Mean Green Set Yardage Record In Win

[Coach Andy Mac]

DENTON – Questions surrounded the North Texas offense entering the 2020 season after the Mean Green lost record-setting quarterback and four-year starter Mason Fine to graduation.
 
In Saturday night's season opener, a good number of those questions might have been answered as the Mean Green rolled up a school-record 721 yards of total offense in a 57-31 win over Houston Baptist.
 
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jason Bean drew the start and finished the game 11-for-18 through the air with 217 yards and three touchdowns while also adding a 37-yard touchdown run. His play kept fellow redshirt sophomore Austin Aune, with whom Bean has had a tight competition with dating back to last year, on the bench longer than head coach Seth Littrell planned.
 
"Going into the game, we knew they'd both play," Littrell said of his quarterbacks. "I have a lot of confidence in both of them. They both deserve to play. Their teammates respect them and they've been great in practices. Both of those guys know, once a guy gets hot, I'm not gonna pull him. And I'm not going to if he just makes one mistake.
 
"I was probably gonna get Austin in a little earlier, but Bean got hot," Littrell added. "I was also going to put him in after the (Bean interception), but I didn't do it then, because I made a bad call and the kid made a great play, and I also don't want them thinking they're going to get yanked after one mistake. I was proud of the way Austin played when he went in. He hit a huge go-ball to our outside receiver, and then he came back after the half and had a good second half, too. They both did a lot of good things. There were some mistakes we have to clean up, but overall I thought it was a solid start."
 
Aune finished the night 6-of-11 passing for 111 yards and a touchdown to senior wideout Jaelon Darden, who finished the night with five grabs for 71 yards and three scores, marking the third time in his career he's had three touchdown receptions in a game. He also moved into a tie for third place on the program's career receiving touchdown list with his 22nd touchdown reception, tying him with David Brown (1991-94) after he began the night in seventh place.
 
Bean said having the back-and-forth competition with Aune has helped him.
 
"Me and Aune have been battling this whole fall, and really through last fall," he said. "I'm thankful to be here and get this opportunity, and I'm thankful to be in a battle with Aune. He's not only helping me, he's helping everyone around us."
 
They also had help from all of their skill players, as the Mean Green passed for 361 yards and rushed for 360, marking the first time in program history they have rushed and passed for at least 300 yards in the same game.
 
Redshirt freshman Oscar Adaway III had 118 rushing yards on just five carries, including touchdown runs of 35 and 47 yards. Senior DeAndre Torrey had 11 carries for 85 yards, and the Mean Green had three receivers (Darden, Greg White and Jyaire Shorter) with at least 70 receiving yards.
 
"I think our running backs are really deep and we have some really good receivers," Littrell said. "Our skill groups are very deep, I think. Everybody's hungry. They all talk about they want to eat, well, everyone's hungry, so let's feed everyone."
 
After UNT opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game, Houston Baptist marched down the field and faced fourth-and-2 from the UNT 5-yard line when Danny Lenard was met in the backfield by Mean Green linebacker KD Davis and stopped for no gain to end the scoring threat with 8:23 to play in the opening quarter.
 
Bean's second touchdown strike in as many drives went 32 yards to redshirt junior Greg White and capped a 95-yard scoring drive to give the Mean Green a 14-0 lead with 6:07 left in the first quarter on UNT's ensuing possession.
 
Davis led the Mean Green defensive effort with nine tackles, a sack and two quarterback hurries after leading the team in tackles in 2019.
 
Playing its first game in a brand new system without the luxury of spring ball due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the defense had its moments, but Littrell said there were understandable mistakes and issues in all three phases that can be corrected.
 
"It's hard to tell because they played against a really good offense, and we knew that coming in," Littrell said. "That QB (Houston Baptist senior Bailey Zappe) is really good. They dink and dunk and it forces you play in space. They can make you pay. We're gonna see it on tape. There's going to be a lot of mistakes on there we need to correct, but for Game 1 in a whole new system, with no spring ball, I was happy. Those guys are going to be fine. (Defensive coordinator) Clint Bowen and our whole staff does a heck of a job. We'll correct what we need to correct and get ready for SMU (in two weeks at Apogee Stadium)."
 
Through all of the adversity and uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and the start of the season, Littrell said he and his players have been champing at the bit to kick the season off for a while now.
 
"After the last corona test on Friday, it was like, 'OK ,we're here. We're finally gonna play this game.' Just to get to the hotel, have your meetings, your walk through, all that - I've had a blast being back. Every step along the way, it's been a different level of excitement. It's been a lot of fun. It makes it more fun with the fact that we have a good group of dudes – coaches and players. We've had a lot of fun together, and I'll tell you, that's not always the case. There hasn't been a lull since we started back, and I think that's because everyone enjoys being around each other."
 
On Saturday, that time finally came, and despite some new faces, they were able to rewrite the record book.
 
"Any time you make that transition – there's no doubt in my mind those guys (Bean and Aune) can set records – but if you have a guy like Mason Fine for the last four years, any time you're gonna have a guy like that, you're gonna miss him," Littrell said. "But we miss him less tonight because of the way those guys played. I haven't been concerned about who's going to be the starter. I know we have a good group. I'm excited to work with them every day. Players come and go. That's part of life. You don't get to stay in one place forever. One guy goes out and starts his career elsewhere, and another guy steps up."
 
QUICK HITS

• The UNT win gives the Mean Green a 1-0 record in the all-time series against Houston Baptist, as Saturday's season opener marked the teams' first meeting.
• The Mean Green win puts their record at 7-3 in the last 10 home openers. All time, North Texas is now 71-30-3 in home openers (excluding games played at the old Texas Stadium in Irving).
• The Mean Green win puts the program record at 19-6 in Apogee Stadium under head coach Seth Littrell. The Mean Green were 4-2 at home last season.
• The Mean Green's 721 total yards sets a new school record, breaking the previous best performance against Lamar in the 2017 season opener (668 yards)
  • The Mean Green passed for 361 yards and rushed for 360 yards – marking the first time in program history the team has rushed for 300 yards and passed for 300 yards in the same game.
• The Mean Green rushed for 360 yards, marking the first time the team has rushed for 300 yards since Sept. 22, 2018, at Liberty.
• Redshirt sophomore QB Jason Bean (Mansfield) drew his first career start and had his first completion for 23 yards and a first down to redshirt sophomore WR Jyaire Shorter (Killeen, Texas). Bean finished the day 11-for-18 for 217 yards with three passing touchdowns and a rushing score before exiting the game midway through the third quarter.
  • Bean ran 37 yards untouched to the end zone to open the second-half scoring and take a 29-10 lead with 8:23 left in the third quarter. It was his first career touchdown run.
• Redshirt sophomore QB Austin Aune checked into the game with 4:25 left in the second quarter and finished the day with 111 yards on 6-of-11 passing and a touchdown. Aune's first completion of the day went 49 yards to Shorter.
  • His 6-yard touchdown pass to senior WR Jaelon Darden (Houston) with 3:37 left in the third quarter marked his first touchdown pass of the season.
• Redshirt sophomore QB Kason Martin (Manvel, Texas) completed an 8-yard pass midway through the fourth quarter – his first completion since the 2018 New Mexico Bowl against Utah State.
• Darden had five catches on the day for 71 yards and three touchdowns, marking his third career game with three touchdown receptions.
  • His 6-yard touchdown reception from Aune with 3:37 left in the third quarter capped an eight-play scoring drive and was 22nd touchdown reception of his career, moving him into a tie for third place on the program's all-time list with David Brown (1991-94).
  • His 19-yard touchdown reception from Bean with 14:35 left in the second quarter capped an eight-play scoring drive and was the 21st touchdown reception of his career, moving him into a fourth-place tie on the program's all-time list with Johnny Quinn (2003-06) and Rico Bussey, Jr. (2016-19).
  • His 33-yard touchdown reception from Bean with 12:31 left in the first quarter capped a 10-play scoring drive on the Mean Green's first possession of the year and was the 20th of his career. The catch moved him into a tie for sixth on the all-time receiving touchdown list with Casey Fitzgerald (2005-08).
• Redshirt junior WR Greg White (Riverdale, Georgia) hauled in two catches for 76 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown pass from Bean with 6:07 left in the first quarter to give North Texas a 14-0 lead. The scoring strike was White's first career touchdown. The touchdown capped a 95-yard scoring drive.
  • The eight-play, 95-yard scoring drive was the longest for the Mean Green since Oct. 27, 2018, against Rice when UNT went on an 11-play scoring drive covering 95 yards.
• Redshirt freshman RB Oscar Adaway III finished the night with five carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
  • His first career touchdown on a 35-yard scamper came on just his fifth career carry and first of the night with 7:08 remaining in the third quarter. He added a 47-yard scoring scamper with 14:25 to play in the game.
• Senior RB DeAndre Torrey (Gautier, Mississippi) had 85 yards and 11 carries.
• Freshman RB Isaiah Johnson (Lubbock) scored on his second career carry, when he went 16 yards to the end zone on fourth-and-1 with 11:19 left in the game. He finished with 41 yards on eight carries in his collegiate debut.
• Junior LB KD Davis (Ennis, Texas) led the team with nine tackles, a sack and two quarterback hurries after leading the team in tackles during the 2019 season.
• Freshman TE Jake Roberts (Norman, Oklahoma) had his first career reception – a 13-yarder from Aune in the third quarter.
• Redshirt freshman WR Kealon Jackson (Houston) had his first career reception – a 15-yarder from Aune early in the fourth quarter.
• Redshirt junior K Zach Williams (Louisville, Kentucky) scored his first career points, finishing the day 6-of-7 on extra points and made his first career field goal attempt from 30 yards out with 1:18 to play in the first half, giving UNT a 23-7 lead.
  
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