Top 2018 Moments - Ejiya's Fourth Quarter Sack - University of North Texas Athletics

DENTON - As fall camp approaches, with players reporting on August 1, MeanGreenSports.com takes a look back at some of the biggest moments from the 2018 season. Stay tuned each Tuesday as MeanGreenSports.com relives each of these key moments from the nine-win season last year. We continue our series with linebacker E.J. Ejiya's fourth quarter sack to help seal the win over rival UT San Antonio that gave North Texas its second consecutive nine-win season.

When the clock expired, Roadrunners' kicker Jared Sackett's 48-yard field goal attempt to tie the game missed wide left as the Mean Green celebrated their road win. It was the two plays prior, however that made the ultimate difference.

A UT San Antonio false start at the UNT 17 yard line set the ball back to the 22. Then came Ejiya's sack that pushed the Roadrunners to the edge of Sackett's range.

The fact that the Mean Green needed to survive the last-second field goal attempt was surprising in and of itself. North Texas raced out to a 17-0 lead, scoring on each of its first three possessions. But the Roadrunners charged back to cut the Mean Green lead to 24-21 with 8:01 remaining in the fourth quarter.

UT San Antonio stuffed a fourth and short for the Mean Green with 2:28 to go, and took over on the Roadrunners' 32 yard line. They quickly marched inside the red zone, thanks in part to a fourth-and-16 conversion. UT San Antonio then went in reverse and eventually came up short.

How it Happened:
After a 25-yard completion from UT San Antonio quarterback Bryce Rivers to Greg Campbell, Jr. on fourth and long, things went downhill quickly for the Roadrunners.

On first down, Rivers threw an incomplete pass intended for Sheldon Jones. On second down a delay of game penalty put the ball back at the 22. Ejiya then put the tying kick that moments before seemed to be a given, out of reach.

With just 11 seconds remaining, Ejiya came through on a blitz, pressuring Rivers straight up the middle. Ejiya hurdled the running back, who tried to cut block the Mean Green linebacker. Without losing any momentum, Ejiya landed a solid hit on Rivers back at the 31. The clock ticked down to five seconds before the Roadrunners called their final timeout.

The redshirt senior linebacker concluded his regular season the same way he went about his business all of 2018 – wreaking havoc in opposing backfields.

Sackett pushed his kick left, and North Texas won its first game in the Alamodome in three tries and improved to 9-3 at the time.

What They Said:
LB E.J. Ejiya – "Coach [Troy] Reffett told us that it was crucial to get [UT San Antonio] out of field goal range, so he decided to send pressure from all angles. Obviously my plan was to try and set someone up for a sack or to get one myself. The first time we ran a blitz right up the middle, I was cut by the running back.

"When we ran the same exact blitz, I noticed the running back looking directly at me. I knew at that point he was going to try to cut me again. I used to watch Troy Polamalu jump over the center back when he played, so why not try and do it over the running back? I timed it up at the right moment and jumped over him to get the sack."

Head Coach Seth Littrell – "After they marched down late, our defense did a great job of continuing to attack, along with coach Reff [defensive coordinator Troy Reffett]. E.J. and our linebackers made big plays down the stretch and I'm proud of the way they continued to fight and find a way to win."

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Top 2018 Moments - Ejiya's Fourth Quarter Sack

Players Mentioned

E.J. Ejiya

Upcoming Events

University of North Texas Athletics