Saturday, September 7
Dallas
6 PM
University of North Texas
27
at
49
SMU
Photo by: Manny Flores
Mean Green Fall To SMU, 49-27
9/7/2019 10:14:00 PM | Football
DALLAS – Redshirt sophomore Tre Siggers burst onto the scene with 164 rushing yards and a touchdown in his first career game at running back for the Mean Green, but North Texas was unable to overcome an early first-quarter hole and fell to SMU, 49-27, Saturday night at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
UNT (1-1) trailed 21-0 after one quarter but fought back behind the running of Siggers in the second quarter and closed SMU's lead to 28-17 with 10:01 to play in the third quarter on a 26-yard field goal from Ethan Mooney. However, the Mean Green would get no closer.
"Tre was the bright spot on the night," North Texas head coach Seth Littrell said. "He ran the ball very hard and was very physical, and he showed what he showed in practice during fall camp so I was pleased with how he played. But that's about as far as it goes right there."
Senior quarterback Mason Fine continued his rewrite of the Mean Green record book by moving into a tie for the all-time lead in passing touchdowns in the second quarter with an 8-yard scoring strike to senior wideout Michael Lawrence, a completion that gave Lawrence 100 career receptions. The scoring strike, Fine's 69th of his career, tied him with Steve Ramsey (1967-69) for the all-time lead.
Other than three defensive stops in the second quarter, the Mean Green defense had no answer for SMU quarterback Shane Buechele, who finished the night 21-for-31 for 292 passing yards and three touchdowns, while running back Xavier Jones had 16 carries for 127 yards and three touchdowns. SMU also benefitted from nine penalties against the Mean Green for 90 yards.
The Mustangs finished with 503 total yards, becoming the first UNT opponent to eclipse 500 total yards since Florida Atlantic in the 2017 Conference USA Championship.
"They did a heck of a job," Littrell said of SMU. "They've done an excellent job as a staff. They outplayed us. I have to evaluate myself as the head coach and we have to make sure, as coaches, we all evaluate ourselves. To be honest, we have to do a better job everywhere, in all three phases."
The Mean Green will look to bounce back next week when they travel to Berkeley, California, to play Cal at 3:15 p.m. CT.
Quick Hits
UNT (1-1) trailed 21-0 after one quarter but fought back behind the running of Siggers in the second quarter and closed SMU's lead to 28-17 with 10:01 to play in the third quarter on a 26-yard field goal from Ethan Mooney. However, the Mean Green would get no closer.
"Tre was the bright spot on the night," North Texas head coach Seth Littrell said. "He ran the ball very hard and was very physical, and he showed what he showed in practice during fall camp so I was pleased with how he played. But that's about as far as it goes right there."
Senior quarterback Mason Fine continued his rewrite of the Mean Green record book by moving into a tie for the all-time lead in passing touchdowns in the second quarter with an 8-yard scoring strike to senior wideout Michael Lawrence, a completion that gave Lawrence 100 career receptions. The scoring strike, Fine's 69th of his career, tied him with Steve Ramsey (1967-69) for the all-time lead.
Other than three defensive stops in the second quarter, the Mean Green defense had no answer for SMU quarterback Shane Buechele, who finished the night 21-for-31 for 292 passing yards and three touchdowns, while running back Xavier Jones had 16 carries for 127 yards and three touchdowns. SMU also benefitted from nine penalties against the Mean Green for 90 yards.
The Mustangs finished with 503 total yards, becoming the first UNT opponent to eclipse 500 total yards since Florida Atlantic in the 2017 Conference USA Championship.
"They did a heck of a job," Littrell said of SMU. "They've done an excellent job as a staff. They outplayed us. I have to evaluate myself as the head coach and we have to make sure, as coaches, we all evaluate ourselves. To be honest, we have to do a better job everywhere, in all three phases."
The Mean Green will look to bounce back next week when they travel to Berkeley, California, to play Cal at 3:15 p.m. CT.
Quick Hits
- Senior WR Michael Lawrence (Sweetwater, Texas) had his second reception of the night, and the 100th of his career, on an 8-yard scoring strike from Mason Fine, to cut SMU's lead to 28-14 with 2:03 to play in the first half. Lawrence finished with five grabs for 44 yards, giving him 103 career receptions.
- Redshirt freshman QB Jason Bean (Mansfield, Texas) threw his first career touchdown pass on a 5-yard strike to junior WR Jaelon Darden (Houston) with 1:54 to play in the game.
- Sophomore LB KD Davis (Ennis, Texas) led the team with 10 total tackles, giving him 19 on the season – good for a tie for the team lead on the season.
- Grad-transfer DB Nick Harvey (Lancaster, Texas / South Carolina) had five total tackles, adding to his season total after racking up 14 total tackles last week in a win over Abilene Christian and tying him for the team lead with 19 on the season.
- Senior DE LaDarius Hamilton (Corrigan, Texas) was a menace on UNT's defensive front, ending the night with six total tackles, including four solo stops, a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries.
- Sophomore Ethan Mooney (Fort Worth) went 2-for-2 on field goals, bringing his season ledger to 5-for-5 on the season after his 3-for-3 in last week's win over Abilene Christian.
Players Mentioned
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