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FACTS & STATS: Site: Apogee Stadium (30,850) -- Denton, Texas. Television: ESPN3.com, Home Record: Indiana 1-1, N. Texas 0-1. Away Record: Indiana 0-0, N. Texas 0-2. Neutral Record: Indiana 0-1, N. Texas 0-0. Conference Record: Indiana 0-0, N. Texas 0-1. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: The North Texas Mean Green hope to give the home crowd something to cheer about as they return to Denton to face the Indiana Hoosiers in non- conference action.

Dan McCarney's first season as head coach of North Texas has not been ideal. The Mean Green have struggled this season losing their first three games as they played conference rival FIU, Houston and powerhouse Alabama. Star running back Lance Dunbar hopes to get something going in this one after being contained in the team's first three matchups. North Texas is hoping to avoid an 0-4 start, as it would be the first occurrence since 2008.

As for the Hoosiers, they are coming off their first win of the season after defeating South Carolina State, 38-21, last week. It was the first win for new head coach Kevin Wilson after his team suffered close losses to Ball State and Virginia to open the season.

This bout marks the first meeting between North Texas and Indiana on the gridiron, and the Hoosiers are the first Big Ten Conference team the Mean Green has ever faced.

In last week's 38-21 win over SC State, Indiana quarterback Edward Wright- Baker hit 21-of-27 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns. Wright-Baker also contributed 41 yards rushing which put him over the 300-yard mark for total offense. Wright-Baker has completed 57-of-89 passes for 716 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in his first year as a starter. D'Angelo Roberts earned the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week award for last week's performance, as he ran for 102 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown, all in the second half. Sophomore receiver Duwyce Wilson has bounced back from his no-catch performance in the opener and now leads the team with two receiving touchdowns and a 14.6 yard per catch average. Wilson hopes to continue his hot streak as he set career-highs against SC State with six receptions and 101 yards. Wright-Baker's favorite target, Damarlo Belcher, is the Big Ten's active leader in receptions and is second in career yardage. Belcher found the end zone in the season opener with a 65-yard touchdown grab.

Senior linebacker Jeff Thomas lead the IU defense this season with 26 tackles. Cornerback Greg Heban has had a strong campaign as well, and he had a standout performance in the Hoosiers' loss to Virginia as he recorded seven tackles and two interceptions. The defense gave up 377 yards to South Carolina State last week.

North Texas fans had high hopes for senior Lance Dunbar coming into the season, unfortunately the high expectations have not been met just yet. Dunbar was stifled last week as Alabama held him to a mere 16 yards. The Mean Green's playmaker came into the season ranked third among active players in rushing yards. The passing attack for UNT has not taken any pressure off Dunbar, and so far sophomore quarterback Derek Thompson is averaging just 139.7 passing yards per game. The bright spot for North Texas has been return man Brelan Chancellor, as he leads the nation in all-purpose yards. The UNT offense was shut out last week versus Alabama, and the unit has posted just 760 yards total through the first three games, while their opponents have compiled 1,677 yards.

The North Texas defense has struggled mightily this season, yielding more than 40 points in all three losses. Zachary Orr has stood out as he has 27 tackles and also grabbed the team's only interception of the year. North Texas is allowing 559 yards per game as each of its opponents have been able to exploit the Mean Greens' glaring holes in both their efforts against the pass and the run.

North Texas would love to win its first game against a Big Ten opponent, however, it will need to improve on both sides of the ball to do so. The offense needs to establish something in the passing game to give Dunbar some breathing room to make plays with his feet. That said, Indiana is the better team and should prevail despite playing on the road.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Indiana 31, North Texas 24