North Texas Rallies For Win At La Tech
RUSTON, La. – In a few devastating plays, in just 1:48 of game time, North Texas wiped out the carefully constructed control of the game that Louisiana Tech had spent most of the first half building, turning a deficit into a lead and propelling the Mean Green to a 28-13 victory.
Trailing 10-0 and with the offense stagnant late in the first half, quarterback Derek Thompson scrambled left, threw back right and found Brelan Chancellor, who adjusted to the ball, maintained his balance, and raced to the end zone for a 61-yard score. On the Bulldogs ensuing possession, the NT pass rush forced a throw that Zac Whitfield intercepted and returned 56 yards for a touchdown and a 14-10 lead.
“It was a game of big plays, and we made more than they did,” North Texas coach Dan McCarney said.
What then followed was a third quarter that could not have been in more stark contrast to the first two. The North Texas offense moved the ball easily on the ground and through the air and scored two touchdowns, the defense held the Bulldogs to 14 yards total offense, and the Mean Green inflated their lead to 28-10.
The win gives North Texas a modest two-game win streak, but it’s the
Mean Green’s first win streak in 101 games, breaks a seven-game road losing streak, and makes NT 4-3 for the first time since 2003.
The defense held off repeated Louisiana Tech challenges in the fourth quarter, then iced the game with a fourth-down stand midway through the final period and an interception by Whitfield, his second of day, with less than three minutes to play. It was the first two-interception game of the sophomore cornerback’s career.
