Mean Green Drop Heartbreaker to Memphis

DENTON – The Mean Green overcame a 21-point halftime deficit and took their first lead with 47 seconds remaining in the game but fell victim to a game-winning touchdown with 12 seconds to play to drop a 45-42 heartbreaker to Memphis on Saturday at DATCU Stadium.

UNT junior quarterback Chandler Rogers threw for a career-high 411 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, while the Mean Green had two 100-yard receivers for the first time in nearly three years to lead them back from a 31-7 first-half deficit.

UNT's defense forced five stops (three punts and two turnovers on downs) in six second-half possessions before allowing Memphis' game-winner in the closing seconds.

Junior running back Ayo Adeyi had his fourth 100-yard rushing effort of the season with 104 yards on 10 carries, and Damon Ward, Jr., and Roderic Burns both eclipsed 100 yards receiving. Burns had three touchdown receptions and Ja'Mori Maclin scored twice to give him 11 touchdown receptions in eight games this season.

The Mean Green (3-5, 1-3 AAC) will return to action on Saturday at DATCU Stadium against UTSA at 2 p.m.

QUICK HITS

The Mean Green loss in the teams' 22nd all-time meeting takes Memphis' lead in the all-time series to 18-4, though the Mean Green are now 3-4 in the last seven meetings.
UNT's captains for the season are Stone Earle, Febechi Nwaiwu, Mazin Richards, Logan Wilson and JP Hadley.
For the first time all season, UNT did not have its same starting five on the offensive line, as Febechi Nwaiwu missed the game and was replaced by Daizion Carroll, who made his first start since the 2022 Frisco Bowl.
UNT's 591 total yards marked the fifth time the Mean Green have had over 500 yards of total offense this season and is the most for UNT since Nov. 5, 2022, when the Mean Green had 623 against FIU.
With two 100-yard receivers (Roderic Burns and Damon Ward, Jr.) and a 100-yard rusher (Ayo Adeyi), the game marked the third time this season UNT has had a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver.
With both Burns and Ward, Jr., eclipsing 100 yards receiving, the game marked the first time since Dec. 11, 2020, that two UNT players had 100 or more receiving yards, when Jaelon Darden had 173 and Deonte Simpson had 104 in a game against UTEP in Denton.
Junior quarterback Chandler Rogers (Mansfield, Texas) made his sixth start for the Mean Green and finished the day with 411 yards and five touchdown passes on 32-of-49 passing.
- Rogers entered the game with 215 straight pass attempts without throwing an interception and has now run the number up to 264. His streak is the longest for a UNT player since Mason Fine had 300 straight attempts without an interception in 2018 and is the nation's longest active streak.
- Rogers' 411 yards passing gave him his fifth 300-yard passing effort with the Mean Green.
- Rogers now has multiple touchdown passes in six games this season, including five of his six starts.
- His five touchdown passes is a new career high after he'd thrown four touchdown passes four times in his career.
- Rogers' 411 yards set a new career high and gave him his first career 400-yard passing day.
- Rogers' 6-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Mori Maclin with 0:46 left to play was the 43rd of his career and 19th of the season.
- Rogers' 17-yard touchdown pass to Maclin with 4:19 to play was the 42nd of his career and 18th of the season.
- Rogers' 35-yard touchdown pass to Roderic Burns with 10:32 to play was the 41st of his career and 17th of the season.
- Rogers' 4-yard touchdown pass to Burns with 2:01 left in the third quarter was the 40th of his career and 16th of the season.
- Rogers' 41-yard touchdown pass to Burns with 7:18 left in the first quarter was the 39th of his career and 15th this season.
Junior running back Oscar Adaway III (North Little Rock, Arkansas) finished with 87 yards on six carries to go with three catches for 31 yards.
- Adaway's 67-yard run early in the third quarter was his new career-long rush.
- Adaway's three catches and 31 yards were both career highs.
Junior RB Ayo Adeyi (Mansfield, Texas) finished with 10 carries for 104 yards.
- With his 104 yards, Adeyi moved into 14th on the program's all-time career rushing list with 1,914 yards, moving him past Antoinne Jimmerson (2011-15) and Abner Haynes (1957-59).
- His 104 yards gave him his fourth 100-yard game of the season and the sixth of his career.
Sophomore WR Ja'Mori Maclin (Kirkwood, Missouri) finished with six catches for 45 yards and two touchdowns.
- Maclin is the nation's only player to score a receiving touchdown in each of his team's games this season.
- Maclin's 6-yard touchdown reception with 0:46 to play with his 11th of the season and 13th of his career.
- Maclin's 17-yard touchdown reception with 4:19 to play was his 10th of the season and 12th of his career.
- Maclin scored for the eighth straight game, which is the most consecutive games with a receiving touchdown since Jaelon Darden scored in 10 straight in 2020.
- Maclin's two touchdown receptions gave him his third multiple-touchdown game of his career.
Junior WR Damon Ward Jr. (Beaumont, Texas) finished with eight catches for 120 yards, which were both new career highs.
Senior WR Roderic Burns (Houston, Texas) finished with five catches for 102 yards and three touchdowns.
- Burns now has at least one reception in 37 of UNT's last 38 games.
- Burns' three touchdowns marked the 13th time since 2001 that a UNT player has had three or more receiving touchdowns in a game and the first since Jyaire Shorter had three against FIU on Oct. 1, 2022.
- Burns' three touchdowns gave him his first multi-touchdown game of his career.
- His five catches give him 148 in his career, moving him alone into seventh on the program's all-time list.
- Burns' 35-yard touchdown reception with 10:32 left in the game was the ninth of his career and fourth of the season.
- Burns' 4-yard touchdown reception with 2:01 left in the third quarter was the eighth of his career and third of the season.
- Burns' 41-yard touchdown reception with 7:18 left in the first quarter was the seventh of his career and second of the season.
- The 41-yard touchdown reception put him over 2,000 yards in his career, as he became the 10th player in program history to eclipse the mark.
Junior LB Jordan Brown (Huntsville, Texas) finished with a team-high 10 tackles, including five solo stops, a half-sack and a half-tackle for-loss.
- Brown's 10 tackles extended his streak to four games with 10 or more tackles.
Freshman DB Jayven Anderson (Houston) finished with a career-high nine tackles, including seven solo stops.
Redshirt freshman DB Patrick Smith (Sugar Land, Texas) finished with five tackles, including four solo stops.
Junior DB Phil Hill (Spring, Texas) finished with five tackles, including three solo stops 1.5 tackles for-loss.
Junior DL Roderick Brown (Forney, Texas) finished with five tackles, including a solo stop, and a half-tackle for-loss.
Senior DL Mazin Richards (Burleson, Texas) finished with four tackles, including three solo stops, two tackles for-loss and a QB hurry.
Junior DB Ridge Texada (Frisco, Texas) finished with three tackles – all solo – and a pass breakup.
- Texada's third-quarter pass breakup gave him 25 passes defended (PBUs + INTs) in his career, which ties him for sixth place on the program's all-time list with DeShawn Gaddie.
Redshirt freshman LB Ethan Wesloski (McKinney, Texas) finished with a career-high nine tackles, including five solo stops, 1.5 tackles for-loss, a QB hurry and a half-sack.
Senior kicker Noah Rauschenberg (Tulsa, Oklahoma) went 4-for-4 on extra points and was 2-for-2 on field goals with a long of 39.

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Team Stats

Chandler Rogers

Players Mentioned

Oscar Adaway III

Ayo Adeyi

Jayven Anderson

Jordan Brown

Roderick Brown

Roderic Burns

Daizion Carroll

Stone Earle

DeShawn Gaddie

JP Hadley

Phil Hill

Ja'Mori Maclin

Febechi Nwaiwu

Noah Rauschenberg

Mazin Richards

Chandler Rogers

Jyaire Shorter

Patrick Smith-Young

Ridge Texada

Damon Ward Jr.

Ethan Wesloski

Logan Wilson

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