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The Good: The Mean Green return an offensive line anchored by Cyril Lemon, an NFL prospect who is the only FBS player to start every game in his career. They return hard hitters Kenny Buyers and Laramie Lee, and excellent running backs in Antoine Jimmerson and Reggie Pegram, who is coming back from injury. And heck, there's that whole momentum thing coming off of a 9-4 season.
Texas is breaking in a new coach- that should count for something, right? David Ash is also one hard hit away from getting knocked out.
The Bad: Chad Polk is the only returning member of the Mean Green defensive line, which set the tone for last year's record setting season. He had 14 tackles. The Green guys also lost 1,000 yard rusher Brandon Byrd, special teams catalyst and wide receiver extraordinaire Brelan Chancellor, and the heart and soul of the defense Zach Orr (as well as Marcus Trice.
Josh Greer is making his first ever start for the Mean Green and while the 6'5, 230 pound quarterback has exactly the height the Mean Green faithful want, does he have the decision making skills that Derek Thompson had last year? For all the grief Thompson took last year, he was a very serviceable leader and game manager.
The Ugly: I wish there was some rule that referees of a conference that either team belongs to should not be allowed to ref the game. Unfortunately in this case, Big 12 referees drew the matchup, which might not bode well for the Mean Green.
Prediction: If you gave me last year's team, I wouldn't think twice about picking the Mean Green. Unfortunately, that's not the case. As much faith as I have in Mac Daddy, I don't think this team has enough experience to challenge the Horns. The best case scenario is for the Mean Green to control the clock through the run game and for the experienced corners to prevent any big plays (the defense has had a tendency for that). Unfortunately, I think Texas will score early, and often on this mostly inexperienced defense.
Final Score: Texas 42, North Texas 13