Lance Dunbar News

North Texas seemed to be on its way to a breakout season just a few weeks ago following a season-opening win over Ball State.

Something had to give on Saturday. ASU entered their matchup with North Texas on a four game slide, while the Mean Green dropped their last three.

Ryan Aplin threw for 240 yards and ran for 122 and two touchdowns to lead Arkansas State to a 30-26 victory over North Texas on Saturday.

North Texas at Arkansas State DATE & TIME: Saturday, November 28th, 2:00 p.m. FACTS & STATS: Site: ASU Stadium -- Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Look up and down Army's roster and you'll find players filled with passion and heart.

There was a time not too long ago when North Texas head coach Todd Dodge seemed larger than life.

Lance Dunbar got his opportunities to help spark North Texas' offense on Saturday in the Mean Green's game against Army at Fouts Field.

For a while, it appeared as if North Texas has solved the offensive problems that plagued it last week in a loss to Louisiana-Monroe. The Mean Green racked up 300 yards of offense in the first half and scored four touchdowns.

Line: North Texas by 2. Series Record: Army leads 2-0. Last meeting: 1997, Army 25-14. Army can become bowl eligible by sweeping its final two games.

North Texas knew there would be some growing pains for its offense in the third season of the Todd Dodge era, with a new quarterback and what has turned out to be a largely rebuilt corps of wide receivers.

The Panthers used an interception, a blocked punt and a Mean Green fumble to overcome a 28-14 halftime deficit.

North Texas at FIU Time: 7 p.m. TV: None. Records: North Texas 2-7 , FIU 2-7 Buzz: The Panthers struggled in a 48-21 loss to Middle Tennessee State without QB Paul McCall , who sat out with a hyperextended right throwing elbow.

They were riding a two-game losing streak and a little down in spirits after a loss at Troy last week.

Safety Greg James highlighted the defensive effort for ULM against North Texas on Saturday.

The assumption when Todd Dodge took over as North Texas' head coach after the 2006 season was the Mean Green would develop into a team that relied on throwing the ball all over the field.

ULM is a mentally tough team. They sit at 4-4 overall, but their four losses are to Sunbelt powerhouse Troy and 3 BCS schools.

Well, 7-1 is not a bad week. Kudos to the SMU Mustangs, who proved me wrong and beat Tulsa on the road.

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson Case Keenum , QB, Houston: Threw for a career-high 559 yards and had five touchdowns, including the game-winning score to Patrick Edwards with 21 seconds remaining.

North Texas sets school points mark in 68-49 win Eds: APNewsNow. North Texas 68, Western Kentucky 49.

Based on the numbers, it appears that this is the year of the young tailback in the Sun Belt Conference.