Mean Green’s historic run ends in disappointment

NEW ORLEANS — The Yulman Stadium lights briefly went out midway through a second-quarter North Texas drive.

They went out on the Mean Green’s season two hours later.

UNT’s historic season ended just shy of the College Football Playoff with a 34-21 loss to Tulane in the American Conference Championship game Friday night.

No. 24 North Texas (11-2, 7-2) turned the ball over five times and couldn’t withstand a key injury in front of 23,986 fans at the home stadium of No. 20 Tulane (11-2, 8-1).

Texas College Sports

Here are five thoughts from the game.

The stakes

The Mean Green would have very likely been the first American Conference team to qualify for the playoffs had they won.

North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker (17) is sacked by Tulane linebacker Harvey Dyson,...

North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker (17) is sacked by Tulane linebacker Harvey Dyson, bottom left, during the first half of the American Conference championship NCAA college football game in New Orleans, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Matthew Hinton / AP

Tulane will now hold that honor instead. Its exact position in the 12-team bracket remains to be determined by other league championship games. The Green Wave will likely be the No. 12 seed if No. 17 Virginia wins the ACC championship and the No. 11 seed if unranked Duke wins and misses out on the playoffs. James Madison — the No. 25 team in the most recent CFP poll and the Sun Belt conference champion — would likely be the No. 12 team and second Group of Five entrant in the latter scenario.

The bracket will be revealed Sunday afternoon.

The turning point

The Mean Green trailed by 10 points with just over two minutes left in the first quarter but had an opportunity to cut the deficit to single digits before halftime.

Instead, by way of a special teams miscue, Tulane extended its lead.

The Green Wave punted with 2:09 left in the second quarter. North Texas returner Landon Sides was unable to field the kick — and may have been the victim of an uncalled kick catch interference penalty — before the ball bounced away from him. It ricocheted off of wide receiver Baron Tipton’s leg and into the hands of Tulane special teamer Omari Hayes.

Tulane started its drive on the 13-yard line after the turnover and, six plays later, scored on a 1-yard keeper from quarterback Jake Retzlaff to take a 24-7 lead into halftime. It was the second of four turnovers that the Green Wave scored 21 points off of.

An injury-induced offensive outage

The Mean Green orchestrated a 15-play, 80-yard drive that ended in a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drew Mestemaker to tight end Tre Williams III on the game’s first drive. Mestemaker was given time to operate in the pocket, North Texas converted two third-down attempts and resembled the offense that led the nation in points per game this regular season.

It unraveled in the second quarter and allowed Tulane to stake its sizable halftime lead. North Texas freshman running back Caleb Hawkins fumbled on the fifth play of the second quarter at the end of an 11-yard reception. The Green Wave recovered it, ran the ball 34 yards the other way and took a 14-7 lead two plays later on a scamper from running back Jamauri McClure.

Hawkins — who scored 26 total touchdowns in the regular season and was the conference’s rookie of the year — was injured on his fumble and missed the remainder of the game. His absence limited the Mean Green’s offensive diversity, zapped their run game and allowed Tulane’s defensive front to pressure a predictable offense.

The Mean Green averaged just 0.4 yards per play in two second-quarter possessions without Hawkins, ran the ball just three times, allowed the Green Wave to sack Mestemaker three times, punted twice and were outscored 17-0 in the quarter.

Hawkins was in full uniform on the sideline for the entire second half but did not play.

The quarterback whisperer’s last ride

North Texas head coach Eric Morris coached the Mean Green for the final time Friday night. He was named Oklahoma State’s head coach in the final week of the regular season and will be officially introduced Monday afternoon.

Morris, 40, led North Texas to a 22-16 record in three seasons, its first conference championship game appearance in more than two decades, a first-ever spot in the CFP poll and helped orchestrate some of college football’s most prolific offenses in his tenure.

The Mean Green hired Neal Brown to replace Morris Tuesday night. The ex-West Virginia and Troy head coach spent this season on staff at Texas and will be tasked to carry on what Morris built.

It might’ve been the quarterback’s, too

Mestemaker, a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award, evolved from walk-on to superstar in his first season as the Mean Green’s starter.

His college football future will be a point of speculation as the offseason begins.

Mestemaker passed for a nation-best 3,835 yards and 29 touchdowns in the regular season and will likely be one of the most sought-after quarterbacks if he enters the transfer portal. The Austin Vandegrift alum said last week that he hadn’t considered his North Texas future after his head coach’s departure.

He completed 21 of his 34 pass attempts for 294 yards in Friday’s loss and threw three interceptions, two that were tipped by his own receivers. The first, with 7:32 left in the third quarter, was caught and returned by Tulane linebacker Chris Rodgers for a touchdown that gave the Green Wave a 31-7 lead. Rodgers appeared to have lost possession of the ball before he crossed into the endzone, but the score was upheld after a review.

The second, three minutes later on the next possession, was thrown from the 2-yard line and intercepted by safety Jack Tchienchou in the endzone.

Twitter/X: @McFarland_Shawn

Mansfield Summit RB Adarion Nettles sticking with commitment to North Texas