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Well. North Texas ended their season today against a UTEP team that had just as little to lose or gain. The two teams combined for just 3 points in the first half, coming from a North Texas field goal. However, special teams and defense took over in the second half, leading to the 20-17 victory by UTEP.
This game was weird to say the least. The passing leaders from each team, Andrew McNulty from UNT and Kavika Johnson from UTEP, combined for 91 total yards throughout the game. On the ground, UTEP fumbled the ball five times. However, despite the horrible passing game and inability to hold on to the ball, North Texas still managed to fall to UTEP on senior night in Denton.
After a rather uneventful first half, the second half opened with 3-0 North Texas lead. The Miners struck first with a 75-yard drive to open the half, capped off by a Kavika Johnson touchdown run. After a couple of drives, North Texas answered with a 53-yard punt return by Tre Johnson that put the Mean Green back on top with a score of 10-6. An interception by UTEP and fumble return by North Texas gave the teams 7 points each to give the Mean Green a lead of 17-13 late in the third quarter. After a few failed drives, UTEP completed another impressive 72-yard drive late in the fourth quarter which finished with a Warren Redix touchdown catch and run. The score gave the game a final score of 20-17
UTEP outgained North Texas 256 yards to 205 yards in the slow offensive battle. The Mean Green added another two turnovers of their own to bring the team's combined turnover total to seven. Aside from offensive struggles, North Texas also suffered from an usually high amount of penalty yards. The team racked up 120 yards on 10 penalties. Arguably the most controversially of the penalties was a targeting call on WR Carlos Harris that resulted in Harris being ejected from his final game at UNT.
Boom. pic.twitter.com/DYoDaFDZbK
— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) November 28, 2015
The Miners finish their season 5-7 with a conference record of 3-5. The Mean Green finally end the frustrating season with a 1-11 record and their only win coming against UTSA. With the season over, news on the new North Texas head coach may be right around the corner.