify for a bowl game, the Mean Green beat Southern Miss 29-23 on Nov. 19 but could not beat UTEP in the season finale to finish the regular season 5-7.

The Mean Green scored 24.2 per game by averaging 136.7 rushing yards and 199.5 passing yards per contest. Freshman quarterback Mason Fine, one of the rising stars of Conference USA, has thrown for 1,572 yards and six touchdowns by completing 155-of-261 passes. His favorite target is senior wide receiver Thaddeous Thompson, who has leads the Mean Green with 40 receptions for 524 yards and has two receiving touchdowns. The leading rusher on the team is junior running back Jeffrey Wilson who has carried the ball 149 times for 855 yards and has 13 rushing touchdowns. Another weapon on the North Texas offense is junior running back Willy Ivery who has 90 carries for 489 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. Ivery also has 25 receptions for 310 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

North Texas gives up 32.2 points a game and lets opponents scorch through their defense to average 219.5 rushing yards and 212.5 passing yards per contest. Junior defensive back Kishawn McClain is the team’s leading tackler with 86 total tackles including five for a loss and has three interceptions and 1.5 sacks. The anchor of the defensive line is junior defensive end Joshua Wheeler who has 34 total tackles including 6.5 for a loss and leads the team with five sacks. A playmaker in the secondary is sophomore defensive back Nate Brooks who leads the team with four interceptions and has 52 total tackles including two for a loss and one sack.

Army Black Knights

Army opened the season by winning their first three games with wins over Temple, Rice, and UTEP. The Knights would lose their next two in heartbreaking fashion. First there was a 23-20 loss in overtime against Buffalo on Sept. 24 and the next week a 13-6 loss at Duke. Army would go on to win two out of their next three with the loss to North Texas sandwiched in between wins against Louisiana-Lafayette and Wake Forest to bring their record to 5-3. The Knights record would fall to .500 with losses to Air Force and Notre Dame. To clinch a sixth win, Army destroyed Morgan State 60-3 on Nov. 19 pushing their record to 6-5 going into their annual battle with Navy. For the first time since 2001, Army defeated Navy as the Knights escaped past the Midshipmen 21-17 to finish the regular season 7-5.

The Knights scored 29.25 points per game this season by using their run-heavy offense which averages 327.7 rushing yards and just 76.17 passing yards a game. Army’s offense is run by dual-threat quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw. The junior signal-caller has rushed the ball 166 times for 695 rushing yards and is tied for second on the team with seven rushing touchdowns. Bradshaw has completed 38-of-88 passes for 650 yards with four touchdowns.

Sophomore running back Andy Davidson is the team’s leading rusher with 178 carriess for 905 yards and leads the team with 11 rushing touchdowns. The top receiver for Army is senior Edgar Poe who has caught 15 passes for 321 yards and leads the team with three receiving touchdowns. Another player to watch in Army’s rushing attack is sophomore Darnell Woolfork who rushed the ball 87 times for 485 yards and also has seven rushing touchdowns.

Army only gives up 18.92 points a game. They do a great job of limiting opponents to just 123.3 yards on the ground and 158.25 yards in the air. Senior linebacker Jeremy Timpf is the team’s leading tackler with 97 total tackles including 10 for a loss. Timpf also has two interceptions and 1.5 sacks. Junior linebacker Alex Aukerman has 93 total tackles and leads the Knights with 13 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks. The playmaker in the secondary is junior Rhyan England who has racked up 50 total tackles including four for a loss and is tied for the team lead with two interceptions.

Keys to Victory

North Texas must force Army to commit turnovers. During the season the Knights threw 11 interceptions and lost 13 fumbles, the opportunities should be there for the Mean Green to make big plays on defense. Another key to victory is making big plays in the passing game as Army gives up 158.25 passing yards a game. The Mean Green will have more success passing the ball against Army than they will running the ball.

If Army wants to finish the season with a bowl victory they must continue to run the ball well like they have all year to control the chains and the clock. The Knights average 5.8 yards per play and have the weapons in their offense to make big plays against North Texas. Another key will be to get pressure on the ball and sack the quarterback. Army has 26 sacks this year and is facing an offensive line that has given up 42 sacks, another opportunity is there to pressure North Texas’ offense and make big plays in the backfield.

Final Analysis

It is hard to beat the same team twice in a season as both teams have made adjustments since the last time they met in October. However, Army has more playmakers on both sides of the ball and should win despite playing in an atmosphere that favors North Texas.

Prediction: Army 28, North Texas 21

 

Picture: Yahoo Sports; Army QB Ahmad Bradshaw