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FACTS & STATS: Site: Apogee Stadium (30,850) -- Denton, Texas. Television: None. Home Record: ULM 1-1, UNT 2-1. Away Record: ULM 1-3, UNT 0-4. Neutral Record: ULM 0-0, UNT 0-0. Conference Record: ULM 1-1, UNT 1-2. Series Record: ULM leads, 15-12.

GAME NOTES: The North Texas Mean play host to the ULM Warhawks this Saturday, as the two Sun Belt Conference foes do battle at Apogee Stadium in Denton.

ULM split its first two conference games, losing at home to Arkansas State (24-19) and winning at Troy (30-10). The win over the Trojans snapped a three- game losing streak for the Warhawks.

The Mean Green find themselves near the bottom of the conference after dropping a 30-10 decision to the Sun Belt's top team, Louisiana. The loss came after UNT hung on to beat Florida Atlantic (31-17) in its previous game. This Mean Green squad is 2-1 at home so far with wins over the Owls and Indiana. Their lone home defeat came to in-state rival Houston.

This bout marks the 28th meeting between these two programs, and ULM holds a 15-12 advantage in the series. In 2010, the Warhawks beat the visiting Mean Green (49-37) in a high-scoring affair that featured great performances from ULM's Kolton Browning (247 yards passing, five TDs) and UNT's Lance Dunbar (134 rushing yards, one TD).

ULM's offense is coming off a season-high 38-point performance against a mediocre Troy defensive unit. In the Warhawks' two victories this year, the team has eclipsed the 30-point mark, while in their four losses they are averaging just 13.25 ppg.

The offensive production has been the lacking so far for the Warhawks. ULM ranks 81st nationally in total offense (366.5 ypg) and 99th in scoring (21.0 ppg). The good news heading into this week's contest is that quarterback Kolton Browning is coming off of his best performance of the year. Browning completed 23-of-31 passes for 275 yards with three TDs. Leading rusher Centarius Donald also had a solid performance against the Trojans with 113 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries.

The ULM defense has been the Sun Belt's best this year, yielding an average of 308.5 ypg. Last time out, the Warhawks dominated Troy at the point of attack, leading to negative-14 yards rushing on the day. The Trojans' passing attack was held to just 140 yards. Jason Edwards leads the ULM defense with 45 tackles, and Darius Prelow has been a big contributor as well as his three interceptions have him tied for the top spot in the conference.

The Mean Green offense has not been spectacular here in 2011. The offense ranks near the bottom in the Sun Belt in nearly every offensive category. North Texas leans heavily on star tailback Lance Dunbar for offensive production. The senior moved into second place on the school's all-time rushing list and is 409 yards away from the top spot. Dunbar's streak of three straight 100-yard rushing games was snapped in last week's loss to Louisiana. He will be challenged by the 15th-best rush defense in the nation this week while he attempts to start a new streak.

The passing attack for the Mean Green is led by sophomore Derek Thompson. Defenses have challenged Thompson all season and will continue to until he proves to be a threat. The sophomore quarterback completed 11-of-22 passes for just 86 yards and threw an interception last week against Louisiana. North Texas has thrown for just over half the yards of their opponents on the season. No wide receivers have stood out yet as Dunbar also leads the team in receptions and receiving yards.

The North Texas defense has not been impressive either. Opponents have scored an average of 34.14 ppg against the Mean Green. However, the UNT defense has shown glimpses of big-play ability. In its win against FAU, the unit picked off Florida Atlantic's Graham Wilbert three times to secure the victory. Zachary Orr leads the team with 56 tackles. Brandon Apkunpu recorded a sack against Louisiana in the 30-10 loss last week to give him a conference-leading five for the year.

This seems like an easy one to predict with a one-dimensional offense facing a bruising rushing defense. However, Dunbar found a way to break out against the Warhawks in last season's matchup. North Texas desperately needs Thompson to start keeping defenses honest if the Mean Green are going to make a push. Browning should be able to continue last week's success against the weak North Texas defense. Expect very good offensive performances for both sides compared to what we've seen so far.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: ULM 35, North Texas 33