The national sports magazines are hitting the stands as football fans are starting to get ready for the next season. Until the first kick-off, almost all college sports fans believe their team is going to go undefeated, winning their respective conference title and headed to a bowl. What is so exciting about a new season is everyone is starting out undefeated. What is exciting about the magazines is they give football fans the hope their team has improved enough to end the season at the top.  

Eagletalk.net has had a nice working relationship with Athlon’s Sports in the past and it is one of the first magazines we look for when it hits the store selves. So we contacted them for some of their thoughts about North Texas. As pointed out a few weeks ago they told Eagletalk.net they expect North Texas to have a better season then they have had in the past. They expect Lance Dunbar will have great year and lead North Texas to more wins this season.

OK, but what do they say in their on the store editions? Here is an overview of what they have to say about North Texas and some of the players.

On the ‘Back Page,’ where they project upcoming bowl participates, they do not expect North Texas to be in a bowl this year.

North Texas gets a plug in the “Sleepers to Watch” section. They mention Tyler Stradford, WR, with the comment “Oklahoma transfer could emerge as Mean Green’s best receiver.”   

In the “2010 College Fantasy Football Mock Draft” North Texas gets mentioned in the top 84 players. Sitting at #12 best player in the mock draft is none other than Lance Dunbar, RB, North Texas. He is right there with some big time players from other big name schools.

Here is what they have to say about several North Texas players in their section called ‘College Fantasy Football.’

In their top 150 players in the section, looky at #17 from North Texas. Yep, none other than that little old running back Lance Dunbar. He is ranked ahead of some noticeable players.

When selecting their top 75 running backs in College Fantasy Football there at #8 is Lance Dunbar. You should see whom he beats out.

OK, enough of Dunbar, what about other North Texas players. Seems Athlon’s already knows who the starting quarterback for North Texas will be next year, he is Derek Thompson. Why? Because of the top 75 quarterbacks in the College Fantasy Football he is rated #65. Must think a lot about his talents to rank him in the middle of the pack of FBS teams and he hasn’t even played a down, or officially named a starter.

The of the top 75 wide receivers in the College Fantasy Football Tyler Stradford is listed at #70.

Well no surprise, the #1 coach on the hot seat is Todd Dodge. Basically, “defense has been the big problem in Denton. The Mean Green have ranked 112^th, 119^th and 119^th in the nation in scoring defense the past three seasons.”  They mentioned he has only won five games in his three years going 5-31, 2-20.

They predict Dodge’s team is the #115 team in the nation.

When it comes to ranking the best coaching jobs from “First to Worst,” North Texas lands at #96 with the statement, “good for the league, but No. 9 in the state.

They predict Troy to be the winner of the Sun Belt Conference with North Texas coming in at #7 ahead of #8 Florida International and #9 Western Kentucky. This indicates Athlon’s does expect North Texas to win a minimum of three and possibly more games this season. So true to their word, they are expecting North Texas to improve this year. 

Breaking down each unit in the conference, they rank North Texas running back position #1 in the SBC. Wide receivers/tight ends both come in at #2. Linebackers are the fifth best in the conference with the defensive line and defensive backs at #7. The quarterback position is #8.

Recruiting ratings in the SBC they have North Texas at #6.

To summarize, Athlon believes North Texas fans will have more to cheer about this season as they are expecting more W’s in the win column. As they point out, North Texas fans will have the opportunity to see one of the best running backs in the nation in Lance Dunbar. North Texas fans might be a witness to the emergence of one of the best wide receivers in nation in Tyler Stradford.