The University of North Texas (UNT) Mean Green got their season started on the right foot with a 31-13 road victory over the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Miners on Saturday.
UNT Quarterback Austin Aune completed 16 of 29 passes for 236 yards and threw three touchdown passes, including two in a pivotal third quarter, to help the Mean Green pull away with the season-opening win in El Paso.
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Aune connected with Tommy Bush for an 11-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 in the second quarter. Then, Aune turned a 14-13 halftime lead into a 28-13 advantage heading into the fourth quarter with third-quarter touchdown passes of 9 yards to Isaiah Johnson and 11-yards to Jake Roberts.
Ethan Mooney capped the scoring for North Texas with a 28-yard field goal in the final quarter.
Gavin Hardison completed 21 of 48 passes for 293 yards for UTEP. The Miners opened the scoring, taking a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Hardison to Tyrin Smith, who had seven receptions for 127 yards.
Kicker Gavin Baechle secured the final points for UTEP, making two field goals in the second quarter.
After an up-and-down 2021 season, Mean Green likely hopes the season-opening win sets up a winning trajectory for the rest of the year.
Last season, North Texas looked dead in the water after starting 1-6. However, the Mean Green won their last five regular-season games, including a 45-23 win over the previously unbeaten 15th-ranked University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
The remarkable winning streak earned North Texas a spot in a bowl game, where it faced Miami (Ohio) in the Frisco Football Classic but fell 27-14 for a final 6-7 record.
The Mean Green have played in a bowl game in five of the last six seasons under head coach Seth Littrell but lost each of those games. North Texas has not finished with a record above .500 since the 2018 season.
A fourth straight losing season might raise questions about Littrell’s job security.
Aune will try to avoid a losing season as he leads what should be a high-powered offense. Eight starters returned from last season’s offense, which finished as the No.5 rushing offense in the nation.
However, the team lost leading rusher DeAndre Torrey, who had 1,215 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground last season. North Texas will rely on Ayo Adeyi, who had 80 yards on 17 carries against UTEP, and two other returning running backs to make up for the loss of Torrey.
The Mean Green also have a developed receiving corps, including Roderic Burns, who led the team in receptions (58), receiving yards (802), and receiving touchdowns (4) last season.
The most significant factor in whether North Texas can achieve a winning season will be on defense.
The Mean Green defense improved noticeably in the 2021 season after an abysmal 2020 season, where the team gave up an average of nearly seven yards per play and finished dead last in college football, allowing 522 yards per game.
The 2021 defense improved by leaps and bounds, allowing 382 yards per game and just 5.7 yards per play.
The 2022 defense will again look to make another substantial leap, led by first-team All-Conference linebacker KD Davis. Davis briefly contemplated transferring this offseason but returned to North Texas, where he has led the Mean Green in tackles for three straight seasons.
North Texas will next host the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Mustangs on Saturday, September 3 at 6:30 pm CT, in what will be the Mustangs’ season-opener.
