Denton-Record--
I was working on a story on the Ball State game for tomorrow's paper when I got to thinking about what will really end up being the key matchup of this game and how these teams stack up.
To me, this game will likely come down to two of the most inexperienced groups on the field -- UNT's defensive line and Ball State's offensive line.
I have heard from a lot of UNT fans who are thrilled that Ball State lost three really good offensive linemen after last season and will roll out a whole new batch of starters this season.
I agree. That's a huge advantage for UNT. But lets be honest here, UNT isn't rolling out the senior-year versions of Brandon Kennedy, Adrian Awasom and Evan Cardwell, either.
UNT has two tackles who could turn out to be great in Kelvin Jackson and Shavod Atkinson. They showed some flashes of being solid players in two-a-days and they certainly have the size. Both check in at more than 300 pounds.
But those two guys, not to mention Brandon Akpunku, Tevinn Cantly and most of the rest of the guys who will play key roles have shown about as much as Ball State's offensive line. Eddrick Gilmore has some skins of the wall, but he isn't even expected to start.
All of UNT's guys could turn out to be great, and chances are at least some of them will work out. The numbers favor that happening. But if there is one thing UNT history, heck just college football history, tells us, it's that JUCO players need a few games to adjust to playing at the Bowl Subdivision level. Redshirt freshman or sophomores in their first season as key players are usually the same way.
In the end, both of these teams are in the same boat in that regard.
The team that comes out ahead in the battle of the inexperienced lines is going to go a long way to determining who wins this game.
I was working on a story on the Ball State game for tomorrow's paper when I got to thinking about what will really end up being the key matchup of this game and how these teams stack up.
To me, this game will likely come down to two of the most inexperienced groups on the field -- UNT's defensive line and Ball State's offensive line.
I have heard from a lot of UNT fans who are thrilled that Ball State lost three really good offensive linemen after last season and will roll out a whole new batch of starters this season.
I agree. That's a huge advantage for UNT. But lets be honest here, UNT isn't rolling out the senior-year versions of Brandon Kennedy, Adrian Awasom and Evan Cardwell, either.
UNT has two tackles who could turn out to be great in Kelvin Jackson and Shavod Atkinson. They showed some flashes of being solid players in two-a-days and they certainly have the size. Both check in at more than 300 pounds.
But those two guys, not to mention Brandon Akpunku, Tevinn Cantly and most of the rest of the guys who will play key roles have shown about as much as Ball State's offensive line. Eddrick Gilmore has some skins of the wall, but he isn't even expected to start.
All of UNT's guys could turn out to be great, and chances are at least some of them will work out. The numbers favor that happening. But if there is one thing UNT history, heck just college football history, tells us, it's that JUCO players need a few games to adjust to playing at the Bowl Subdivision level. Redshirt freshman or sophomores in their first season as key players are usually the same way.
In the end, both of these teams are in the same boat in that regard.
The team that comes out ahead in the battle of the inexperienced lines is going to go a long way to determining who wins this game.
