We’ve finally made it through the long offseason, and game week is here. For North Texas fans, it’s hard to believe the program is already entering year three under head coach Eric Morris. Time flies when you’re having fun, and the Morris era has been full of high-scoring shootouts and offensive fireworks.

The 2025 season kicks off Saturday night in Denton as UNT hosts FCS Southland opponent Lamar. On paper, this looks like the type of game where the Mean Green should roll. But as the great Lee Corso would say: “Not so fast, my friend.”

Lamar is no pushover. The Cardinals are coming off a 7-5 season under head coach Pete Rossomando and have quietly put together back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1966 and 1967. They return their starting quarterback, Robert Coleman, who has logged 22 career starts. Coleman has proven steady, completing 288 of 511 passes (.564) for 3,703 yards and 31 touchdowns in his career. More importantly, he has given Lamar a sense of stability under center that few FCS programs can boast. Last season, the Cardinals nearly stunned Texas State in their opener, falling just 34-27.

Defense was Lamar’s calling card in 2024. The Cardinals were 7-2 when holding opponents under 30 points, but 0-3 when they allowed more than that. If North Texas can light up the scoreboard early, history suggests Lamar will have trouble keeping pace. Fortunately for the Mean Green, scoring hasn’t exactly been an issue in the Eric Morris era.

The intrigue for UNT lies at quarterback. Saturday marks the official start of the Drew Mestemaker era. Mestemaker gave fans a glimpse of his potential in January’s First Responder Bowl against Texas State, and if he can replicate that performance, the Mean Green should be in position to open the season 1-0.

Defensively, North Texas is also beginning a new chapter. Skylar Cassity takes over as defensive coordinator after successful stints at Abilene Christian and Sam Houston. His task? Fixing a UNT defense that has been the program’s Achilles’ heel the past two seasons. Cassity will lean on both transfer talent and veteran returners to change the unit’s identity.

Up front, fifth-year defensive tackle Fatafehi Vailea II will be asked to anchor the trenches, while Sam Houston transfer defensive back David Fisher looks to bring leadership and stability to the secondary.

On the offensive line, Gabe Blair joins Vailea as one of the last remaining members of the 2021 signing class. Both are set to serve as team captains this fall, providing leadership on and off the field for a roster heavy with new faces.

So, while the season opener against Lamar may look like a tune-up on the schedule, it also represents the start of several new eras in Denton—the Mestemaker era at quarterback, the Cassity era on defense, and a season where UNT hopes to take another step forward under Eric Morris.

 Kickoff is set for Saturday night at Apogee Stadium, where fans will get their first look at the new-look Mean Green. And as of now, the forecast is calling for ideal football weather—a kickoff temperature around 85 degrees, a perfect backdrop for the start of another season in Denton.