Portland State University crushes North Texas on homecoming
Reece Waddell | Senior Staff writer
North Texas entered its game Saturday against Portland State University needing a win. The Mean Green (0-5, 0-2) were coming off a blowout loss at the University of Southern Mississippi.
But it was no happy homecoming for North Texas, as head coach Dan McCarney’s squad was outmatched against a hungry Vikings (4-1, 1-1) team from the FCS, falling on homecoming by a final score of 66-7.
The loss, which was the most lopsided margin of defeat for an FBS school playing an FCS school at 59 points, ultimately led to athletic director Rick Villarreal parting ways with McCarney.
Drum Major Preston Beck leads the band in the Alma Mater before the homecoming game on Saturday. UNT would go on to lose the game to Portland State by almost 60 points. Matthew Brown | Senior Staff Photographer.
“I can’t say enough about what Dan has done for this program,” Villarreal said. “But at this time, I feel we need to go another direction.”
North Texas was overwhelmed from its first possession, converting just two third downs in the first half and gaining just 67 total yards of offense before halftime.
Portland State junior quarterback Alex Kuresa repeatedly torched the Mean Green secondary, completing passes of 56 and 60 yards, both of which went for touchdowns. Kuresa ended the night 11 for 19 with 269 yards and three touchdowns.
The depleted North Texas team came into the game ranked last in Conference USA. Its defense allowed 439 total yards before halftime and 670 for the game.
North Texas sophomore Andrew Tucker runs through a gap downfield against Portland State. Ryan Vance | Senior Staff Photographer
The Mean Green entered the locker room trailing 45-0, courtesy of three plays of 30 yards or more and a balanced attack that left the North Texas defense guessing throughout the entire contest.
As the relentless Viking attack continued into the third quarter, Portland State tacked on two more touchdowns, pushing its lead to 59-0 heading into the final stretch.
PSU kept pouring it on in the fourth quarter, as sophomore running back Mitchell Thompson broke two tackles and ran 68 yards for a touchdown, putting the Vikings up 66-0 and sending what North Texas fans were left to the exits.
McCarney said even though it didn’t look like it today, he believes he had a good coaching staff and a good group of players.
Whitley Green, overcome with emotion, dropped to her knees upon hearing that she was crowned homecoming queen. Matthew Brown | Senior Staff Photographer.
“Obviously, the scoreboard did not reflect that today,” McCarney said. “But I know the character of everyone in that locker room. I’m thankful for my time and the opportunity I had at North Texas. There are only 128 division one teams in the country, and I got to coach at one of them.”
The offense, which has struggled all season, failed to get anything going, gaining a humble 198 total yards and only got on the board by the time the game was out of reach, when third string junior quarterback DaMarcus Smith connected with senior wide receiver Carlos Harris in the end zone for the Mean Green’s only points of the night.
Villarreal said the search for a new head coach will begin immediately, and he is unsure of who, if anyone he will name as the interim head coach.
“We will conduct a nationwide search to find the best possible candidate.” Villarreal said
Next Up: North Texas will have a short week to prepare for Western Kentucky University, as the Hilltoppers come to Apogee Thursday Oct. 15. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
Featured Image: Sophomore running back Jeffery Wilson evades Portland State junior cornerback Xavier Coleman. Ryan Vance | Senior Staff Photographer
Click here for the Homecoming 2015 photo gallery.
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