Mean Green Drop Season Opener To California

DENTON – UNT junior quarterback Stone Earle threw for 174 yards and three touchdowns in his first start for the Mean Green but the team struggled in the second half en route to a 58-21 season-opening loss to California at DATCU Stadium on Saturday.

The UNT defense made a big play late in the first half when Logan Wilson recovered a fumble forced by Jaylen Smith at the Cal 24-yard line, and three plays later, Earle found Xzavior Kautai for a 12-yard touchdown to pull the Mean Green within 27-21 with 1:47 to play in the half.

But Cal (1-0) found the end zone with seven seconds to play in the first half and scored early in the third quarter to take a 41-21 lead.

A bright spot for the Mean Green (0-1) came in the form of sophomore wideout Ja'Mori Maclin, who caught four balls for 122 yards and two touchdowns – all in the first 15:27 of game time.

Maclin notched the first 100-yard receiving day of his career, and the first for a UNT receiver since Damon Ward had 101 yards on Oct. 29, 2022, at Western Kentucky. His two touchdowns marked the first time a UNT receiver has caught two touchdown passes since Jyaire Shorter on Nov. 5, 2022, against FIU. He also posted new career-long receptions twice in the game with his 58-yarder early in the first quarter and his 59-yard touchdown catch just 27 seconds into the second quarter.

The Mean Green will look to regroup as they head to Miami next week to play FIU on Saturday with kickoff set for 5:30 p.m., on ESPN+.

QUICK HITS

The Mean Green loss puts the all-time series at 2-0 in Cal's favor, with the last meeting coming on Sept. 14, 2019, when the Mean Green fell 23-17 in Berkeley.
UNT's captains for the season are Stone Earle, Febechi Nwaiwu, Mazin Richards, Logan Wilson and JP Hadley.
There were seven first-time starters for UNT.
- There were three first-time starters for UNT on offense: Trey Cleveland (seventh overall), Stone Earle (ninth overall) and Xzavior Kautai.
- There were four first-time starters for UNT on defense: Ethan Wesloski, Jaylen Smith, Nick Nawaasah and Phil Hill.
14 players made their UNT debut on Saturday: Chavez Brown, Vic Alobwede, Trey Cleveland, Blair Conwright, Sawyer Evans, CJ Garnett, Phil Hill, Tarik Luckett, Ethan Miner, Larry Moore, Marcus Moore, Nick Nakwaasah, Chandler Rogers and Noah Rauschenberg.
- Five players made their collegiate debuts: Evan Jackson, Adam Jacklin, C.J. Garnett, Richard Rocquemore and West Wilson.
Junior QB Stone Earle (Keller, Texas) finished 12 for 19 for 174 yards, two interceptions and three touchdown passes.
- Earle made the first start of his UNT career and the ninth of his collegiate career.
- Earle is the fifth UNT quarterback since 2000 to throw for three or more touchdown passes in his first start for the Mean Green.
- Earle's 3-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Mori Maclin with 11:04 left in the first quarter was his 16th career passing touchdown and the second of his UNT career.
- Earle's 59-yard touchdown pass to Maclin with 14:33 left in the second quarter was his 17th career passing touchdown and the third of his UNT career.
- The 59-yard completion tied the longest of his career, which was set while he was at ACU against SMU in 2021.
- Earle's 12-yard touchdown pass to Xzavior Kautai with 1:47 left in the second quarter was his 18th career passing touchdown and the fourth of his UNT career.
- Nine different receivers caught passes for the Mean Green.
Sophomore WR Ja'Mori Maclin (Kirkwood, Missouri) finished with four catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
- Maclin's 122 yards marked the first 100-yard receiving game of his career.
- Maclin's two touchdowns marked the first time a UNT player has had two touchdown receptions in a game since Jyaire Shorter against FIU on Nov. 5, 2022.
- Maclin's 122 yards marks the first time a UNT receiver has had 100 yards through the air since Damon Ward's 101 at Western Kentucky on Oct. 29, 2022.
- His 59-yard touchdown reception with 14:33 left in the second quarter broke his earlier 58-yard yard reception for his longest career reception. It was the fourth touchdown reception of his career.
- The 59-yard touchdown reception was the longest touchdown reception for a UNT player since Damon Ward's 77-yard touchdown catch at Missouri in 2021.
- His 58-yard reception early in the first quarter was the longest of his career.
- His 3-yard touchdown reception with 11:04 left in the first quarter was the third of his career.
Sophomore TE Xzavior Kautai (Euless, Texas) finished with a catch for 12 yards and a touchdown.
- Kautai's 12-yard touchdown catch with 1:47 left in the second quarter was the first of his career and was also his first career reception.
Junior WR Roderic Burns (Houston) finished with four catches for 27 yards.
- Burns' four catches puts him at 116 in his Mean Green career, tying him for 16th all-time with Brelan Chancellor (2010-13).
Junior LB Jaylen Smith (Hamilton, Ontario) finished the day with nine tackles, including six solo stops, 1.5 tackles for-loss, a QB hurry and a forced fumble.
- Smith's nine tackles marks a new career high and the forced fumble was the first of his career.
Junior DB Logan Wilson (Dallas) finished with six tackles, including three solo stops.
Senior DB John Davis (Euless, Texas) finished with four tackles, including two solo stops, a pass breakup and an interception.
- Davis' interception late in the third quarter was the second of his career and first since 2020.
Redshirt freshman DB Patrick Smith (Sugar Land, Texas) finished with seven tackles, including four solo stops.
Junior LB Jordan Brown (Huntsville, Texas) finished with seven tackles, including six solo stops, and a QB hurry.
Junior DB Harold West (Arlington, Texas) finished with seven tackles, including five solo stops.
Redshirt freshman LB Ethan Wesloski (McKinney, Texas) finished with seven tackles, including four solo stops, two tackles for-loss and a QB hurry.
Senior kicker Noah Rauschenberg (Tulsa, Oklahoma) went 3-for-3 on extra points in his UNT debut.

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Players Mentioned

Vic Alobwede

Chavez Brown

Jordan Brown

Roderic Burns

Trey Cleveland

Blair Conwright

John Davis

Stone Earle

Sawyer Evans

CJ Garnett

JP Hadley

Phil Hill

Adam Jacklin

Evan Jackson

Xzavior Kautai

Tarik Luckett

Ja'Mori Maclin

Ethan Miner

Marcus Moore

Larry Moore III

Nick Nakwaasah

Febechi Nwaiwu

Noah Rauschenberg

Mazin Richards

Richard Rocquemore

Chandler Rogers

Jyaire Shorter

Jaylen Smith

Patrick Smith-Young

Damon Ward Jr.

Ethan Wesloski

Harold West

Logan Wilson

West Wilson

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