Note: This story is featured in the 2026 edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football's Summer Magazine, which you can order here.

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BEHIND ENEMY LINES  

“Neal (Brown) was a great hire for North Texas. He’s won at this level, understands how this state works because of his time at Texas Tech, and he’s gone through some ups and downs that I’m sure he’s learned from. North Texas won’t be one-hit wonders with him in charge.”   

“Following a guy who just led a team to its best season ever is never an easy thing. That fan base will want Neal Brown to hit the ground running and win right away and I’m not sure that is realistic at this level because of the portal. It is hard to put together a roster in a month and then build a team in one offseason.”  

“That non-conference schedule is a brutal way to start a tenure. What happens to that fan base if North Texas starts 0-3? I like the hire but I don’t think 2026 will be friendly to them.”  

SCHEDULE AND PREDICTIONS  

Sept. 5 at Indiana L 

Sept. 12 UNLV L 

Sept. 19 at Texas State L 

Sept. 26 Houston Christian W 

Oct. 1 at Tulsa W 

Oct. 10 Charlotte W  

Oct. 17 IDLE 

Oct. 24 at Navy L 

Oct. 29 FAU W 

Nov. 7 Rice W 

Nov. 14 at UTSA L 

Nov. 21 at Tulane  L 

Nov. 28 UAB W 

Record: 6-6 (5-3) 

BIGGEST GAME – Nov. 14 at UTSA  

The head coach at North Texas is always judged by his success or failures against UTSA and North Texas travels to San Antonio this year after embarrassing the Roadrunners at home in 2025. The Mean Green haven’t beaten UTSA in San Antonio since 2018 and are 1-6 in the Alamodome.  

TRAP GAME – Oct. 10 vs. Charlotte  

Charlotte has been one of the worst American Conference teams over the last few years and North Texas needs to cash in on one of most winnable games on the schedule, but this will be the sixth game in a row to start the season and a tough non-conference slate could take a toll.  

UPSET ALERT – Sept. 19 at Texas State 

The first intrastate matchup for Neal Brown at North Texas is a trip to San Marcos to face Texas State in a game with American vs. Pac-12 implications. The Mean Green start with Indiana and UNLV so they could be 0-2 and in need of a signature win.   

BEST CASE/WORST CASE 

Best Case: 8-4  

The Mean Green weather a tough non-conference schedule that starts with a trip to Indiana before hitting their stride in October because of a manageable American Conference schedule that includes winnable home games against Charlotte, FAU, Rice, and UAB. North Texas avoids Memphis, South Florida, and Army.  

Worst Case: 4-8  

North Texas heads into American Conference play with a 1-3 record because of a non-conference schedule that includes trip to Indiana and Texas State as well a home game against UNLV. The turnover on the coaching staff and the roster proves too hard to overcome in Year 1 of the Neal Brown era.  

2025 RESULTS 

Aug. 30 Lamar W 51-0  

Sept. 6 at Western Michigan W 33-30 (OT) 
Sept. 13 Washington State W 59-10 

Sept. 20 at Army W 45-38 (OT) 

Sept. 27 South Alabama W 36-22 

Oct. 10 USF L 63-36 

Oct. 18 UTSA W 55-17 

Oct. 24 at Charlotte W 54-20 

Nov. 1 Navy W 31-17 

Nov. 15 at UAB W 53-24 

Nov. 22 at Rice W 56-24 

Nov. 28 Temple W 52-25 

Dec. 5 Tulane (AC Champ) L 34-21 

Dec. 27 San Diego State (New Mexico Bowl) W 49-47 

Record: 12-2 (7-2)