Only a few weeks have passed since North Texas was riding a high unlike it had experienced in nearly a year.

To say that a lot has changed since UNT opened the season with a win over Ball State on Sept. 3 might be a bit of an understatement.

UNT lost a heartbreaker at home to Ohio in double overtime and then was drilled by Alabama and Middle Tennessee in consecutive games. Ball State, a team that appeared as if it was headed to at least a solid year before the season, has since fallen to 0-5, taking some of the luster away from the Mean Green’s only win of the year.

UNT (1-3, 0-1) will try to pull out of its funk today and stay alive in the Sun Belt Conference title chase when it travels to face Louisiana-Lafayette (2-2, 0-0) for its second league game.

“We have to grab hold of every bit of confidence we have,” UNT head coach Todd Dodge said. “I have to keep reminding our players of how close we are. We didn’t play well enough to win last week against Middle Tennessee, but we feel like we are a lot closer to the rest of the league than we were at this time last year.”

MTSU jumped out to a 23-point halftime lead against UNT in its Sun Belt opener and kicked it into cruise control before settling for a 37-21 win. The loss was disappointing for UNT, but the Mean Green was a whole lot more competitive against the Blue Raiders than it was in several conference games last season.

UNT is hoping to build on that confidence today and break through for its first Sun Belt win since a victory over Louisiana-Monroe in sixth game of the 2007 season. The Mean Green is riding a 12-game conference losing streak heading into its game against the Ragin’ Cajuns.

“Offensively, they move the ball and they have really improved defensively,” ULL head coach Rickey Bustle said. “We are going to have to play well to move the ball.”

ULL has gone through an up-and-down nonconference season that makes judging the Ragin’ Cajuns tough.

ULL knocked off Kansas State to improve to 2-0 on the season, but has since lost back-to-back games to a pair of nationally ranked teams in LSU and Nebraska. The Cajuns have also suffered through a series of injuries, which makes it hard to tell if they are the Sun Belt contender they appeared to be in their win over Kansas State or the overmatched mess they appeared to be in a 55-0 loss to Nebraska.

Sophomore quarterback Chris Masson has excelled in his first season as a starter and is averaging 182.2 passing yards a game to lead ULL.

“They have played some pretty good teams and are a sound group, but it is all about us,” UNT defensive lineman Kelvin Jackson said. “If we do what we are supposed to do, we will have a chance to be ahead when the clock hits zero.”

The Mean Green has played well at times this season behind quarterback Riley Dodge, who ranks second in the Sun Belt with an average of 262 yards of total offense a game. Running back Cam Montgomery has 244 rushing yards on the season.

UNT’s problem has been the number of mistakes it continues to make at critical times. The Mean Green turned the ball over five times in its last game.

Those are the types of mistakes UNT has made throughout the season. The Mean Green was able to overcome them in its win over Ball State, but has come up short in every game since.

Those losses leave UNT in a tough position if it wants to remain a viable contender in the Sun Belt. Only once in the eight-year history of the league has a team with two losses won a share of the conference title.

UNT already has a league loss on its ledger and needs to get back to the form that allowed it to pull out a win over Ball State.

“It’s real important to get back to where we were against Ball State,” Jackson said. “We were right there against Ohio, but we haven’t made the plays we have needed to in order to win games. We need to win this game to get us back on track. We feel like we are close and are focused.”

Four downs

Keys to today’s game

Cut out the mistakes

UNT has been plagued by mistakes throughout the season and had a number of costly errors in its loss to Middle Tennessee to open Sun Belt Conference play. UNT turned the ball over five times against the Blue Raiders and had a field goal blocked.

The Mean Green is tied for 109^th out of 120 teams nationally in turnover margin with a deficit of 1.25 per game.

UNT will have to avoid those mistakes against ULL, which is trying to get off to a good start in its first game of the Sun Belt season.

Contain Masson

UNT has improved this season defensively, but has struggled to contain some of the top players it has faced. MTSU quarterback Dwight Dasher finished with 344 yards, rushed for two touchdowns and threw two touchdown passes against UNT. Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 pass attempts in a win over the Mean Green.

UNT can’t afford a similar performance against Chris Masson, ULL’s inexperienced sophomore quarterback who is averaging 182.2 passing yards a game. Todd Dodge said Masson is the key player in ULL’s offense.

Get something going offensively

UNT’s offense was expected to take a big step forward this season, thanks to the addition of Riley Dodge at quarterback, the return of running back Cam Montgomery and the addition of a few key players at wide receiver.

So far that improvement hasn’t materialized. UNT ranks No. 102 nationally in scoring with an average of 19.5 points a game, and that total is slightly inflated. The Mean Green scored 10 points in two overtime periods of a loss to Ohio.

UNT will have to do better to knock off ULL. The Ragin’ Cajuns haven’t scored a touchdown in 10 quarters, but have the potential to get over the 20-point mark at home.

Pull out of the spiral

UNT has been in a downward spiral ever since Ohio scored on a two-point conversion attempt in double overtime to knock off the Mean Green in its second game of the season.

UNT has been blown out by Alabama and MTSU in its last two games and looked flat in the first half of its game against the Blue Raiders. It could be easy for the Mean Green to get to the point where it loses confidence if it gets down early against the Ragin’ Cajuns.

The Mean Green needs to score early, get a stop or make a play on special teams. Another poor start could prove deadly for UNT.

Key matchup

UNT RB Lance Dunbar vs. ULL LB Antwyn Zanders

UNT has scored just nine touchdowns in four games this season. Three of them have been scored by sophomore running back Lance Dunbar, who has shown the big-play ability that has been largely missing from UNT’s offense throughout the season.

Dunbar scored on a 66-yard run and an 18-yard scamper in UNT’s last game. Head coach Todd Dodge said that Dunbar would get some additional opportunities after his breakout game against the Blue Raiders, when he rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns on just five carries.

Dunbar is averaging 49.5 yards a game despite carrying the ball just 33 times this season.

ULL’s strength is a veteran defense led by Antwyn Zanders, a senior linebacker who has posted a team-high 37 tackles. Three of those tackles have come behind the line of scrimmage.

UNT’s opponents have focused on stopping the Mean Green’s running game and short passing attack throughout the season because UNT has yet to prove that it can get the ball deep in the passing game. Zanders will be lurking near the line of scrimmage, looking to stop Dunbar, fellow running back Cam Montgomery and quarterback Riley Dodge.

If UNT and Dunbar can’t get past Zanders and make a few plays in the running game, it could be a long day for the Mean Green.

Matching up

UNT’s offense vs. ULL’s defense

UNT has struggled throughout the season offensively and hasn’t scored more than 21 points in regulation in a game yet this season. The Mean Green has turned ball over 11 times and is converting just 30.4 percent of its third downs, a total that ranks 109^th out of 120 teams nationally.

Quarterback Riley Dodge has been good at times and is averaging 262 yards of total offense a game, but has yet to lead UNT to a breakout game. UNT’s best offensive output was 30 points in a double overtime loss to Ohio in which it scored 10 points in the overtime periods.

ULL ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in scoring defense with an average of 30 points allowed per game, despite facing a pair of nationally ranked teams in LSU and Nebraska. The Ragin’ Cajuns are expected to get several key players back from injury against UNT, including safety Gerren Blount.

UNT’s defense vs. ULL’s offense

UNT’s defense has improved dramatically this season and enters its game against ULL in a tie for third in the Sun Belt with the Ragin’ Cajuns in total defense with an average of 380 yards allowed per game.

UNT has 21 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, six sacks, two interceptions and four fumble recoveries on the season. The Mean Green did allow 37 points in its last game, a loss to Middle Tennessee, but there is little doubt UNT has gotten better.

ULL is rebuilding on offense after losing running back Tyrell Fenroy and quarterback Michael Desormeaux to graduation after last season.

Chris Masson has been a pleasant surprise at quarterback and ranks seventh in the Sun Belt Conference with an average of 200 yards of total offense a game. Undrea Sails is averaging 70.2 rushing yards a game.

ULL’s weakness appears to be in its receiving corps. The Cajuns have dropped several passes this season.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.