UNT Falls Just Short In Frisco Bowl

FRISCO – The Mean Green had a chance to tie or win the game in the closing minutes of the 2022 Frisco Bowl on Saturday night at Toyota Stadium but fell short despite putting up a UNT bowl record 435 yards of total offense in a 35-32 loss to Boise State.

UNT (7-7) forced a punt to take possession with 1:20 to play down three points but failed to get a first down as Boise State improved to 10-4 on the season after an undefeated run through the Mountain West.

In his final collegiate game, quarterback Austin Aune completed 17 of 32 pass attempts for 238 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions, while the program's all-time leading tackler, linebacker KD Davis, finished his UNT career with five tackles before leaving the game in the final minutes with an injury.

Senior center Manase Mose set the NCAA record for consecutive starts with his 62nd straight start to break a tie with Coastal Carolina's Trey Carter (2017-21).

Sophomore running back Ikaika Ragsdale led the UNT ground effort with 21 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns to become just the third player in UNT history to have multiple rushing touchdowns in a bowl game, joining Patrick Cobbs (2003) and Brelan Chancellor (2014).

Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett was making his second career appearance in a bowl game as an interim head coach and came up just short of a second bowl victory as an interim coach.

The Mean Green will now begin to transition to new head coach Eric Morris, who takes over the program after serving for a year as the Washington State offensive coordinator and will lead the Mean Green into The American next season.

QUICK HITS

The Mean Green loss puts the all-time series at 4-3 in Boise State's favor, with the last meeting coming on Oct. 21, 2000 when the Broncos notched a 59-0 win in Boise.
Interim coach Phil Bennett made his second bowl game as an interim coach after winning the 2010 BBVA Compass Bowl as the interim coach for Pittsburgh with a 27-10 win over Kentucky.
UNT's captains for the game were KD Davis, Roderic Burns, Austin Aune, Manase Mose and Sean-Thomas Faulkner.
The game marked the sixth bowl appearance for the Mean Green in seven seasons, dating back to the 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl.
The 435 yards of total offense set a new program record for most total yards in a bowl game, eclipsing the previous high of 410 from the 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Junior QB Austin Aune (Argyle, Texas) finished 17 for 32 for 238 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown pass.
- Aune's 238 passing yards gives him 7,324 in his career and he is in fourth place on the program's all-time passing yardage list, 100 yards shy of Derek Thompson (2009-13) for third.
- Aune completed passes to nine different receivers.
- The game was just the fourth this season in which Aune has failed to throw multiple touchdown passes.
- Aune closed out his UNT career having thrown at least one touchdown in 13 of UNT's 14 games this season.
- Aune's 30-yard touchdown pass to Jyaire Shorter with 5:14 left in the third quarter was his 34th touchdown responsible-for to set a new single-season record for quarterbacks, passing Mitch Maher (1994).
- That pass to Shorter marked his 33rd touchdown pass of the season to extend his single-season record.
Sophomore QB Stone Earle (Keller, Texas) finished 2 of 4 for 21 yards and a touchdown.
- His 17-yard touchdown pass to Jake Roberts with 8:32 left in the third quarter was the first passing touchdown and second touchdown of his Mean Green career.
Sophomore RB Ikaika Ragsdale (Las Vegas, Nevada) had 21 carries for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
- Ragsdale became one of just three UNT players to have multiple rushing touchdowns in a bowl game, joining Patrick Cobbs (2003) and Brelan Chancellor (2014).
- His 5-yard touchdown run with 8:17 to play in the game was his seventh rushing touchdown and ninth total touchdown this season. It was the 14th touchdown of his career.
- His 1-yard touchdown run with 7:38 to play in the second quarter was his sixth rushing touchdown and eighth total touchdown this season. It was the 13th touchdown of his career and marked the third straight game Ragsdale has found the end zone.
Junior WR Jyaire Shorter (Killeen, Texas) finished with one catches for 30 yards and a touchdown.
- Twenty-one of Shorter's 23 catches this season have gone for a first down or a touchdown (11 touchdowns).
- His 30-yard touchdown reception with 5:14 left in the third quarter was his 11th touchdown of the season and gave him four touchdowns in his last five games. It tied him for sixth on the program's single-season touchdown reception list.
- That touchdown reception was the 20th of his career to become the eighth player in program history with 20 career touchdown receptions.
- He is the only player in the country with at least 10 touchdowns on less than 25 receptions.
- In the last 15 years, Shorter is the only player in FBS with nine or more touchdowns and less than 25 catches in a season. He also accomplished the feat in 2019 when he finished with nine touchdowns on 24 catches.
Sophomore TE Jake Roberts (Norman, Okla.) finished with two catches for 21 yards and a touchdown.
- Roberts' 17-yard touchdown catch with 8:32 left in the third quarter was his third of the season and of his career.
Sophomore WR Jordan Smart (Round Rock, Texas) finished with three catches for 94 yards.
- His 94 receiving yards marked a season high and the most of his UNT career.
- His 53-yard reception marked a new long in his UNT tenure.
Senior OL Manase Mose (Euless, Texas) made his 62nd straight start to set an NCAA record after entering the game tied at 61 with Coastal Carolina's Trey Carter (2017-21) 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 five tackles, including three solo stops and a half-tackle for-loss before leaving the game with an injury in the final six minutes.
- Davis ends his career with 426 tackles and is the program's all-time tackles leader.
- He ends his career in fifth all-time in career tackles among C-USA players.
- Davis now has 199 career solo tackles and is second on the program's career list.
- His half-tackle for-loss put him in a tie for fifth on the career tackles for-loss list with Adrian Awasom (2001-04).
Junior LB Larry Nixon III (North Richland Hills, Texas) finished the day with a team-high 10 tackles, including eight solo stops.
Senior DB Sean-Thomas Faulkner (Easley, S.C.) finished with four tackles, including three solo stops.
Junior DB DeShawn Gaddie (Arlington, Texas) finished with six tackles - all solo - and a pass breakup.
Sophomore DB Logan Wilson (Dallas) finished with five tackles, including four solo stops.
Sophomore DL Tom Trieb (Arlington Heights, Ill.) finished with five tackles, including three solo stops, and 1.5 tackles for-loss.
Senior kicker Ethan Mooney (Fort Worth) went 1-for-1 on field goal attempts and 3-for-3 on extra points.
- Mooney now has 331 career points and is the program's all-time scoring leader.
- Mooney now has 108 points on the season and is now tied for second all-time in single-season kicking points with Cole Hedlund (2018). Trevor Moore holds the single-season record with 115 in 2017.

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Players Mentioned

Austin Aune

Roderic Burns

KD Davis

Stone Earle

Sean-Thomas Faulkner

DeShawn Gaddie

Ethan Mooney

Manase Mose

Larry Nixon III

Ikaika Ragsdale

Jake Roberts

Jyaire Shorter

Jordan Smart

Tom Trieb

Logan Wilson

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