DENTON, Texas – Houston heads north minus two of its better playmakers for Saturday's non-conference game at North Texas. Quarterback D'Eriq King and wide receiver Keith Corbin have elected to redshirt for the remainder of their senior seasons for the Cougars, would will turn to less experienced players against the Mean Green.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, No TV. LINE: North Texas -6
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"We need to get older and we need to develop," coach Dana Holgorsen, who is set to hand the reins of the team to sophomore Clayton Tune instead of his son - freshman quarterback Logan, told the media. "I've identified a little bit of a problem that exists here, and I am going to do everything I can to fix it." Tune has yet to attempt a pass this season but appeared in five games last season, including a pair of starts, and had eight touchdown passes and two interceptions. Tune will have leading receiver Marquez Stevenson, who has recorded 17 receptions for 234 yards and three touchdowns, to throw to while a trio of sophomores in Jeremy Singleton, tight end Christian Trahan and Bryson Smith will vie to take over Corbin's spot as the team's No. 2 receiver. The Mean Green will have the two-headed monster of Mason Fine, the nation's active leader in career passing yards with 10,357, and Tre Siggers, who ranks seventh nationally with 131.7 rushing yards per game, to welcome the Cougars to Denton.
ABOUT HOUSTON (1-3)
With King and Corbin gone, the Cougars will need a defense that has allowed nearly 34 points per game to step up and one way to do that is with turnovers. The unit, which is led by Grant Stuard, David Anenih and Payton Turner, has produced only five turnovers on the season, including three fumble recoveries, but is facing a quarterback in Fine who has thrown three interceptions this season and 28 for his career. Turner has 4.5 tackles including a sack while Anenih, a junior, has two sacks this season for the Cougars.
ABOUT NORTH TEXAS (2-2)
Fine owns nearly every career record for a quarterback at North Texas, including touchdown passes (73) and total offense (10,491 yards), but there is still one that he is chasing. The Oklahoma native has accounted for 78 total touchdowns in his four seasons, seven shy of the record held by Mitch Maher (1991-94), but he can put a big dent in the deficit against a Houston team that has allowed 11 touchdowns through the air and seven on the ground. Rico Bussey, Jr. - Fine's favorite target - was lost for the season with a torn ACL on Sept. 14 against California but the Mean Green do not lack for weapons in the passing game, including junior Jaelon Darden, Michael Lawrence, Jyaire Shorter and Jason Pirtle.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Cougars have won four straight meetings against the Mean Green, including outscoring North Texas 92-44 in wins in 2011 and 2012, to forge a 7-7 tie in a series that began in 1946.
2. Fine has made 31 consecutive starts, which is the second longest streak in the FBS to Georgia's Jake Fromm (32).
3. Houston has come up with at least one takeaway in 21 straight games, the longest active streak in the FBS. ... The Cougars have 103 interceptions since 2013 - one of only three teams with more than 100 picks over that span (Ohio State, 102; Louisiana Tech, 100).
PREDICTION: Houston 34, North Texas 31