North Texas @ Kansas State

Scouting Report for North Texas Mean Green (1-1) vs. Kansas State Wildcats(2-0)
September 15, 2012- Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS

North Texas: The Mean Green could've done better against Texas Southern, but a win is a win (34-7). UNT did well on the defensive end. Their rushing attack was good as well. But the passing game will need to show up if there is an upset to be had.

QB Derek Thompson (11-24, 145 YDS and 1 INT) was not having one of his best games. The Tigers weren't getting much pressure on him, and yet his passes were having trouble with the north Texas winds. Luckily, Texas Southern was having the same problems. RB Brandon Byrd (136 yards and 2 TD on 24 carries) was having his way with the Tigers.

Kansas State: If anyone was expecting the Hurricanes to make it a ball game against the Wildcats in Manhattan, guess again. Head coach Bill Snyder could do no wrong and Miami was out of it in hurry (52-13).

The Wildcat offense were just one step ahead of the Hurricanes the whole day. The running game was the main feature that worked. Between QB Collin Klein and RB John Hubert, they combined for 177 yards on the ground (288 YDS total rushing) on 41 carries and scored 4 touchdowns (6 total for the team). Klein only threw 11 passes for the game, but he completed 9 of them for 110 yards and a touchdown and interception a piece. The defense had a nice day as well recovering 3 fumbles that led to 14 points.

What to watch for: We'll have to see if Kansas State will push the Mean Green around like LSU did in weeek 1. North Texas had done well against QB's Riko Smalls and Rudy Johnson (combined 1.9 YPC on 15 carries). But Klein will not be an easy task. Especially with the way their offensive line handled the Hurricanes last week.

WR Breland Chancellor will need to get more involved in the offense if UNT has a chance to make this game a close contest. If they respect the run, they have hope. On the defensive side Marcus Trice and Zach Whitfield (both had an interception)will need to keep up the good work if the passing game becomes frequent.

Conclusion: K-State has too many weapons on offense for the Mean Green to account for. While the LSU Tigers had a quarterback making his first start, it's not going to be the same situation against the Wildcats.

The Wildcats will probably do the same thing they did to Miami last week and milk the clock for everything it's work. And with K-State head coach Bill Snyder, they are going to strike the Mean Green defense early and often.

Prediction: Kansas State by 35.

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