Memphis football vs. North Texas: Score prediction, scouting report for AAC road test

Memphis football is hoping to start a new winning streak.

The Tigers bounced back from a home loss to Tulane with a 45-21 road win at UAB, but another road test awaits Saturday when Memphis heads to Denton, Texas for a meeting with North Texas.

The Mean Green (3-4, 2-2 American Athletic Conference) are newcomers to the conference and have a new coach in Eric Morris. They're coming off a 35-28 loss to conference leaders Tulane.

Memphis (5-2, 2-1) probably needs to win out to have a shot at the AAC title game. That means five more wins in a row, starting Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+).

Here's your scouting report and score prediction for Saturday's game:

North Texas moves quick

Morris, who spent last season as the offensive coordinator at Washington State, has brought an air raid style offense to Denton. North Texas has one of the fastest offenses in the country, averaging 76.3 plays per game.

"They're dynamite," Memphis defensive coordinator Matt Barnes said Wednesday.

North Texas' best offensive player is wide receiver Ja'Mori Maclin, who enters Saturday's game as the country's 15th best receiver in terms of receiving yards. He also has nine receiving touchdowns this season and is on the Biletnikoff Award watch list.

Mean Green quarterback Chandler Rogers has been coming into his own over the past few games as well. The junior threw for 343 yards and two touchdowns last week against Tulane.

More: How Memphis football quarterback Seth Henigan's family shaped his past and future

Homecoming, in more ways than one

Saturday is North Texas' homecoming. But it's also homecoming for a slew of Tigers players from Texas, including quarterback Seth Henigan.

Henigan played for his dad, Dave Henigan, as a high school quarterback at Denton Ryan High School. The Henigans grew up about 12 minutes from DATCU Stadium, and there will be family members in the crowd.

It's also a homecoming for wide receiver Tauskie Dove, who also played at Denton Ryan. He's a few years older than Henigan and played four years at Missouri before transferring to Memphis.

And that's not to mention all the other Tigers from Texas.

"Texas people loving going back to Texas," Memphis offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey said Tuesday.

Why Memphis has to win

The Tigers saw their margin for error disappear with the loss to Tulane on Oct. 13.

To have a shot at the AAC title, Memphis almost certainly needs to win the rest of its regular-season games. Tulane and UTSA are both undefeated in conference play and have easy schedules the rest of the season before facing off during the last week of the season.

SMU is also undefeated, but the Tigers play the Mustangs on Nov. 18, so a win there would give Memphis the tiebreaker. But a loss in any game would give the Tigers two conference losses, which would likely be an insurmountable deficit with UTSA, Tulane and SMU all likely to have zero or one loss at the end of the season.

But that's all in the future. For now, Memphis just has to do the one thing every coach preaches: Go 1-0 this week.

Memphis vs. North Texas score prediction

Memphis 48, North Texas 35. It's another high-scoring affair, and there are some dicey moments, but Memphis wins the turnover battle again and the offense keeps rolling on the road.

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis football vs. North Texas: Score prediction, scouting report