University of North Texas
1-4 , 0-2
Missouri
3-3 , 0-2
Second-Half Rally Falls Short In SEC Country
10/9/2021 6:59:00 PM | Football
The Mean Green (1-4, 0-2 C-USA) out-gained Missouri by racking up 491 yards and scored 28 points in the second half, as their defense held Missouri to 17 - seven of those coming on an interception return touchdown after one of Aune's passes was tipped at the line of scrimmage.
For the second straight game, the North Texas defense stood tall in the second half, holding Missouri (3-3, 0-2 SEC) scoreless in the third quarter with three consecutive three-and-outs to allow North Texas to make the game interesting in the fourth quarter.
"They continue to fight hard, and they've done it all year and played well in the second half and continued to grind," UNT head coach Seth Littrell said. "That's something we need to build on. That'll help us in the future when we dig ourselves out of this hole. We had too many mistakes, missed opportunities and turnovers and have to get those cleaned up. We knew we'd have to play well in all three phases to win a game in the SEC, but I thought we missed some opportunities."
Aune's fourth-down 52-yard TD pass to Roderic Burns pulled North Texas within 41-28 with 5:26 to play in the game before Damon Ward's 77-yard scoring reception from Aune set the final margin with 3:13 to play. Aune also found DeAndre Torrey and Jason Pirtle for touchdown strikes in the second half.
Aune's 305 yards marked the fourth time in his career he's eclipsed the 300-yard mark, and he also rushed for 57 yards, which set a new career high by 1 yard after he rushed for 56 yards in the Mean Green's last game against Louisiana Tech. It was also the first time this season a North Texas quarterback has played every snap in a game.
Torrey finished the day with 24 carries for 85 yards and two catches for 41 yards with his 35-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Torrey's 32nd career touchdown moved him into a tie for fourth on the program's all-time list with Jeffery Wilson (2014-17). Torrey's 126 all-purpose yards moved him past Wilson into fourth place all-time on the program list with 4,116. He's the fifth player in program history to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark.
Missouri jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead before the Mean Green found the scoreboard on an Isaiah Johnson touchdown run with 13:04 left to play in the first half. But the Tigers hit UNT with two long scoring plays and kicked a field goal with just more than a minute to play to take a 31-7 lead into halftime.
The Mean Green resume Conference USA play on Friday when they host Marshall at Apogee Stadium for a 6 p.m. kick.
QUICK HITS
- DeAndre Torrey finished the game with 24 carries and 85 yards and caught two balls for 41 yards and a 35-yard touchdown reception.
- The 35-yard touchdown reception was Torrey's fourth career receiving touchdown and his 32nd career touchdown (rushing/receiving/returns), which ties him for fourth all-time on the UNT career list with Jeffery Wilson (2014-17).
- Torrey's 126 all-purpose yards put him at 4,116 for his career and he became the fifth player in program history to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark.
- Austin Aune made his first start of the season and finished the day 16-of-26 for 305 yards and a season-high fourth touchdown passes. He also rushed for a career-high 57 yards on 15 carries.
- Aune's 305 yards through the air marked the fourth time in his career he's eclipsed the 300-yard mark and the first time this season.
- His 77-yard touchdown pass to Damon Ward with 3:13 to play was the longest scoring play of the season for the Mean Green.
- Isaiah Johnson's 4-yard touchdown run was his second rushing score of the season and third of his career.
- Manase Mose started his 40th consecutive game, which ties him for the 11th longest active streak in FBS.
- KD Davis had a team-high 11 tackles, including 10 solo stops, and a career-high four tackles for-loss. He has 10.0 TFL for the season.
- Roderick Brown finished the day with seven tackles to set a new career high, two tackles for-loss and also had a sack for the second straight game, giving him two career sacks.
Team Stats
UNT 0, MIZ 7
MIZ - Badie,Tyler 12 yd run (Mevis,Harrison kick), 4 plays, 26 yards, TOP 01:45
UNT 0, MIZ 14
MIZ - Badie,Tyler 3 yd pass from Bazelak,Connor (Mevis,Harrison kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:01
UNT 7, MIZ 14
UNT - Johnson,Isaiah 4 yd run (Mooney,Ethan kick), 15 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:10
UNT 7, MIZ 21
MIZ - Hester,JJ 41 yd pass from Bazelak,Connor (Mevis,Harrison kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:18
UNT 7, MIZ 28
MIZ - Badie,Tyler 52 yd run (Mevis,Harrison kick), 6 plays, 73 yards, TOP 02:24
UNT 7, MIZ 31
MIZ - Mevis,Harrison 48 yd field goal 8 plays, 38 yards, TOP 03:06
UNT 14, MIZ 31
UNT - Torrey,DeAndre 35 yd pass from Aune,Austin (Mooney,Ethan kick) 8 plays, 70 yards, TOP 02:12
UNT 14, MIZ 34
MIZ - Mevis,Harrison 40 yd field goal 6 plays, 39 yards, TOP 02:00
UNT 14, MIZ 41
MIZ - Wingo,Mekhi 40 yd interception (Mevis,Harrison kick)
UNT 21, MIZ 41
UNT - Pirtle,Jason 22 yd pass from Aune,Austin (Mooney,Ethan kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:43
UNT 28, MIZ 41
UNT - Burns,Roderic 52 yd pass from Aune,Austin (Mooney,Ethan kick) 4 plays, 58 yards, TOP 01:17
UNT 28, MIZ 48
MIZ - Downing,Dawson 60 yd run (Mevis,Harrison kick), 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:39
UNT 35, MIZ 48
UNT - Ward,Damon 77 yd pass from Aune,Austin (Mooney,Ethan kick) 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:34
