FACTS & STATS: Site: Rice Stadium (47,000) -- Houston, Texas. Television: Local. Home Record: N. Texas 0-1, Rice 1-0. Away Record: N. Texas 0-2, Rice 1-2. Neutral Record: North Texas 0-0, Rice 0-0. Conference Record: N. Texas 0-0, Rice 2-0. Series Record: North Texas leads, 1-0.

Game Notes: The North Texas Mean Green continue their quest for that elusive first victory of the season as they travel to Houston to take on the Rice Owls in non-conference action. The Mean Green will be playing their third road game already and are coming in fresh off a bye. North Texas has struggled mightily this season, having been outscored 142-35 so far, and it has been held to six points or less in two of the three games. In their last game against LSU on September 13th, the Mean Green managed only a field goal in the loss which marked the first time in head coach Todd Dodge's tenure they have been kept out of the red zone. North Texas is just 3-15 against in-state schools since 1998 and has yet to win a road game under Dodge. Rice will be playing its first game at home since the season opener on August 29th when the Owls beat SMU, 56-27. After starting the 2008 campaign 2-0, the Owls dropped consecutive games to Vanderbilt and Texas, both of which are currently ranked in the Top-25. In their two wins the Owls averaged 49 points, however, they have been outscored 90-31 in losses to Vanderbilt and Texas. Rice is just 2-5 all-time against Sun Belt Conference opponents. In the only other meeting between these two schools, North Texas defeated Rice in a 33-17 final.

North Texas has averaged only 11.7 ppg offensively in the three games played so far this season and has been up and down in its offensive production. After opening the season with only 205 yards of total offense against Kansas State, the Mean Green more than doubled that the following week with 450 yards versus Tulsa and actually outgained the Golden Hurricane by 30 yards. In their last game, the Mean Green were held to 199 yards by defending national champion LSU. After averaging 154 yards rushing in their first two games, the Mean Green were held to just 44 yards by LSU but were playing from behind after trailing 27-3 at halftime. On the offensive side of the ball, despite the team's struggles, there have been some bright spots. Quarterback Giovanni Vizza has yet to throw an interception in 114 passing attempts after throwing at least one in every game he played last year. Cam Montgomery is leading the Mean Green in rushing averaging six ypc with 155 yards on 25 carries. Casey Fitzgerald leads UNT with 24 receptions through the first three games, which includes his 11-catch performance against LSU.

The Mean Green are having a difficult time stopping anyone so far this season, giving up an average of over 438 ypg to the opposition. The Mean Green have yet to record a sack this year making them one of only two teams in the nation that have failed to do so. Opponents have averaged 172.0 ypg on the ground and 311.7 ypg through the air against the Mean Green. North Texas has also given up nine rushing and nine passing touchdowns through the first three games. The Mean Green special teams has been anything but special as the unit ranks last in the Sun Belt and 118th nationally, averaging 12.9 yards per kickoff return. The kickoff coverage has also been poor as that group comes in last in the conference with a net average of 35.3 yards allowed per return. The Mean Green have not returned a kickoff for a touchdown in their past 112 games.

Rice is averaging over 32 ppg this season and 111.2 yards rushing and 294 yards passing through their first four games. The Owls possess the 14th-best passing offense in the nation. Rice is netting more than 405 yards of total offense on the season. After beginning the campaign with 208 net rushing yards against SMU, that number has declined each week, culminating in an abysmal performance against Texas where the Owls only had 17 net rushing yards on 24 carries. Quarterback Chase Clement is averaging 335.8 ypg in total offense and has accounted for 12 touchdowns. He has completed over 63 percent of his passes and has thrown just three interceptions, two of which came against Memphis on September 6th. James Casey and Jarett Dillard lead the Owls' aerial attack with both averaging more than 100 ypg receiving. Dillard, who has six touchdown catches in the first four games, is the NCAA's active career leader in receptions (236), receiving yards (3,246) and touchdown receptions (46). Dillard is on pace to break the school and conference record of 21 touchdown receptions that he set back in 2006.

As good as the offense has been so far the same could not be said for the Owls' defense. Rice is allowing an average of 38 ppg and more than 450 yards per game in total offense. With the exception of the SMU game, the Owls have been unable to stop anyone on the ground as in their last three games they have allowed 150, 273 and 259 yards rushing, respectively. The Owls notched five interceptions in their first two games, but have failed to pick off a pass in their last two, both of which were losses. They also have recorded just six sacks through their first four games while allowing 13.

North Texas has been unable to stop anyone defensively and this trend should continue against the Owls' high-powered passing attack. Expect this game to be competitive until halftime when Rice takes over and wins going away.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Rice 51, North Texas 20