The UNT football team will look to get off to a 3-1 start for just the third time since 1989 on Saturday as it hits the road to the bright lights of Las Vegas to play at the home of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders, Allegiant Stadium, against UNLV with kickoff set for 2 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on SSSEN/Mountain West Network with the radio broadcast on KHYI 95.3/KXXN 97.5 (Wichita Falls)/The Varsity Network.
Head coach Seth Littrell and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, avoiding the inherent distractions of playing in Las Vegas, the higher number of big plays UNT's offense is producing this season and how a trio of players are returning home to play in front of friends and family.
Viva, Las Vegas
It's not every day a college football team gets to play in a state-of-the-art NFL stadium.
Throw in the bright lights and bustle and the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, and Saturday's road game for North Texas is a unique opportunity.
That is one thing the team's coaches and leaders have been preaching all week – how to avoid getting caught up in distractions that might seem unavoidable.
"It's gonna be awesome," UNT junior quarterback Austin Aune said. "I played at (Arlington's) AT&T Stadium as a senior in high school, so to go to Vegas and pay in another NFL stadium is gonna be awesome. We're excited to play in a stadium like that. It's a business trip for us, though. We'll take it and have a good time on the field."
Junior wide receiver Roderic Burns said playing in the two-year-old stadium will be an experience, but he's been focusing on blocking all of that out of his mind and focusing on just one thing.
"I think once you know the bigger outcome – winning is the ultimate goal – once you focus on that, the rest of the stuff doesn't matter," Burns said. "You're there on a mission."
A trio of Mean Green players will be returning to a familiar environment, highlighted by sophomore running back Ikaika Ragsdale, who grew up in Las Vegas, along with sophomore defensive lineman Jonathan Pickett and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Fatafehi Vailea, who played their prep ball at Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas.
"I'm sure they'll be excited to go back home and play," Littrell said. "They'll have a lot of family and friends to be able to come watch them, which is always exciting but the biggest thing in this game is avoiding the distractions. There will be a lot of bells and whistles and a lot of slot machines going off. There's going to be a lot of people and buzz around the hotel. We have to block all those distractions and know the biggest focus we have is to go win a football game."
Offense capitalizing on big-play shots
Aune enters Saturday's game averaging just shy of 14 completions per game, which isn't a huge surprise given the team's identity as a power team that leans on its offensive line and running backs.
But a closer look at the stats says the Mean Green are eighth nationally in yards per completion (15.89) and first in Conference USA in plays over 30 yards or more with nine.
There are a couple of reasons for that.
One, the Mean Green are 18th nationally in rushing yards per game (237.7), which can help open up deep shots down the field off play action.
"That's how we play," Littrell said. "With the way we've run the ball and how we do it, you're going to get added hats in the box and when teams do that you have to be able to take advantage of stuff down the field. We're not dink-and-dunk either. It's not Air Raid stuff like I've done in the past. It's our identity now and that's what we have to take advantage of."
Another benefit this year has been health and depth in the receiving corps. After several injuries struck the wide receiver room early last season, the unit has been stronger in numbers this year and has gotten back the services of Jyaire Shorter after his past two seasons ended early due to injuries.
Aune wasn't aware of the yards per completion stat, but even after knowing it he said he just has to stick to his job and let everyone else do theirs.
"Wow, cool," he said, when told of the number. "I didn't even know that. My job is just to execute the play and get it to the guys I'm supposed to get it to, and that stuff just comes along with it. No one is trying to be a superhero. It's 11 guys trying to do their jobs each and every play, and that's when we're at our best."
Mose breaks record for career starts
Senior center Manase Mose made his 51st consecutive start on Saturday in the win over Texas Southern and has never missed a game in his career after redshirting in 2017.
While Aune has grabbed headlines for being the nation's oldest non-specialist in college football and is believed to be the oldest quarterback in FBS history at age 29, he quickly pointed out he's only in his third season of seeing extensive playing time.
"It's awesome (to see him break the record)," Aune said. "Just watching him practice and being a team captain and a leader he's played the most ball out of all of us. I can say I'm the oldest guy, but in terms of football, Manase's the oldest guy. His nickname's 'The Boss' for a reason. So we lean on him and he drives this offense. It's an honor to play behind him because he's such a special player and a great worker and a great teammate."
Original source can be found here.
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