North Texas is 1-1, and after today, this season suddenly feels a lot more interesting. Last year, the Mean Green were known as an offensive machine. This year, the script may be flipping. The offense still showed plenty, putting up more than 40 points, but the defense looked like the unit setting the identity of this team. There’s something fitting about that considering the “Mean Green” name itself was born from defense. And doing it in the Texas summer heat, with temperatures north of 100 degrees, makes the whole thing a little more impressive. A week ago, we were trying to figure out what a rebuilt North Texas team even was after opening on the road against the defending national champions. Today, after a convincing win over UNLV, the question feels different. Maybe this isn’t just a rebuilding year. Maybe the ceiling is higher than we thought. No need to get carried away yet. Texas State in San Marcos next week should be a much better measuring stick. But Neal Brown has something here. And right now, it looks pretty damn promising.