by CHARLOTTE, N.C. – North Texas led Saturday’s game at Charlotte for all but 59 minutes, 42 seconds, but with 18 ticks remaining, a 34-yard touchdown pass for Charlotte spoiled what was an explosive offensive day for the Mean Green, as North Texas fell 39-38 at Jerry Richardson Stadium.
Senior quarterback Mason Fine (Cherokee Nation) threw for a new career high of five touchdown passes on 25-of-36 passing and 384 yards, and the Mean Green had two 100-yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher, but the Mean Green couldn’t hold off a fourth-quarter rally that saw Charlotte outscore UNT 18-3 in the fourth quarter as the 49ers outgained UNT 589-539.
“Overall, you’ve got to give Charlotte a lot of credit,” UNT head coach Seth Littrell said. “Their kids continued to fight hard. During the second half, they played extremely well and we didn’t make enough stops. We couldn’t get off the field. Score 32 points in the second half, and it’s hard to beat people.”
Fine wasn’t the only offensive player filling the stat sheet for North Texas, as redshirt freshman wide receiver Jyaire Shorter had three catches – all touchdowns – for 111 yards and three touchdowns for his first multi-touchdown game. Junior wide receiver Jaelon Darden also continued his hot play, as of late, and had five grabs for 104 yards, including a 64-yard scoring strike from Fine to open the game’s scoring. Redshirt sophomore Tre Siggers carried the ball 17 times for 131 yards and had his third 100-yard rushing performance of the year.
“He’s a powerful runner, and he’s been making a lot of plays for us,” Littrell said, after Siggers missed last week’s win over Middle Tennessee with an injury and was a game-time decision on Saturday.
Shorter now has 17 catches on the season with seven of those going for touchdowns in his last six games.
The Mean Green (3-5, 2-2 Conference USA) will look to regroup and get back in the win column when they host UTEP next Saturday, Nov. 2, at Apogee Stadium for homecoming at 2:30 p.m.
