North Texas will take its five-game winning streak into Saturday’s homecoming game against Rice at DATCU Stadium, with a chance to stay unbeaten in the American Conference and keep pressure on the top of the league. The Mean Green are 6-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play, while Rice enters at 1-7 and 0-4.
That is why Tayven Jackson is part of the search around this matchup. He ranks third nationally with 2,577 passing yards, and North Texas has leaned on that production while winning its last five games. The stretch has included a 48-41 win over Florida Atlantic, and it followed a 51-49 loss to Texas State in the third week of the year.
North Texas has scored at least 45 points in every game since that loss, and the offense now ranks second nationally at 43.8 points per game, behind Miami at 47.6. Jahiem White has also given the attack another layer with 1,047 rushing yards, while the defense has done enough to support the surge, even if it is allowing 31.9 points per game.
The balance has not been perfect. North Texas held Charlotte to 10 points in a win on Oct. 10, but the team has also spent much of the season needing its offense to outlast mistakes and keep games moving its way. Zakye Baker leads the team with 62 tackles and CJ Coombes has 56, numbers that reflect a defense that has had to work through some uneven stretches while the offense keeps scoring.
Rice has been close to breaking through for a second win more than once, but close has not changed the record. The Owls arrive with losses piling up in conference play, and that makes this a game North Texas is expected to control if it wants to keep its place tied with UTSA atop the American Conference.
A win would do more than preserve the unbeaten league mark. It would move North Texas closer to a conference title and keep the door open to a huge Nov. 14 meeting with UTSA in the Alamodome, a game that could carry far more weight if both teams survive Saturday intact.
