DENTON, Texas (AP) - DeAndre Torrey ran for 244 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries and North Texas opened the season with a 44-14 romp over FCS-member Northwestern State on Saturday.
Torrey staked the Mean Green to a 7-0 lead with a 24-yard TD run with 4:35 left in the first quarter. His second touchdown run came from 32 yards out to put North Texas up 14-7 with 12:22 left before halftime. Torrey's third TD was a 31-yard run at the 4:35 mark of the second, stretching a three-point lead to 24-14 and igniting 27 unanswered points by the Mean Green.
Isaiah Green carried 11 times for 48 yards and a score as North Texas amassed 345 of its 527 yards of total offense on the ground. Jace Ruder completed 10 of 21 passes for 131 yards and a score with two interceptions. Roderic Burns had six catches for 114 yards and a TD. Freshman Kevin Davis had two of the Mean Green's four sacks.
Kaleb Fletcher completed 13 of 22 passes — including a 65-yard scoring strike to Kendrick Price Jr. that knotted the score at 7 — with one interception for Northwestern State. The Demons fumbled five times, losing three.