School-Record Rushing Output Downs LA Tech

DENTON – North Texas rolled up a school record 475 rushing yards, including 303 in the first half, to pull away in the fourth quarter for a 47-27 win over visiting Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Apogee Stadium.

The 475 yards on the ground set a new program benchmark, besting the old record by 11 yards that had stood since 2011, when UNT tied the mark that was set in 1952 of 464 rushing yards. The 475 yards was also the fifth-most in Conference USA history and the second-best total by a FBS school this season.

The Mean Green (4-3, 3-0 C-USA) were led on the ground by sophomore Ayo Adeyi's 122 yards on just seven carries, thanks to a 92-yard touchdown scamper, while sophomore Oscar Adaway carried the load with a team-high 16 carries for 113 yards. Junior all-purpose player Kaylon Horton had three carries for 97 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown run, and sophomore Isaiah Johnson had season-high totals of 13 carries for 77 yards.

"You have to give a lot of credit to our players," said UNT head coach Seth Littrell, who moved past legendary coach Hayden Fry into fourth on the program's all-time win list. "They had a really good two weeks of preparation. We knew we had to run the ball and establish it up front. We thought we could dominate up front and we have to give credit to all those guys because when you run the ball like that it takes a complete team effort up front, on the perimeter with the receivers, the tight ends, everyone."

To complement the record-setting rushing day, junior quarterback Austin Aune passed for 196 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 40 touchdown passes in his career.

Littrell moved to 26-0 in his UNT tenure when the Mean Green score at least 40 points, but the manner of getting to that point has changed over the last two years and the gaudy rushing total on Saturday was evidence.

Littrell said the team discovered its strengths last year, and those units have only gotten stronger and more experienced this year.

"We found something this past season and we've tried to build on that," he said. "When your strengths are a deep running back room and a deep tight end room and you're strong up front with a lot of guys with a lot of starts, it makes sense for us.

"But our receivers are doing a great job, too, when they're called upon and Aune's doing a great job managing the game. I feel like we have a lot to work on still, but we're becoming the team we know we can be."

The Mean Green will now set out on a tough two-game road trip starting next week at fellow conference unbeaten UTSA, who the Mean Green knocked off to end the regular season a year ago with a 45-23 rout of the then-No. 15 team in the country.

Littrell brushed aside the idea of UTSA being out for revenge and said his team just wants to go 1-0 for another week and extend the nation's third-longest conference winning streak to nine games.

"We're thinking about them, too," Littrell quipped. "That's just how it works, isn't it? Each and every week, you'll play a great opponent. I know they'll have a bad taste in their mouth from last season, but so will we. We're just trying to go 1-0 and keep our streak alive."

QUICK HITS

The Mean Green win closes the gap in LA Tech's lead in the all-time series to 13-8, and it was the team's first win over the Bulldogs since 2018 in Ruston when UNT won 24-23.
The win moves UNT to 4-3 on the season, marking the first time since 2017 the team has been 4-3 after seven games and also the first time since 2017 the Mean Green have started Conference USA play 3-0.
The win puts head coach Seth Littrell at 41-41 in his Mean Green tenure and moves him into fourth on the program's all-time wins list, past Hayden Fry.
In the Littrell era, the Mean Green are now 26-0 when scoring at least 40 points.
UNT's captains for the game were Austin Aune, Ridge Texada, Manase Mose and KD Davis.
The win was the eighth straight against a Conference USA foe, dating back to last season, which is the longest for the Mean Green in the C-USA era and longest since they won 26 straight Sun Belt games from Oct. 13, 2001-Sept. 10, 2005.
The eight straight conference wins puts UNT third nationally for longest active conference winning streak.
The Mean Green's 475 rushing yards set a new program rushing record for a single game.
- The previous record was 464 yards, done twice, in 1952 against North Dakota State and in 2011 against Middle Tennessee.
- The total of 475 yards is the fifth-most in Conference USA history.
The four touchdown-scoring drives of more than 70 yards marked the third time this season UNT has accomplished that feat and second against an FBS team.
- The Mean Green had scoring drives that resulted in touchdowns of 82, 92, 75 and 75 yards.
Junior QB Austin Aune (Argyle, Texas) finished 11 for 20 for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
- Aune's 196 passing yards gives him 5,705 in his career and he is in seventh place on the program's all-time passing yardage list.
- Aune completed passes to seven different receivers.
- His 20-yard touchdown pass to Var'Keyes Gumms with 4:59 left in the third quarter was the 40th of his career and 17th of the season, tying him for 10th on the single-season touchdown list with Giovanni Vizza (2007).
- His 51-yard touchdown pass to Jyaire Shorter with 3:52 to play in the first quarter was the 39th of his career and 16th of the season.
Sophomore RB Ikaika Ragsdale (Las Vegas) had seven carries for 62 yards and a touchdown.
- His 1-yard touchdown run with 11:54 left in the first quarter was his second of the season and seventh of his career and was set up by his season-long 42-yard run on the previous play.
Sophomore RB Ayo Adeyi (Mansfield, Texas) had seven carries for a team-high 122 yards, including a 92-yard touchdown run.
- Adeyi's 122 rushing yards marks the second 100-yard rushing day of his career.
- Adeyi's 92-yard touchdown run with 13:02 left in the second quarter tied for the fourth-longest rush in school history, tied with DeAndre Torrey's against FAU in 2018. It was his second touchdown of the season and eighth of his career.
Sophomore RB Oscar Adaway (North Little Rock, Ark.) had 16 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown.
- His 1-yard touchdown run with 4:34 left in the second quarter was his fifth of the season and eighth of his career.
Junior WR Kaylon Horton (Houston) finished with three carries for a career-high 97 yards and a touchdown.
- Horton's 66-yard touchdown run with 10:18 to play was the second rushing touchdown of his career and sixth touchdown of his career.
Sophomore RB Isaiah Johnson (Lubbock, Texas) finished with 13 carries for 77 yards.
- The rush and yardage totals are both season-highs for Johnson.
Junior WR Jyaire Shorter (Killeen, Texas) finished with a catch for 51 yards and a touchdown.
- His 51-yard touchdown reception with 3:52 to play in the first quarter was the 15th of his career and sixth of the season. It was also his fourth straight catch that went for a touchdown, dating back to last game against FAU when he had three catches – all for touchdowns.
- For his career, 31 percent of Shorter's 49 receptions have gone for touchdowns.
Redshirt freshman TE Var'Keyes Gumms (Houston) had four catches for 59 yards to lead the team in both categories and added a touchdown.
- His 20-yard touchdown reception with 4:59 to play in the third quarter was his third of the season.
Senior OL Manase Mose (Euless, Texas) made his 55th straight start and is the program's all-time leader for most career starts at North Texas. The center has started every game of his career and is in his fifth season with the Mean Green.
Senior LB KD Davis (Ennis, Texas) finished the day with a career-high 19 tackles, including 11 solo stops and a half-tackle for-loss.
- Davis' 19 tackles bested his 18 in last year's win over Rice.
- Davis now has 361 career tackles to move him into fifth on the program's all-time list past Burks Washington and Zach Orr. He is now one tackle shy of tying Lester Harper (1980-83) for fourth all-time with 362.
- Davis now has 171 career solo tackles – tying him for fourth all-time with Derek Akunne (2011-14) and one back of third-place Taylor Casey (2000-03).
Junior LB Kevin Wood (Converse, Texas) finished with 11 tackles, including five solo stops, a half-tackle for-loss, a pass breakup and a QB hurry.
Junior LB Mazin Richards (Burleson, Texas) finished with nine tackles – all solo - and three sacks.
- Richards' nine tackles set a new career high.
- Richards' three sacks are a new season high, and he had two sacks on the Bulldogs' first possession of the game.
- Richards now has 26 career sacks, which is top-5 nationally among active players, and his career 0.85 sacks per game entering Saturday's game was third nationally among active players.
Sophomore DB Logan Wilson (Dallas) finished the day with seven tackles, including four solo stops.
- Wilson's seven tackles are a new career high.
Sophomore DL Roderick Brown (Forney, Texas) finished with four tackles, including three solo stops, and 2.5 sacks.
- Brown's 2.5 sacks set a new career high for a single game.
Senior kicker Ethan Mooney (Fort Worth) went 2-for-2 on field goal attempts and 2-for-2 on extra points.
- Mooney's two field goals give him 44 career made field goals.
- Mooney's two made extra points gives him 130 consecutive made extra points, dating back to Oct. 12, 2019 at Southern Miss when he had a kick blocked. He is now 150-for-151 in his career.
Freshman kicker Chris Cayton (Fort Myers, Fla.) went 3-for-3 on extra points.
- Cayton's extra point with 11:54 to play in the first quarter was the first of his career as he made his collegiate debut.

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Team Stats

Austin Aune

Damon Ward Jr.

Players Mentioned

Ayo Adeyi

Austin Aune

Roderick Brown

Chris Cayton

KD Davis

Var'Keyes Gumms

Kaylon Horton

Isaiah Johnson

Ethan Mooney

Manase Mose

Ikaika Ragsdale

Mazin Richards

Jyaire Shorter

Ridge Texada

DeAndre Torrey

Logan Wilson

Kevin Wood

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