Lowell Narcisse came off the bench to register 222 yards of offense, but it was not enough in a 45-3 setback to North Texas in the Conference USA opener for both teams on Saturday night at Apogee Stadium.
The Mean Green (2-2, 1-0) took advantage of four turnovers by the Roadrunners (1-3, 0-1) and converted those into 28 points while piling up 501 yards of offense in the seventh all-time meeting between the two teams.
North Texas quarterback Mason Fine passed for 195 yards and two touchdowns while Tre Siggers rushed for 143 yards and a pair of scores to help the Mean Green total 290 yards on the ground.
Playing in place of starting quarterback Frank Harris, who left with an injury on the second play of the game, Narcisse, a sophomore out of St. James, La., completed 16 passes for 124 yards and ran for a team-high 98 yards on 15 carries to pace the UTSA offense. Sincere McCormick added 62 yards on a season-best 16 attempts, while Sheldon Jones led all receivers with a career-high six catches for 41 yards.
Meanwhile, senior linebacker Andrew Martel led the defense with 10 tackles, including seven solo stops with one behind the line of scrimmage, for his second straight game with double-digit tackles. Carl Austin III added six tackles and LaDarian McFarland posted five.
The Mean Green turned a pair of UTSA turnovers into 14 points to help build a 24-3 halftime advantage.
An interception near midfield on the game’s opening drive led to seven points for North Texas, as a 1-yard plunge by Siggers capped a six-play, 42-yard drive.
The Roadrunners marched 68 yards in 14 plays on the ensuing possession, which was sparked by a 25-yard pass down the sideline from Narcisse to Tariq Woolen, but the drive stalled at the 14-yard line and ended with a missed field-goal attempt from 32 yards.
North Texas tacked on two more touchdowns early in the second quarter, the first on a 13-yard scoring dash by DeAndre Torrey and the second on a 25-yard run by Siggers on the first snap following a UTSA fumble.
Hunter Duplessis capped a 12-play, 69-yard march with a 25-yard field goal with 26 seconds left to get UTSA on the board. Narcisse had runs of 17 and 12 yards and 12-yard completions to Carlos Strickland II and Brenden Brady to key the drive.
The Mean Green responded by driving 61 yards in just four plays for a 31-yard field by Ethan Mooney as time expired in the first half.
North Texas pushed the lead to 38-3 on a pair of passing TDs in the third quarter from Mason Fine, who finished 15 of 22 for 192 yards and two scores.
Jason Bean hit Jaelon Darden on a 3-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin.
The Roadrunners have next Saturday off before they travel to El Paso to face UTEP (1-2) on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT at the Sun Bowl.
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