The North Texas Mean Green (2-0) have made a point of packing DATCU Stadium this week for a huge game against the Washington State Cougars (2-0). With a well-known Pac-12 opponent coming to town, UNT sees a chance to put itself on the map with a win today. Can the Mean Green make magic happen on Saturday and prove they belong with a standout victory, or will the Cougars come out on top?
Let’s dive into the details with a North Texas vs. Washington State prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook.
North Texas vs. Washington State prediction, preview
North Texas Mean Green
UNT looks like it might just have what it takes to compete for an AAC title this season after winning both of their first two contests. The first of those came with a 51-0 drubbing of Lamar, an FCS program, but the Mean Green then escaped with a 33-30 win over Western Michigan of the MAC last week. While North Texas trailed throughout most of the game, the team outgained their opponent 406 to 303 on the day and rallied in the fourth quarter before taking the victory in overtime. Now, it’s still early, but could UNT really emerge as a conference competitor?
With quarterback Drew Mestemaker under center, anything’s possible. The redshirt freshman was a walk-on last year, and despite not making a start at quarterback since his freshman year of high school, he lined up under center in a bowl game. Now the full-time starter, Mestemaker’s completed 64.6% of his passes for 553 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. He’s a breakout candidate this year, while wideout Wyatt Young leads the team with eight catches for 156 yards and two scores. The offense shows flashes of real potency, and if the defense can hold up, this team could possibly make some noise.
However, today’s matchup brings their toughest test yet, and after struggling against a MAC school last week, this contest should prove pivotal for determining what caliber of team UNT truly is.
Washington State Cougars
Wazzu brings Pac-12 pedigree to the picture and responded in a big way last week after narrowly winning an ugly 13-10 season opener against FCS power Idaho. In Week 2, the Cougars downed San Diego State 36-13 while nearly doubling their opponents’ total yardage. Holding SDSU to just 215 yards was an outstanding response after getting outgained by Idaho in Week 1, and Washington State looked more themselves with 396 yards on the day. Are they back in their usual form?
Going 5-for-18 on third downs didn’t spark a ton of confidence, but the Cougars did pick up 19 first downs and dominate the time of possession 35:06 to 24:54. On the year thus far, Jaxon Potter has completed 70.8% of passes for 465 yards and four touchdowns without a pick, and he hasn’t taken a sack yet either. Joshua Meredith and Tony Freeman each have double-digit receptions with 119 and 107 yards apiece, with Meredith hauling in a score. The run game hasn’t been particularly efficient though, averaging just 2.4 yards per carry through the first two games.
North Texas vs. Washington State pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists North Texas as a six-point favorite at home on Saturday with -225 odds on the Moneyline. Washington State enters with +185 odds to win outright with the game total set at 57.5 combined points.
In all honesty, this might just be one of the most interesting matchups on the slate this week. Even though last week’s game was close, North Texas showed plenty of promise through the first two outings and has an offense which appears capable of lighting up the scoreboard. Plus, their quarterback’s story is probably one of the coolest in the sport this season, so it’s always fun to root for an underdog. How they fare against a larger program’s defense will be quite telling for future performances.
If the Mean Green want to win though, the defense will need to show improvement compared to last year. Thus far, that seems to be the case, but the Cougars will absolutely prove a major challenge today. Washington State seemed to regain their composure last week against a quality opponent and boasts a passing game which can do plenty of damage. It’s admittedly a smidge surprising to see Wazzu enter as an underdog on the road today, but the range of outcomes for this game remains quite wide.
With that in mind, I’m targeting over 25.5 points for the Cougars today against a UNT defense which just gave up 30 to Western Michigan last week. I do think UNT ends up winning today, especially with their strong offense and a focus on packing DATCU Stadium for the occasion to create a hostile environment, but this feels like something of a shootout spot where things can go either way.
