DENTON, Texas — North Texas had built its reputation this season on a high-octane, high-scoring offense.
On Saturday, Southern Miss discovered the Mean Green owns a pretty salty defense as well.

The Golden Eagles were limited to their fewest points in 56 games and North Texas scored 20 unanswered points in the second half of a 30-7 victory.

“It was a frustrating day for us,” USM coach Jay Hopson said.

Quarterback Jack Abraham completed 29 of 42 passes for 318 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked four times, threw one interception, and could only get the Golden Eagles (2-3, 1-1 Conference USA) into the end zone once.

Junior receiver Jordan Mitchell posted a career day with 12 catches for 135 yards, both personal bests.

“I’m glad to be back and healthy,” Mitchell said. “I was fortunate to be able to take advantage of what they gave us in the passing game.”

Mitchell was one of two Golden Eagles with 100-yard receiving days, and three players had seven catches or more.

Junior Quez Watkins grabbed seven passes for 100 yards and Southern Miss’ lone touchdown on a 44-yard reception. It was his seventh TD catch of the season, and he and Abraham have hooked up for at least one touchdown in all five of Southern Miss’ games.

Sophomore Tim Jones had seven catches for 69 yards, both career bests.

Even the Southern Miss running game perked up a bit, with freshman Trivensky Mosley running for a career-best 75 yards.

But Mosley also was stripped of the football at the North Texas 11-yard line in the third quarter when the Golden Eagles were trailing by three points.
Southern Miss kicker Parker Shaunfield missed a 45-yard field goal in the meat of the game and the Golden

Eagles came up short on a fourth-and-1 opportunity.

“Each of those opportunities could have changed things,” Hopson said. “But credit North Texas. They are a good football team.”

Eventually, North Texas (6-1, 3-1) broke through, with running back DeAndre Torrey collecting all but one of his game-high 95 yards and three touchdowns over the final two quarters.

Torrey had scoring runs of 6 and 8 yards that pushed the Mean Green from a 10-7 edge into a commanding 23-7 lead. He capped the game with a 34-yard touchdown run with less than a minute to play.

North Texas amassed 457 yards, the most Southern Miss has allowed all year.