UNT Holds Off Wildcats

DENTON – North Texas scored 31 unanswered points in the first and second quarters Saturday night and the ACU Wildcats never could fully dig out of that early hole in a 45-31 loss against the Mean Green in front of 21,494 fans at DATCU Stadium.
 
ACU opened the game with a quick, four-play scoring drive, but North Texas answered with five straight scoring drives to take a 31-7 lead early in the second quarter. UNT quarterback Chandler Rogers – who just moved into the starting lineup last week and led North Texas to a win at Louisiana Tech – threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns and had an answer for everything the ACU defense threw at him.
 
He directed five straight scoring drives by the Mean Green, who are 2-2 on the season but 2-0 with Rogers under center. He completed 23 of 36 passes and connected with 12 different receivers in the game. He added 29 yards and one touchdown run on seven carries, leading a North Texas attack that collected 530 yards of offense: 321 through the air and 209 on the ground.
 
Despite all of that, the Wildcats continued to get off the mat, scoring the final 10 points of the first half – including the last three on a 54-yard field goal by Kyle Ramsey on the final play of the half – to cut the UNT lead to a manageable 31-17 at halftime. Twice in the second half, ACU cut the lead to 14 points (at 38-24 with 5:06 left in the third quarter and 45-31 with 4:31 left in the game) but never could get closer than two scores.
 
Maverick McIvor completed 19 of 36 passes for 217 yards and tied a career-and-season-high with four touchdown passes, equaling the marks he set in ACU's Week 2 win at Prairie View A&M. Blayne Taylor caught three of those scoring passes, becoming the first ACU player since Taylor Gabriel in 2013 with at least three touchdown catches in one game.
 
Washington transfer running back Jay'Veon Sunday – starting his first game as a collegiate player – picked up 140 yards on 21 carries for the Wildcats (2-3), who are off next week. 
 
GAME SUMMARY
How They Scored
1Q (13:16) – The Wildcats won the toss and took the ball to start the game, and they didn't take long to get on the board, moving smartly on a 75-yard touchdown march. Maverick McIvor hit a 28-yard pass to Tristan Golightly on the first play of the game, and three plays later, he hit Blayne Taylor with a 28-yard scoring strike to give ACU an early lead.
            Scoring Play: Blayne Taylor 28 pass from Maverick McIvor (Kyle Ramsey PAT)
            Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:44 TOP    
            ACU 7, North Texas 0
 
1Q (12:21) – The Mean Green needed three plays to respond to the Wildcats' game-opening score. Actually, it only took one play. On third-and-10 from the 20-yard line, North Texas quarterback Chandler Rogers threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Mori Maclin to tie the game at 7-7.
            Scoring Play: Ja'Mori Maclin 80 pass from Chandler Rogers (Noah Rauschenberg PAT)
            Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 0:47 TOP    
            ACU 7, North Texas 7
 
1Q (8:56) – After ACU went three-and-out on its ensuing drive, North Texas moved quickly to take the lead it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the night. Rogers opened the drive with a 30-yard pass to Maclin and hit another 19-yard pass to Jordan Smart later in the drive. Rogers finished the drive with a 1-yard run up the middle for a score.
            Scoring Play: Rogers 1 run (Rauschenberg PAT)
            Drive: 5 plays, 50 yards, 2:36 TOP    
            North Texas 14, ACU 7
 
1Q (5:31) – The North Texas defense got the ball right back to its offense with a stop of ACU redshirt freshman running back Xavier Wishert on fourth-and-1 from the Wildcat 34-yard line. Wishert was stopped for no gain, giving the Mean Green the ball just 34 yards from the end zone. Isaiah Johnson carried the ball on the first three plays of the drive, but a third-down pass fell incomplete, forcing the Mean Green to settle for a field goal and a 17-7 lead.
            Scoring Play: Rauschenberg 38 field goal
            Drive: 5 plays, 14 yards, 1:25 TOP    
            North Texas 17, ACU 7
 
1Q (0:12) – With backup quarterback Quayde Hawkins in the game for ACU, the Wildcats again went three-and-out, and a 35-yard punt gave North Texas the ball at its 35-yard line. The Mean Green moved 65 yards to a final score before the end of the first quarter and a 17-point lead. The drive's biggest play was a third-and-7 keeper by Rogers, who scrambled for 12 yards. He fumbled at the end of the run, but his teammate, Damon Ward, recovered at the ACU 17-yard line. Two plays later, Rogers completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Ward.
            Scoring Play: Damon Ward 17 pass from Rogers (Rauschenberg PAT)
            Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 3:45 TOP    
            North Texas 24, ACU 7
 
2Q (11:36) – The Wildcats were forced to punt again, and the Mean Green moved down the field for a score, its fifth straight scoring drive. Rogers hit a 20-yard pass to Blair Conwright and later scrambled for 11 yards before completing a 39-yard pass to Landon Sides, who caught the ball in the flat and went down the sidelines for the big gain. Johnson scored from 11 yards out on the next play.
            Scoring Play: Johnson 11 run (Rauschenberg PAT)
            Drive: 7 plays, 77 yards, 3:06 TOP    
            North Texas 31, ACU 7
 
2Q (1:40) – After the teams traded a punt by ACU and a missed field goal by North Texas, the Wildcats got back on the board with a long drive late in the first half. The Wildcats did most of their damage on the ground, with Jay'Veon Sunday carrying the ball four times for 27 yards on the drive, helping the Wildcats move down to the 6-yard line. McIvor ended the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jed Castles.
            Scoring Play: Jed Castles 6 pass from Maverick McIvor (Ramsey PAT)
            Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 5:18 TOP    
            North Texas 31, ACU 14
 
2Q (0:00) – ACU's defense forced a three-and-out from the Mean Green, and the Wildcats took over on their 38-yard line after a punt of just 26 yards. McIvor completed a pass of 12 yards to Wishert on third-and-4 to keep the drive going and then completed a 7-yard pass to Wishert to get the ball to the UNT 37-yard line before Ramsey drilled a 54-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
            Scoring Play: Ramsey 54 field goal
            Drive: 7 plays, 25 yards, 1:02 TOP    
            North Texas 31, ACU 17
 
3Q (10:14) – The Mean Green opened the second half with a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to push the lead back to 21 points. No play until the touchdown play went for more than six yards, and the Mean Green was helped by a pass interference penalty on the Wildcats on fourth-and-2 from the ACU 34, moving the ball to the Wildcat 19-yard line. Two plays later, Jones hit Ward with an 18-yard touchdown pass, their second scoring connection of the night.
            Scoring Play: Ward 18 pass from Rogers (Rauschenberg PAT)
            Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 4:46 TOP    
            North Texas 38, ACU 17
 
3Q (5:06) – ACU put together its best drive of the night, answering the North Texas touchdown with a touchdown drive of its own. Once again, Sunday had a big part in the drive as he carried the ball four times for 32 yards, helping the Wildcats move to the UNT 23-yard line. On third-and-9 from the 23, McIvor hit Taylor with a touchdown pass, cutting the North Texas lead to two touchdowns.
            Scoring Play: Blayne Taylor 23 pass from McIvor (Ramsey PAT)
            Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 5:08 TOP    
            North Texas 38, ACU 24
 
3Q (1:01) – The Mean Green answered the ACU touchdown drive with a TD drive, extending the lead to three scores. Rogers opened the drive with a 19-yard completion, then hit passes of five, eight, 15, six, and three yards to move the ball to the ACU 5-yard line. Johnson finished off the drive with a 5-yard scoring run.
            Scoring Play: Johnson 5 run (Rauschenberg PAT)
            Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:05 TOP    
            North Texas 45, ACU 24
 
3Q (4:31) – ACU moved briskly down the field again, punching in the game's final score with less than five minutes to play after an 80-yard drive. Sunday had runs of seven and 11 yards on the drive, and McIvor hit Marcayll Jones with a 28-yard pass to the UNT 19-yard line. Three plays later, McIvor fired a strike over the middle and hit Taylor with a 14-yard scoring pass.
            Scoring Play: Taylor 14 pass from McIvor (Ramsey PAT)
            Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 3:31 TOP    
            North Texas 45, ACU 31
 
KEY STAT
With his 54-yard field goal on the first half's final play Saturday night, redshirt sophomore placekicker Kyle Ramsey joins Morgan Lineberry as the only Wildcat placekickers to kick three field goals of at least 50 yards in the same season. In 2009, Lineberry had field goals of 56, 52, and 51 yards. Ramsey's 54-yarder against North Texas gives him field goals of 55 yards vs. Prairie View A&M, 51 yards against Incarnate Word, and 54 yards against North Texas. 
 
TURNING POINT
North Texas took complete control of the contest in the first quarter as the Mean Green answered ACU's opening-drive touchdown with 31 unanswered points to take a 31-7 lead at the 11:36 mark of the second quarter. In contrast to the five straight scoring drives for UNT, ACU had the ball five times, ran 17 plays for 45 yards, and picked up one first down.
 
POST-GAME NOTES
• McIvor tied his career-high with four touchdown passes in the game against North Texas, tying the mark he set in the Week 2 win at Prairie View A&M. He threw scoring passes of 25 yards to Blayne Taylor, 6 yads to Jed CAstles, 23 yards to Taylor, and 14 yards to Taylor.
• Taylor is the first Wildcat since Taylor Gabriel in 2013 to have at least three touchdown receptions in one game. Gabriel had three touchdown catches against Houston Baptist (now Houston Christian) in 2013. Taylor is the 13th Wildcat in program history to have at least three TD catches in one game. 
• The Wildcats have lost nine straight games against North Texas, with their last win coming by a 20-6 score in Denton on Nov. 2, 1963. Most of those losses have come after ACU left the Southland Conference and moved down to NAIA and then NCAA Division II levels, while North Texas moved up to NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) and now the FBS levels. 
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH KEITH PATTERSON
 
On his team's resilience: "We dug ourselves too deep of a hole early in the game. Then, it seemed like we would get within striking distance, and they would answer with a score. Then we would get back within striking distance, and they would score again. It was huge for us to make it a two-score game at halftime, and we had a lot of momentum going into the locker room. I was proud of our guys for hanging in and playing." 
 
On the North Texas offense: "We did some things to try and help our defense that we can build upon. We're so young and inexperienced up front, but they're getting, and I'm excited about where we are heading back into conference play. But we also did those things because we knew their offense hit stride last week against Louisiana Tech. They settled on a quarterback, and they have some outstanding receivers. They have some big-play capability and a strong running game, and they put it all together in the first half (tonight)."    
 
On Jay'Veon Sunday's performance: "Jay'Veon is one of those players who gets stronger with each carry. He's a violent runner who can wear down a defense and make those guys on the other side of the ball think twice about wanting to tackle him."  
 
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will be off next week (Saturday, Oct. 7). They will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 14, when they host North Alabama at 3 p.m. at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium in their annual Homecoming contest. ACU is 0-1 all-time against the Lions. The two played on Sept. 17, 2011, when they were each NCAA Division II powerhouses. The fourth-ranked Lions knocked off the third-ranked Wildcats, 23-17, in front of 24,837 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington as part of the Lone Star Festival.