Frisco Football Classic: Three Things From UNT’s Loss to Miami (OH)
In Thursday’s Frisco Football Classic, a new bowl game added to accommodate the remaining eligible teams in 2021, the Miami RedHawks of the Mid-American Conference defeated Conference USA’s North Texas Mean Green by a score of 27-14.
The Miami defense shut out UNT in the second half in a style that many were used to seeing the RedHawks play: ground and pound, controlling the clock. 203 yards rushing on 47 carries helped Miami seal their victory, along with two interceptions that brought their total for the year to 11.
After taking a deeper dive into game, there are conclusions to be made about what could be next for each team, as well as about what got these teams to the postseason. Here are three of those conclusions.
No DeAndre Torrey was a Gut Punch
UNT wrapped 2021 with the top rushing attack in Conference USA, averaging 5 yards per carry and 2054 total yards. You wouldn’t know it from their performance in this game.
The Mean Green totaled just 89 rush yards on 32 attempts. That comes to 2.8 yards per carry. Senior running back DeAndre Torrey did not play in the bowl game for reasons that were not made public. After seeing how productive Torrey was in his teams late-season resurgence that earned then a bowl berth in his final college season, it’s unfortunate fans didn’t get to see him suit up for the Mean Green one more time. Torrey had rushed for over 100 yards and multiple touchdowns in his last two games.
Jack Sorensen Improved His Stock
For the Miami RedHawks, senior receiver Jack Sorensen was absolutely electric in this game. The Kildeer, Illinois product finished with seven catches for 116 yards in this game. Sorensen isn’t the biggest or the fastest wideout in the college game, but has demonstrated superb route running and sticky hands in the last two seasons. Sorensen averaged 18.5 yard per catch this season and 19.7 yards per catch in 2020. This performance should help him find a home in one of the later rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft.
Now What For Seth Littrell?
As the Mean Green finish this season 6-7, this now makes three losing seasons in a row. That brings Littrell’s record at UNT to 37-38. The Mean Green head coach was offered the head coaching job at Kansas State after the 2018 season when UNT wrapped back-to-back 9-win seasons. His team has finished 4-8, 4-6, and 6-7 in the years since.
Littrell’s contract goes through the 2023 season. Unless the Mean Green experience some spectacular turnaround in the next 18 months, it is hard to imagine that Littrell stays with the program when they make the move to the American. Littrell has yet to win a bowl game as head coach of the Mean Green.
