UNT Falls to East Carolina on Senior Day

DENTON – UNT couldn't make a 14-point halftime lead stand and dropped its fifth straight game on Saturday night with a 40-28 loss to East Carolina on Senior Day at DATCU Stadium.

The Mean Green led 14-0 after the first quarter and 21-0 late in the second quarter after forcing two first-quarter turnovers on the Pirates' first two drives of the game and a turnover on downs on the fourth drive of the opening quarter.

But the second half told a different tale, as a UNT fumble squandered a chance to go up 28-7 early in the third quarter and instead allowed the Pirates to close within a touchdown minutes later. The Pirates went 6-for-7 on third downs after an 0-for-5 start and took a 10-point lead at 31-21 with 1:43 left in the third quarter.

UNT was able to close the lead to three points on a Makenzie McGill II touchdown run at the end of the third quarter, but that's as close as the Mean Green would get, as the Pirates scored the game's final 10 points.

Junior quarterback Chandler Morris finished the day with 266 yards through the air and three touchdown passes – all in the first half. Defensively, senior linebacker Jaylen Smith led the way with 16 tackles, including 10 solo tackles. Senior defensive lineman Terrell Dawkins had 12 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for-loss and a sack.

The Mean Green will look to close the season with a win to gain bowl eligibility at Temple with kickoff set for 11 a.m., on ESPN+.

QUICK HITS

The Mean Green loss extends East Carolina's series advantage to 2-0 all-time, with the first meeting coming back in 1979 in Greenville, N.C.
UNT's captains for the game were Chandler Morris, Ridge Texada, Jordan Brown and Jaylen Smith.
The official attendance for the day was 17,387, which put the season average at 23,022 – the second-highest figure in program history behind 2018 when UNT averaged 23,355.
The Mean Green entered the season with 77 newcomers, which is the most in all of FBS. Thirty-six of the 77 newcomers are transfers.
There were 17 seniors honored prior to the game for Senior Day.
- Eleven seniors started the game, including four (Damon Ward Jr., Blair Conwright, Paula Viapulu and Landon Peterson) on offense and seven (Terrell Dawkins, Roderick Brown, Jake Shipley, Jaylen Smith, Jordan Brown, Jayden Hill and Ridge Texada) on defense.
The Mean Green's starting offensive line of Braydon Nelson, Paula Vaipulu, Tyler Mercer, Johnny Dickson III and Landon Peterson was their ninth different starting combination up front this season.
UNT is now 7-2 under Eric Morris when leading at the half and 3-1 this season. When trailing after three quarters, UNT is now 1-6 this season and 2-13 under Morris.
With Miles Coleman's 7-yard touchdown reception with 5:54 left in the first quarter, the Mean Green have had 10 players record a touchdown reception this season, which is tied with UCLA, Auburn and Oklahoma for fourth most in FBS.
With Blair Conwright's two touchdowns, UNT joined Colorado, Ohio State and Toledo as the only programs in the country with two players with seven or more receiving touchdowns this season.
For the first time since the Mean Green's win over Tulsa on Sept. 28, UNT held an opponent scoreless in the opening quarter.
UNT allowed 40+ points for the fourth time this season and is now 0-5 In those games. The Mean Green are 1-10 under Morris when allowing 40 or more points.
UNT allowed an opposing player to rush for at least 100 yards for the fifth straight game.
UNT held its opponent scoreless on its opening drive of the game for just the fourth time in the last 18 games.
UNT recorded an interception for the fourth straight game for the first time since the last four games of the 2018 season (Nov. 10-Dec. 15). UNT also had an interception in the first four games of the 2018 season (Sept. 1-Sept. 22).
For the third time this season, UNT had two players record 10 or more tackles, as Jaylen Smith and Terrell Dawkins each reached double figures. Smith has had 10 or more in all three such games.
Junior QB Chandler Morris (Dallas, Texas) finished 32 for 48 for 266 yards and three touchdowns.
- Morris made the 11th start of his UNT career and the 20th of his collegiate career.
- Morris now has 3,594 yards passing this season, putting him in third on the single-season list – 199 yards shy of Mason Fine's 3,793 in 2018.
- Morris' 3,594 yards puts him in 10th on the program's all-time career list behind Jason Mills (1995-97), who threw for 3,981.
- Morris' 305 total yards moved him into second on the program's single-season total offense list with 3,819 yards – 249 yards shy of the program record of 4,068, held by Mason Fine (2017).
- Morris' 30 touchdown passes this season puts him in third on the program's all-time single-season list – one back of second (Mason Fine, 2017) and three behind the record of 33, held by Austin Aune (2022).
- Morris had three touchdown passes in the first half for the second time this season – the first time since UNT's win over SFA on Sept. 7.
- Morris' 4-yard touchdown pass to Blair Conwright with 8:31 to play in the first quarter was his 28th of the season and 44th of his career.
- Morris' 7-yard touchdown pass to Miles Coleman with 5:54 left in the first quarter was his 29th of the season and 45th of his career.
- Morris' 3-yard touchdown pass to Blair Conwright with 3:06 left in the first half was his 30th of the season and 46th of his career.
Senior WR Damon Ward Jr. (Beaumont, Texas), finished with five catches for 68 yards.
- Ward's 68 yards gives him 1,791 in his career, which keeps him in 15th on the program's all-time list behind Michael Lawrence (2016-19).
- Ward's five catches puts him at 121 in his career, which puts him in 16th place on the program's all-time list – one back of Jim Russell (1965-67).
Junior RB Shane Porter (Friendswood, Texas) finished the day with 17 carries for 74 yards and added four catches for 25 yards.
- Porter's 17 carries is the most by a UNT player this season, besting Ikaika Ragsdale's previous mark of 14 in the season opener.
Redshirt freshman RB Makenzie McGill II (Mount Vernon, Texas) finished the day with nine carries for 45 yards and a touchdown and added two catches for 20 yards.
- McGill's 7-yard touchdown run with 0:04 left in the third quarter was his seventh of the season – the second-most rushing touchdowns by a UNT freshman in the FBS era (behind Jamario Thomas' 17 in 2004).
Senior WR Blair Conwright (Lubbock, Texas) finished the day with eight catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns.
- Conwright's 4-yard touchdown reception with 8:31 to play in the first quarter was the sixth of his season and 11th of his career (eighth at UNT).
- Conwright's 3-yard touchdown reception with 3:06 to play in the first half was his seventh of the season and 12th of his career (ninth at UNT) and gave him his first career mult-touchdown game.
- Conwright's eight receptions is a new career high.
Freshman WR Miles Coleman (Austin, Texas) finished the day with four catches for 25 yards and a touchdown.
- Coleman's 7-yard touchdown reception with 5:54 left in the first quarter was the first of his career.
Senior LB Jaylen Smith (Hamilton, Ontario) finished the day with 16 tackles, including 10 solo stops.
- Smith's 16 tackles made him the first UNT player with at least 15 since Jordan Brown last season against Tulane and is a new career high.
- Smith's 16 tackles ties for the eighth-most in single-game program history, dating back to 2001.
- Smith's 10 solo tackles make him the first UNT player since KD Davis against LA Tech on Oct. 15, 2022, to have double-digit solo tackles in a game.
- Smith's 16 tackles marks the second-most in a game by an AAC player this season.
Senior DL Terrell Dawkins (Concord, N.C.) finished the day with 12 tackles, including six solo, 1.5 tackles for-loss and a sack.
- Dawkins' 12 tackles is a new career high.
- Dawkins' 12 tackles marks the first time a UNT defensive lineman has posted double-digit tackles since Dion Novil had 10 at Rice on Oct. 30, 2021.
Senior DB Jayden Hill (Gahanna, Ohio) finished the day with seven tackles, including three solo stops.
Senior LB Jordan Brown (Huntsville, Texas) finished the day with nine tackles.
Junior LB Shane Whitter (Burlington, N.C.) finished the day with seven tackles, including one solo stop.
Senior DB Ridge Texada (Frisco, Texas) finished the day with three tackles, including two solo stops, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
- His forced fumble on East Carolina's opening drive was the first of his career.
- His PBU in the first quarter was the 31st of his career and 36th career pass defended (PBUs + interceptions) – both extended his program records.
Freshman DB Quinton Hammonds (Allen, Texas) finished the day with two tackles – both solo – and an interception.
- Hammonds' first-quarter interception was the first of his career.
Junior LB Chavez Brown (Houma, La.) finished the day with seven tackles, including four solo stops, and a half-tackle for-loss.
- Brown's seven tackles is a new career high.
- Brown's fumble recovery on East Carolina's opening drive was the first of his career.
Junior DL Breylon Charles (New Orleans, La.) finished the day with five tackles, including two solo stops, two tackles for-loss and a sack.
- His second-quarter sack was his third of the year and gave him 3.5 in his career.
Redshirt freshman K Kali Nguma (Mission, Texas) finished 4-for-4 on extra points and was 0-for-2 on field goal attempts, with one being blocked.
- Nguma's miss from 29 yards out early in the second quarter snapped a streak of nine straight field goals made, which was tied for the fourth-longest streak in the program's FBS era.

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Team Stats

Chandler Morris

Players Mentioned

Chavez Brown

Jordan Brown

Roderick Brown

Breylon Charles

Miles Coleman

Blair Conwright

Terrell Dawkins

Johnny Dickson III

Quinton Hammonds

Jayden Hill

Makenzie McGill II

Tyler Mercer

Chandler Morris

Braydon Nelson

Kali Nguma

Landon Peterson

Shane Porter

Ikaika Ragsdale

Jake Shipley

Jaylen Smith

Ridge Texada

Paula Vaipulu

Damon Ward Jr.

Shane Whitter

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