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Moments after scoring 30 points against Southern Miss and becoming bowl eligible Saturday, North Texas quarterback Mason Fine seemed more frustrated than anything.
After a game in which he accounted for 322 total yards and a touchdown, Fine used part of the post-game press conference to voice his dissatisfaction with his and the offense’s production.
“Offensively, we haven’t reached our full potential yet,” Fine said after the game. “It upsets me, to be honest with you. Our defense has had our back all season, so it’s time for our offense to step up. That’s what we’re gonna do.”
The message wasn’t any different Tuesday when UNT coach Seth Littrell and players talked to media before Saturday’s game against UAB, which leads Conference USA’s West division with a 3-0 conference record.
“I know this offense can put a lot more points up,” Fine said. “I know we can be a lot more successful than what we’re putting on film.
“I see it every day in practice. I think that’s why I was so upset. We’re working hard in practice, we’re working hard in the weight room, we’ve worked all offseason. For just these guaranteed 12 opportunities to go out there and showcase it, I just feel like we haven’t showcased what we’re fully capable of. That’s the thing I’m upset about.”
The Mean Green are averaging 39.9 points through seven games. That mark is good enough to be the 17th best in the country and leads C-USA. UNT is also No. 8 in the nation in both first-down and passing offense, posting 177 first downs this season and averaging 323.3 passing yards a game.
The passing game has carried the offense thus far, especially after UNT starting running back Loren Easly suffered a season-ending injury in Week 5 against Louisiana Tech. DeAndre Torrey has taken over most of the carries since, and tallied three touchdowns and 95 rushing yards Saturday.
“I think we just gotta start fast, and when we start fast, don’t let up,” Torrey said. “I know sometimes we’ll jump out, and then it’s like we take a step back for a quarter or so. We just gotta keep on going no matter what happens; no matter if we up or down.”
While Torrey mentioned starting fast as an offensive issue, Littrell rattled off a list of small details Tuesday, including catching the ball and identifying defensive schemes better.
“There’s a lot of things we could do better,” Littrell said. “I don’t feel like we’ve hit our full stride offensively.
“Saying that, it’s exciting we have a lot of room for improvement and continue to grow, but at some point, it’s gotta go. You can’t just continue to sit here and say we haven’t played our best yet. Eventually we gotta go out there and play our best.”