Running Game, Defense Pace Mean Green in Rout

DENTON – UNT junior quarterback Chandler Morris was near-perfect and a trio of runners helped pace the Mean Green to more than 200 yards on the ground, while the Mean Green defense capitalized on some schematic changes to shut out Wyoming in the second half en route to a 44-17 win at DATCU Stadium in front of 27,049 people – the fifth largest crowd in the stadium's history.

Morris completed 28 of 41 pass attempts for 305 yards and two touchdowns – his third 300-yard passing game in his four games for the Mean Green. His top target was DT Sheffield, who caught eight balls for 109 yards and a touchdown – all in the first half.

UNT (3-1) had a 300-yard passer, 100-yard receiver and 100-yard rusher for the first time since last season's finale against UAB, but on Saturday, the most unlikely of the three was definitely the rushing effort.

Junior Shane Porter, making his first start at UNT, rushed for a game-high 120 yards on just 13 carries. Redshirt freshman running back Makenzie McGill had three rushing scores on just six carries to become the first freshman to have three rushing touchdowns since Jamario Thomas on Oct. 30, 2004 – on a day the 2004 team was honored on the field 20 years after winning the Sun Belt Championship and New Orleans Bowl. Freshman Kiefer Sibley added 39 yards on seven carries.

"Those three running backs had a great practice week," head coach Eric Morris said. "It mav have been the best practice week of any running back group since I've been here. (Running backs) Coach (Patrick) Cobbs coached them hard, and it was super fun to watch those guys this week."

As great as the offense was, the defense came through in a big way – especially in responding to a rough game last week at Texas Tech.

The coaching staff implemented some schematic changes heading into this week, moving from the 3-3-5 defense Matt Caponi brought with him from Iowa State, to a 3-4 alignment to capitalize on the team's best personnel. That included a start for linebacker Shane Whitter – the first of his career.

The change worked, as UNT allowed just 240 total yards and only 65 yards on the ground (2.1 yards per carry).

"As we went back and watched tape, we decided who our best 11 players on defense were," Morris said. "We thought our depth at linebacker was strong and Whitter has played really good when he's played. The defensive staff put their heads together and came up with a great plan."

Perhaps the most important thing Morris said he can take from the win, as the Mean Green head into AAC play at 3-1 – the second time since 1989 the team has been at least 3-1 after four games – is the fact the players rebounded from a resilient week.

Now, UNT will look to open AAC play with a win as it welcomes Tulsa to town next Saturday in a game set for 6 p.m., at DATCU Stadium.

"That was a lot of fun," Morris said. "I told them I haven't been this proud of a group in a long time. They go through a whole week after a really disappointing and poor performance at Texas Tech and people telling them they can't do anything, and I challenged them. We usually grade them on different things but we told them this week, the only thing they're getting graded on is how fast they play, and I thought they did a great job tonight."

QUICK HITS

The Mean Green win puts the all-time series at 1-0 in UNT's favor after the teams' first-ever meeting.
The announced attendance of 27,049 is the fifth-highest number in the history of DATCU Stadium and the seventh most in UNT history.
With the win, UNT moves to 3-1, which ties for the 10th best record through four games in program history.
UNT's captains for the game were Chandler Morris, Ridge Texada, Landon Peterson and Jaylen Smith.
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.
Junior RB Shane Porter (Friendswood, Texas), junior LB Chavez Brown (Houma, La.) and junior LB Shane Whitter (Burlington, N.C.) all made their first career starts.
UNT is now 6-1 under Eric Morris when leading at the half and 7-0 when leading after three quarters.
The win marks the 10th time in 16 games under Morris that UNT has amassed at least 500 yards of total offense.
UNT's 27 first-half points were the most scored in a first half this season and most since last season's game against Abilene Christian on Sept. 30, 2023.
The Mean Green had a 300-yard passer (Chandler Morris), a 100-yard rusher (Shane Porter) and a 100-yard receiver (DT Sheffield) for the first time since Nov. 25, 2023, against UAB.
The last time UNT shut an opponent out in the second half was in a 45-14 win over Temple on Oct. 14, 2023.
The Mean Green's 216 yards on the ground is a new season high, besting the 182 in a win over SFA in Week 2.
Wyoming's Tyler King's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 1:03 left in the second quarter was the first by a UNT opponent since UTEP's Duron Lowe returned one 100 yards on Nov. 2, 2019.
For the second time in four weeks, UNT's defense has allowed fewer than 250 total yards and less than 100 rushing yards.
UNT allowed just 65 yards on the ground, the fewest by an opponent since FIU had 58 on Nov. 20, 2021.
UNT's defense has now allowed a score on the opponent's opening drive in 11 consecutive games, dating back to Oct. 14, 2023, against Temple.
Junior QB Chandler Morris (Dallas, Texas) finished 28 for 41 for 305 yards and two touchdown passes and added four carries for 22 yards.
- Morris made the fourth start of his UNT career and the 13th of his collegiate career.
- Morris eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark for the third time in his four games for UNT and the fifth time in his collegiate career.
- Morris' 29-yard touchdown pass to DT Sheffield with 7:18 left in the first quarter was his 10th of the season and 26th of his career.
- Morris' 19-yard touchdown pass to Blair Conwright with 5:54 left in the second quarter was his 11th of the season and 27th of his career.
Junior RB Shane Porter (Friendswood, Texas) finished with 13 carries for 120 yards.
- Porter's 40-yard run late in the first quarter was the longest of his career.
- Porter's 120 yards makes him the first UNT rusher to have 100 or more yards on the ground in his first career start since Tre Siggers did it against UTSA on Sept. 21, 2019 (14 carries, 143 yards).
Redshirt freshman RB Makenzie McGill (Mount Vernon, Texas) finished with six carries for 38 yards and three touchdowns.
- McGill's three rushing touchdowns made him the first UNT player with three in a game since DeAndre Torrey had three against UTSA on Nov. 27, 2021. Three rushing touchdowns tied for the sixth-most in a game in program history.
- McGill became the first freshman with three rushing touchdowns in a game since Jamario Thomas against ULM on Oct. 30, 2004.
- McGill's was the second UNT player this season to score twice on the ground after Chandler Morris did it in the season opener at South Alabama.
- McGill's 4-yard touchdown run with 1:17 left in the second quarter was the first of his career.
- McGill's 2-yard touchdown run with 10:10 left in the third quarter was the second of his career.
- McGill's 24-yard touchdown run with 5:17 left in the third quarter was the third of his career.
Junior WR DT Sheffield (Corinth, Miss.) finished with eight catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.
- Sheffield entered the game leading the AAC in touchdown receptions on the season with three.
- Sheffield had all of his production in the first half, making him the first UNT player to have 100 yards in the first half since Ja'Mori Maclin did it last season against Abilene Christian.
- Sheffield's 29-yard touchdown reception with 7:18 left in the first quarter was the fourth of his career and fourth of the season.
Senior WR Blair Conwright (Lubbock, Texas) finished the day with four catches for 40 yards and a touchdown.
- Conwright's 19-yard touchdown reception with 5:54 left in the second quarter was his second of the season and seventh of his career (fourth at UNT).
Sophomore WR Dalton Carnes (College Station, Texas) finished with four catches for 90 yards.
- Carnes' 90 yards is a new career high.
Senior LB Jaylen Smith (Hamilton, Ontario) finished the day with four tackles, including a solo stop.
Senior DB Jayden Hill (Gahanna, Ohio) finished the day with five tackles, including three solo stops, and a QB hurry.
Junior LB Shane Whitter (Burlington, N.C.) finished with four tackles, including a solo stop, in his first career start.
Sophomore DB Evan Jackson (Houston, Texas) finished the day with six tackles, including three solo stops.
Junior LB Chavez Brown (Houma, La.) finished with five tackles, including two solo stops, and a QB hurry.
Freshman DB Quinton Hammonds (Allen, Texas) finished with five tackles, including four solo stops, and 1.5 tackles for-loss.
Senior DB Ridge Texada (Frisco, Texas) finished with three tackles – all solo stops – and two pass breakups.
Redshirt freshman K Kali Nguma (Mission, Texas) finished 5 for 5 on extra points and was 3 for 3 on field goal attempts.
- His 45-yard field goal as time expired in the first half was the longest of his career.

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Team Stats

Chandler Morris

Drew Mestemaker

Players Mentioned

Chavez Brown

Dalton Carnes

Blair Conwright

Quinton Hammonds

Jayden Hill

Evan Jackson

Ja'Mori Maclin

Makenzie McGill II

Chandler Morris

Kali Nguma

Landon Peterson

Shane Porter

DT Sheffield

Kiefer Sibley

Jaylen Smith

Ridge Texada

Shane Whitter

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