North Texas reached the red zone seven times against Rice and took points from every visit. Six ended with touchdowns. That finishing record explains a 52-23 victory Saturday at DATCU Stadium more clearly than the total yardage alone: the Mean Green repeatedly completed the short, consequential part of drives after doing the work to get there.
The first visit produced Dominic De Freitas’ field goal from 37 yards. It capped a six-play march covering 61 yards and gave UNT its first three points. The later visits yielded touchdowns instead. The exception helped build a lead; the repeated seven-point returns eventually built the margin.
Two second-quarter possessions still ended in punts, one after 10 plays and 31 yards and another after nine plays and 3 yards. Rice answered the first with an 85-yard touchdown drive and reached halftime only 10-7 behind. UNT had begun well, but the middle of its first half supplied little of the finishing that would follow.
Tayven Jackson finished UNT’s opening possession after halftime with a 6-yard touchdown run. The nine-play march covered 75 yards and included Max Reese receptions of 25 and 10 yards, plus a 23-yard catch by Baron Tipton. Those completions moved the drive into position. The final yards required the offense to keep progressing, which White’s short runs and Jackson’s scoring carry accomplished.
Rice cut the lead to 17-14 on its next possession, and UNT did punt before scoring again. After a subsequent Rice punt, a Rice face-mask penalty moved UNT from the Owls’ 35 to their 20, then White gained 3 yards. Jackson found Tipton for 16 more, then White covered the last yard at 4:22 of the third.
That was a three-play drive. It preceded the Byars fumble, rather than benefiting from it.
Byars then lost the ball on Rice’s next scrimmage play, with Zakye Barker forcing the fumble and Bryce Garza recovering at the Rice 32. On the ensuing UNT possession, Jackson completed passes to White and Tipton before Dalton Carnes caught a 19-yard touchdown pass at 3:00 of the third quarter.
North Texas turned a 17-14 advantage into 31-14 through two touchdowns in a brief stretch, and it did so with one short field and one scoring play from well outside the goal line.
White’s role illustrated the range of the attack. His 60-yard touchdown run at 14:43 of the fourth quarter came from outside the red zone, after White had gained 15 yards on his previous run. White finished with 139 yards on 21 carries and three rushing touchdowns.
The total matters, but the distribution says more: he handled the one-yard finish, produced the 3-yard touchdown in the first quarter and later turned a normal-looking possession into a 60-yard sprint. A back who can do both makes every drive less dependent on perfect field position.
Jackson’s ground numbers were modest—five carries for two net yards—but two of those carries ended in touchdowns. His six-yard run opened the third-quarter surge, and his two-yard keeper finished an 82-yard fourth-quarter possession at 6:02. Through the air, he completed 18 passes for 303 yards, threw one touchdown and avoided an interception.
Justin Stevenson added five receptions for 117 yards, while Reese, Tipton and Carnes helped keep the offense moving between the goal lines.
