North Texas comes out flat in blowout loss to Florida Atlantic
Holding a big lead in the third quarter, Florida Atlantic University quarterback Jason Driskel tossed a pass to his left to running back Devin Singletary. After hauling the ball in, Singletary jetted upfield and began a Marshawn Lynch-like run.
Singletary broke not one, not two, not three, not four, but five North Texas tackles on his way to a 45-yard gain before finally being brought down at the Mean Green 8-yard line.
The play encapsulated the game for both teams as FAU drubbed North Texas 69-31 Saturday night in Boca Raton, Florida.
“They came out and were the most excited team to play,” head coach Seth Littrell said. “[I] really felt like they dominated us up front on both sides of the ball.”
The Owls’ offense had the Mean Green’s number throughout, especially in the first half, when they totaled 460 yards of offense. FAU finished with 804 yards and set a new program record for most points scored in a game since the team’s inception in 2001.
The Owls scored nine touchdowns and added two field goals through their first 11 possessions and did not leave the field without a score until the Mean Green got a fourth-down stop with the reserves in the lineup late in the fourth quarter.
Singletary finished with 123 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries.
“You can’t play the way we played,” Littrell said. “You’re not going to have any success turning the ball over and not getting off the field on third down.”
The Owls averaged 9.7 yards per play as the North Texas defense was unable to get any push in the trenches to put pressure on Driskel and Singletary in the backfield.
Driskel amassed 357 yards on 24-of-37 passing for two touchdowns and found receiver Willie Wright for 141 yards and a score.
“They had a couple different wrinkles here and there from this past week,” Littrell said. “But overall you have to give them a lot of credit.”
The most explosive player the Mean Green offense had to offer leading up to Saturday was sophomore receiver Jalen Guyton. But Guyton ended his night in Boca Raton with zero catches and was only targeted once in the passing game by sophomore quarterback Mason Fine.
Fine played the whole game and finished with 283 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 31-of-47 passing.
The offense as a whole gained a total of 420 yards, with senior running back Jeffery Wilson managing just 49 yards on 11 carries.
“At times, they put a guy over the top [of Guyton] and had clouded coverage,” Littrell said. “We didn’t open them up enough offensively or force them to make any adjustments. If they want to double him up, other guys should be open. We [just] have to get our running game going and do a better job.”
After the worst loss of Littrell’s short tenure with the program, the Mean Green will have a lot to look at through the coming week. North Texas will host Old Dominion University at 5:30 p.m. next Saturday.
“This needs to be a great learning experience for us,” Littrell said. “We have to improve and make sure we come out ready to play and make sure we learn from this poor play.”
Featured Image: North Texas sophomore quarterback Mason Fine (6) gets hit after throwing the ball toward the end zone against the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Colin Mitchell
I’m just curious how come the coaches never tried not even once to get their number 1 wide receiver involved in the game. Not even one reception. How do you not get your no. 1 wide receiver Jalen Guyton? Please someone explain this to me?