Saturday, November 27
Denton, TX
1:00 p.m.
University of North Texas
6-6 , 5-3
45
vs
23
UTSA
11-1 , 7-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
UTSA
3
10
0
10
23
North Texas
17
14
14
0
45
Photo by: Manny Flores
UNT Earns Bowl Bid With Drubbing Of No. 15 UTSA
11/27/2021 5:36:00 PM | Football
DENTON – Many teams would have folded up shop after a 1-6 start with five games left to play.
Instead, the North Texas football team established a power football identity and on Saturday reeled off its fifth straight win to finish the regular season with a 6-6 record and bowl eligibility after a 45-23 drubbing of previously unbeaten and 15th-ranked UTSA at Apogee Stadium.
The win marked just the second in program history over a ranked team in the Mean Green's 49th try, with the first coming over No. 20 San Diego State in 1974. It also ended rival UTSA's bid at a perfect season.
"This is the biggest win I've had and we've had as a program - just a ranked opponent coming in here and us needing that win to get bowl eligible," said UNT head coach Seth Littrell, who matched his longest winning streak of his career at five. "This is the biggest win."
The Mean Green (6-6, 5-3 Conference USA) did it with a punishing performance in the trenches on both sides of the ball, as the offense put up 340 yards on the ground against the nation's 10th best rush defense that entered the game allowing just 101.1 rushing yards per game, and the defense held the Roadrunners (11-1, 7-1) to 15 points and more than 70 yards below their season averages while piling up five sacks and forcing three turnovers.
"They're playing unbelievable," Littrell said of his offensive line, which also didn't allow a sack and has allowed just one over the past five games. "We've run the ball really well. I felt really good that we could run the ball. Something had to give. I knew that going in. I was very confident in our guys. We've had to find a new identity with as many guys as we had go down early in the year (with injuries) and everyone believed in it. Being able to execute and finish out the season, I couldn't be more proud of them.
"And I can't say enough about coach (Phil) Bennett and that defense," Littrell added. "They've kept us in games all year long. They got turnovers and got after the quarterback today. It starts with physicality up front and we're playing really good ball on defense, too."
The offensive effort was led by a pair of running backs for the second straight week as senior DeAndre Torrey and freshman Ikaika Ragsdale each had 100-yard rushing games for the second straight week. Torrey finished with 108 yards and tied a career high with three rushing touchdowns. Ragsdale had 20 carries for a career-high 146 yards and a pair of scores. The Mean Green's 340 yards marked the fourth time this season they've eclipsed the 300-yard mark and third in the last four games.
"I knew pretty early it was going to be a good day," Torrey said. "When you start a game off with an explosive play on my first run, I figured it'd be a good game. The O-line did a great job and we did a good job scheming against these guys. As you can see, our backs all have different attributes. It's clearly not just me. We have different guys getting 100 yards. This O-line is great. We have guys we can just plug in and fill the role. That line is great for our team."
The Mean Green built a 17-3 lead at the end of the first quarter after Torrey's second touchdown, thanks to a fumbled kickoff return after UNT went up 3-0 and a muffed punt that led to Torrey's second touchdown.
Defensively, the Mean Green notched five sacks – one shy of their season high and the most allowed by UTSA all season. They were led by redshirt freshman defensive end Grayson Murphy's three sacks. Over the course of the five-game winning streak, the Mean Green defense has allowed just 17 points per game.
Murphy said the streak of confidence might have started a week before the wins started coming, however.
"You could look at that Rice game (on Oct. 30), but honestly I think it was Liberty game the week before when we started to believe," he said. "We were shutting them out and they got back in the game, but that game gave us confidence overall as a defense."
Now, the Mean Green will savor Saturday's win, take a couple of days to rest and then wait to learn their postseason fate after next week's conference championship games are played – quite a reversal of fortunes from the 1-6 start the team was mired in back on Oct. 23 after a sixth straight loss.
"A few guys in the locker room might've had doubts when we were 1-6 and pretty much into the playoffs after that where you have to win every game," Torrey said. "We had to keep the young guys positive and kept letting them know it was possible. A lot of the older guys and me were always practicing and playing like we were going bowling."
Now, that once-distant goal has come to fruition.
"Man I'm so proud of this team and how they stuck together and loved each other and fought for each other," Littrell said. "They worked extremely hard this past six weeks. It's been a great process to watch them grow. I couldn't be more proud of a team. It's a big credit to them, our coaching staff and everyone for coming in every single week focused on going 1-0. We knew it was a five-step process. We finished our fifth step today and now we get a sixth step, and it's gonna be awesome."
QUICK HITS
Instead, the North Texas football team established a power football identity and on Saturday reeled off its fifth straight win to finish the regular season with a 6-6 record and bowl eligibility after a 45-23 drubbing of previously unbeaten and 15th-ranked UTSA at Apogee Stadium.
The win marked just the second in program history over a ranked team in the Mean Green's 49th try, with the first coming over No. 20 San Diego State in 1974. It also ended rival UTSA's bid at a perfect season.
"This is the biggest win I've had and we've had as a program - just a ranked opponent coming in here and us needing that win to get bowl eligible," said UNT head coach Seth Littrell, who matched his longest winning streak of his career at five. "This is the biggest win."
The Mean Green (6-6, 5-3 Conference USA) did it with a punishing performance in the trenches on both sides of the ball, as the offense put up 340 yards on the ground against the nation's 10th best rush defense that entered the game allowing just 101.1 rushing yards per game, and the defense held the Roadrunners (11-1, 7-1) to 15 points and more than 70 yards below their season averages while piling up five sacks and forcing three turnovers.
"They're playing unbelievable," Littrell said of his offensive line, which also didn't allow a sack and has allowed just one over the past five games. "We've run the ball really well. I felt really good that we could run the ball. Something had to give. I knew that going in. I was very confident in our guys. We've had to find a new identity with as many guys as we had go down early in the year (with injuries) and everyone believed in it. Being able to execute and finish out the season, I couldn't be more proud of them.
"And I can't say enough about coach (Phil) Bennett and that defense," Littrell added. "They've kept us in games all year long. They got turnovers and got after the quarterback today. It starts with physicality up front and we're playing really good ball on defense, too."
The offensive effort was led by a pair of running backs for the second straight week as senior DeAndre Torrey and freshman Ikaika Ragsdale each had 100-yard rushing games for the second straight week. Torrey finished with 108 yards and tied a career high with three rushing touchdowns. Ragsdale had 20 carries for a career-high 146 yards and a pair of scores. The Mean Green's 340 yards marked the fourth time this season they've eclipsed the 300-yard mark and third in the last four games.
"I knew pretty early it was going to be a good day," Torrey said. "When you start a game off with an explosive play on my first run, I figured it'd be a good game. The O-line did a great job and we did a good job scheming against these guys. As you can see, our backs all have different attributes. It's clearly not just me. We have different guys getting 100 yards. This O-line is great. We have guys we can just plug in and fill the role. That line is great for our team."
The Mean Green built a 17-3 lead at the end of the first quarter after Torrey's second touchdown, thanks to a fumbled kickoff return after UNT went up 3-0 and a muffed punt that led to Torrey's second touchdown.
Defensively, the Mean Green notched five sacks – one shy of their season high and the most allowed by UTSA all season. They were led by redshirt freshman defensive end Grayson Murphy's three sacks. Over the course of the five-game winning streak, the Mean Green defense has allowed just 17 points per game.
Murphy said the streak of confidence might have started a week before the wins started coming, however.
"You could look at that Rice game (on Oct. 30), but honestly I think it was Liberty game the week before when we started to believe," he said. "We were shutting them out and they got back in the game, but that game gave us confidence overall as a defense."
Now, the Mean Green will savor Saturday's win, take a couple of days to rest and then wait to learn their postseason fate after next week's conference championship games are played – quite a reversal of fortunes from the 1-6 start the team was mired in back on Oct. 23 after a sixth straight loss.
"A few guys in the locker room might've had doubts when we were 1-6 and pretty much into the playoffs after that where you have to win every game," Torrey said. "We had to keep the young guys positive and kept letting them know it was possible. A lot of the older guys and me were always practicing and playing like we were going bowling."
Now, that once-distant goal has come to fruition.
"Man I'm so proud of this team and how they stuck together and loved each other and fought for each other," Littrell said. "They worked extremely hard this past six weeks. It's been a great process to watch them grow. I couldn't be more proud of a team. It's a big credit to them, our coaching staff and everyone for coming in every single week focused on going 1-0. We knew it was a five-step process. We finished our fifth step today and now we get a sixth step, and it's gonna be awesome."
QUICK HITS
- The Mean Green win breaks an all-time series tie with UTSA and gives the Mean Green a 5-4 advantage, with the last meeting coming in 2020, which was a 49-17 win for UTSA in San Antonio.
- The win over No. 15 UTSA was the second for the Mean Green in program history and first since a 1974 win over then-No. 20 San Diego State. The Mean Green are now 2-47 all-time against ranked opponents and snapped a 38-game losing streak to ranked teams.
- The win puts head coach Seth Littrell at 37-37 in his Mean Green tenure, and he is in sixth place on the program's all-time wins list – behind fifth-place Hayden Fry (40). He moves to 4-2 in his career against UTSA.
- The win puts Littrell at 13-8 in his career in the month of November.
- Littrell moved to 23-0 in his career when the Mean Green have scored 40 or more points.
- The win gives UNT its first five-game winning streak since 2017 – matching Littrell's longest career winning streak that came from 10/28-11/25/2017.
- The five straight conference wins marks the first time since 2013 the Mean Green have accomplished that feat.
- The Mean Green win puts the program record at 24-13 in Apogee Stadium under head coach Seth Littrell. The Mean Green are 3-3 at home this season. One of Littrell's 24 wins at Apogee was technically a road game when UTEP traveled to Denton last season for a Miner home game due to COVID-19 restrictions in El Paso.
- The Mean Green had 456 yards of total offense, outgaining UTSA by 90 yards.
- The Mean Green rushed for 340 yards, marking the fourth time this season they have eclipsed the 300-yard mark on the ground (Northwestern State and Southern Miss, FIU).
- It is also the seventh time this season the Mean Green have rushed for at least 200 yards.
- The Mean Green had two 100-yard rushers (DeAndre Torrey and Ikaika Ragsdale) for the third time this season, with the first coming at Southern Miss. It was the second time in as many games that duo accomplished the feat.
- The Mean Green rushed for a season-high six touchdowns, which was the most since they had six against Southern Miss in 2013.
- The six rushing touchdowns puts the season total at 30, which is the third most in program history and one behind the 2013 team.
- The UNT offensive line didn't allow a sack and has now allowed just one sack over the last five games combined.
- The five sacks by UNT's defense was the most allowed this season by UTSA. The Mean Green's season high is six.
- The 23 points scored by UTSA was the lowest offensive output all season for the Roadrunners.
- Sophomore QB Austin Aune (Argyle, Texas) made his eighth start of the season and finished 10-for-17 for 116 yards. He also had four carries for 14 yards.
- Aune completed passes to six different receivers.
- Senior RB DeAndre Torrey (Gautier, Mississippi) had 108 rushing yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns.
- Torrey eclipsed the 100-yard mark early in the second half on his 18th carry to give him the 11th 100-yard game of his career and fifth of the season.
- Torrey's 108 rushing yards puts him at 1,215 on the season, which ties him with Jeffery Wilson (2017) for seventh on the program's all-time single-season list.
- Torrey's three touchdowns ties him for sixth all-time for single-game rushing touchdowns. Five players in program history scored four in a game – most recently Lance Dunbar in the 2011 regular-season finale against Middle Tennessee.
- His 19-yard touchdown run with 3:04 left in the second quarter put UNT up 31-13 and was his 36th career rushing touchdown, which tied him with current UNT running backs coach Patrick Cobbs for second on the program's all-time list. It also tied Torrey's career high of three touchdowns in a game.
- That 19-yard touchdown run also gave him 13 rushing touchdowns for the season, which ties him for seventh on the program's all-time single-season list with Lance Dunbar in 2010.
- His 4-yard touchdown with 0:32 left in the first quarter put UNT up 17-3 and was his 40th career touchdown, putting him in sole possession of second on the program's all-time list.
- His 2-yard touchdown run with 10:13 left in the first quarter put UNT up 10-0 and was his 39th career total touchdown, tying him for second on the program's all-time list with current Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jaelon Darden (2017-20).
- Torrey now has at least one rushing touchdown in seven of UNT's 12 games this season.
- Torrey tallied his second consecutive two-touchdown game and his fourth multi-touchdown game of the season.
- Freshman RB Ikaika Ragsdale (Las Vegas) finished with 20 carries for a career-high 146 yards and two touchdowns.
- Ragsdale had two touchdowns for the second time this season.
- Ragsdale's 10-yard touchdown run with 7:52 to play in the third quarter put UNT up 38-13 and was his fifth of the season and career.
- Ragsdale's 15-yard touchdown run with 5:17 to play in the second quarter put UNT up 24-13 and was his fourth of the season and career. The run also put him over 100 yards for the day – his third career 100-yard rushing game (all in the last four games).
- Freshman RB Ayo Adeyi (Mansfield, Texas) finished with seven carries for 77 yards and a touchdown.
- Adeyi's 42-yard touchdown run with 3:52 left in the third quarter was the sixth of his career and put UNT up 45-13. It was the Mean Green's sixth rushing touchdown of the day, which set a new season high.
- Redshirt freshman WR Khatib Lyles (El Paso, Texas) finished the day with three catches for 50 yards.
- Lyles' 48-yard reception early in the fourth quarter put UNT at the 1-yard line was the longest reception of his career, besting his 35-yard touchdown reception in last week's win at FIU.
- Junior LB KD Davis (Ennis, Texas) finished the day with seven tackles, including three solo stops and a QB hurry.
- Redshirt freshman DE Gabriel Murphy (Dallas) had two tackles on the day, including two solo stops, a sack and a pair of tackles for-loss to go with a pass breakup and a QB hurry.
- His sack midway through the third quarter gave him 10.0 in his career.
- Redshirt freshman DE Grayson Murphy (Dallas) had five tackles on the day, including three solo stops and a career-high three sacks to go with a QB hurry and a forced fumble.
- His sack midway through the fourth quarter gave him 7.5 on the season and 10.5 in his career.
- Senior LB Tyreke Davis (Denton) had six tackles on the day, including four solo stops.
- Senior DL Dion Novil (Abilene, Texas) finished the day with five tackles, including two solo stops and a tackle for-loss.
- Sophomore LB Larry Nixon III (North Richland Hills, Texas) finished the day with a team-high nine tackles, including four solo stops.
- Sophomore DB DeShawn Gaddie (Arlington, Texas) finished the day with five tackles, including two solo stops and two pass breakups.
- Junior DB Sean-Thomas Faulkner (Easley, S.C.) finished the day with five tackles, including two solo stops and a pass breakup.
Team Stats
TSA
UNT
Total Yards
366
456
Pass Yards
161
116
Rushing Yards
205
340
Penalty Yards
67
25
1st Downs
16
27
3rd Downs
2
7
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
23:25
36:35
1st Quarter
TSA 0, UNT 3
UNT - Mooney,Ethan 34 yd field goal 7 plays, 58 yards, TOP 02:51
TSA 0, UNT 10
UNT - Torrey,DeAndre 2 yd run (Mooney,Ethan kick), 4 plays, 26 yards, TOP 01:47
TSA 3, UNT 10
TSA - Duplessis,Hunter 29 yd field goal 5 plays, 23 yards, TOP 02:08
TSA 3, UNT 17
UNT - Torrey,DeAndre 4 yd run (Mooney,Ethan kick), 4 plays, 15 yards, TOP 01:44
2nd Quarter
TSA 6, UNT 17
TSA - Duplessis,Hunter 27 yd field goal 14 plays, 65 yards, TOP 05:09
TSA 13, UNT 17
TSA - Harris,Frank 69 yd run (Duplessis,Hunter kick), 2 plays, 69 yards, TOP 00:24
TSA 13, UNT 24
UNT - Ragsdale,Ikaika 15 yd run (Mooney,Ethan kick), 8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 02:55
TSA 13, UNT 31
UNT - Torrey,DeAndre 19 yd run (Mooney,Ethan kick), 2 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:52
3rd Quarter
TSA 13, UNT 38
UNT - Ragsdale,Ikaika 10 yd run (Mooney,Ethan kick), 13 plays, 70 yards, TOP 05:53
TSA 13, UNT 45
UNT - Adeyi,Ayo 42 yd run (Mooney,Ethan kick), 5 plays, 57 yards, TOP 02:28
4th Quarter
TSA 16, UNT 45
TSA - Duplessis,Hunter 42 yd field goal 12 plays, 72 yards, TOP 04:11
TSA 23, UNT 45
TSA - Bradley,Tre'Von 67 yd pass from Marburger,Eddie Lee (Duplessis,Hunter kick) 3 plays, 79 yards, TOP 00:59
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
10
TD
0
YDS
116
INT
0
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
S
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DE
/ Football
DE
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
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