University of North Texas Athletics
Top Moments From 2017 - Holding Off UAB
8/1/2018 12:00:00 AM | Football
As fall camp approaches, with players reporting on Thursday, August 2, MeanGreenSports.com takes a look back at some of the biggest moments from the 2017 season. MeanGreenSports.com relives each of these key moments from the nine-win season last year. We conclude our series with the win over UAB, which ended up being a major turning point in the Mean Green's season.
Entering Conference USA play, North Texas was coming off two consecutive road losses and the Mean Green were desperate for a win. Losses at SMU and Iowa put North Texas in a 1-2 hole to start the year, and on paper, figured to have a strong probability of beating the Blazers, who brought their program back after a two-year hiatus. In the early-going, that certainly appeared to be the case, as North Texas jumped out to a 30-14 halftime lead. UAB, however, never went away. North Texas eventually held off the UAB rally and Trevor Moore kicked a game-winning field goal with seven seconds left to seal the victory.
This game was the first in which the Mean Green offense flexed its muscle over the course of a full 60 minutes against an FBS opponent, putting 46 points on the board. Yes, the Mean Green had dominated its season-opener with FCS foe Lamar to the tune of 59-14, and had a strong second half at SMU, but this was the true arrival of the potent attack. Balance was the key, as they rolled up 548 yards of total offense (287 on the ground and 261 through the air).
Trailing 7-3 early, Jalen Guyton turned in one of the biggest highlights of the season, hauling in a very difficult catch along the home sideline over UAB corner Darious Williams (now with the Baltimore Ravens). The catch was a highlight on its, own, but the work Guyton put in to find the end zone made it that much more special. It was the ultimate competitive play for the newcomer to Denton.
After coming down with it at the Blazers' 22-yard line, Guyton got past Williams with one defender between him and the goal line. As he continued downfield, Guyton cut sharply inside to get past him. Another defender tracking back attempted to wrap Guyton up at the six, but the Allen native fought through this would-be tackler and as he was falling out of bounds, reached the ball inside the pylon for the go-ahead touchdown. For good measure, Guyton checked with the side judge, who raised his arms in confirmation.
Guyton developed a propensity for the big play over the course of the season, and this 47-yard scoring grab was one of his finest individual efforts.
Quarterback Mason Fine finished the day 15-of-29 for 261 yards and three scores, while running back Jeffery Wilson carried 26 times for 211 yards and a score of his own.
North Texas extended its lead to 37-21 midway through the third quarter on a Fine touchdown pass to Turner Smiley, and all seemed to be put to bed for the Mean Green. The visitors would not go quietly, however, pulling within eight at 37-29 after an A.J. Erdely touchdown pass and subsequent two-point conversion.
A pair of Moore field goals stretched the North Texas lead back to 14 with a shade under eight minutes to play. The Blazers answered again, with back-to-back touchdown drives, including the game-tying score with just 27 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, which seemed to push the game to overtime.
That's when Evan Johnson came through with his biggest kick return of the season (to that point). He busted a 48-yard return, setting the Mean Green up with excellent field position on the UAB 44.
Wilson then burst through the defensive line with a 34-yard run to the Blazers' 10. After a UAB penalty, Moore stepped up to convert the 22-yard game-winning field goal.
The Mean Green survived, notching C-USA win number one, which was the first step on the way to a western division title.
What they said:
Quarterback Mason Fine - "We came out with our game plan and executed it well. We were balanced like we wanted to be and came out and ran the ball well and when we threw it, we had success throwing the ball. The offensive line did a great job at being physical and giving me time, and of course our running backs did a great job running it and our receivers made competitive plays."
Head Coach Seth Littrell - "I felt like we had a lot of grit and determination and thought we had to face a lot of adversity in the second half. They fought, overcame it and when we needed to make a play there at the end, our kickoff return unit came up huge. All 11 guys did their job and it was a huge play there in that moment.
"Offensively I thought we were really balanced. I felt like we executed really well, had good balance and guys made big plays, competitive plays which I knew we were going to have to."
Kicker Trevor Moore - "It was huge with 27 seconds left going into that return and I was talking to some of the guys on the sideline saying I thought we were going to have a big return right here. Evan Johnson got the ball and every guy did their job, got blocks and he returned it across midfield. At that point I knew we were going to win this game. Our offense is going to get whatever yards we need to get into field goal range. They did that, they executed well and we got the short field goal to win it.
"It was awesome. We've been emphasizing on special teams assignment and alignment and to pay attention to the little things. I think it paid off tonight."
Top Moments Series
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