North Texas Outlasts FAU 48-41 as Jahiem White Runs for 193 Despite Easton Messer's Record Night

Easton Messer caught 16 passes on Thursday night, a Florida Atlantic record. Caden Veltkamp threw for 452 yards and five touchdowns. And when the scoreboard finally stopped spinning in Denton, it was North Texas walking off with the win, because the Mean Green had the one thing FAU never found: a running game.

North Texas beat FAU 48-41 on Oct. 29 at DATCU Stadium in a shootout that produced 1,167 combined yards, the most in an American Conference game this season, according to the North Texas Daily. Per The Associated Press, it was also the first FBS game of the season with two 400-yard passers. The Mean Green won a fifth straight, moved to 6-2 and stayed unbeaten in league play at 4-0. FAU fell to 5-3 and 2-2.

A fast start for the Owls

FAU looked like the team in control early. North Texas drove to the doorstep on its opening possession, but a false start stalled the drive at the 1, and Dominic De Freitas settled for a 24-yard field goal. Veltkamp answered with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Branden Hoch, Collin Rogers added a field goal, and the Owls led 10-3 after one quarter.

The second quarter turned into a trading session. Tayven Jackson found Baron Tipton for an 8-yard touchdown on a leaping catch to tie it at 10. FAU answered when Veltkamp escaped pressure on third-and-14 from the North Texas 27 and found Messer for a touchdown. North Texas tied it again at 17 when Kyle Koch caught a 3-yard score to cap a 14-play drive.

Jahiem White changes the math

Then North Texas found the crack it would exploit all night. After an FAU three-and-out, Jahiem White took a first-down handoff and went 59 yards for a touchdown to make it 24-17.

White finished with 193 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, a fifth straight 100-yard game according to the North Texas Daily. More importantly, White gave North Texas a dimension FAU could not match. The Mean Green ran for 240 yards at 6.7 a carry. The Owls managed 71 on 28 attempts.

FAU responded the way it would all night, through Messer. Veltkamp hit Messer for a 12-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left in the half, and it was 24-24 at the break. By then, Messer already had 12 catches for 119 yards and two scores.

White's night was not spotless. Late in the half, White fumbled while trying to hurdle a defender, wiping out a North Texas chance to take the lead into the locker room. North Texas coach Neal Brown was not amused. "That play irritates me, because we had a chance to really take control of that game at the end of the half," Brown said, per the North Texas Daily.

The turning point: a third-quarter surge and a fourth-quarter pick

North Texas took the second-half kickoff and came away with a field goal to lead 27-24. A 28-yard Jackson run set up a 4-yard touchdown pass to Justin Stevenson, and it was 34-24. FAU answered with a 22-yard Veltkamp strike to Kaden Shields-Dutton to cut it to 34-31, but North Texas marched 11 plays and White finished the drive, setting it up with a 20-yard run to the 1 and scoring two plays later. It was 41-31 after three.

Brown felt the physical edge showing up by then. "I thought we kind of wore them down in the second half," Brown said. The numbers back it up. North Texas ran 82 plays to FAU's 85, but averaged 7.9 yards a snap to the Owls' 6.2, and the gap came almost entirely on the ground.

The defining defensive play came right at the start of the fourth quarter. Cornerback Peyton Taylor intercepted Veltkamp, the first pick of the season for Taylor and the play the FAU student paper, the University Press, called the turning point of the night.

Linebacker Zakye Barker loved seeing it. "He's a mentally sound player as well, and to see him get that interception, it was joyful," Barker said of Taylor.

FAU still had fight left. Messer completed the hat trick on a 34-yard touchdown with 8:26 to play, and it was 41-38. But North Texas answered again, with Koch catching a 2-yard touchdown, the second score of the night for Koch, to make it 48-38. Rogers hit a 43-yard field goal with under two minutes left to make it a one-score game, and North Texas recovered the onside kick to close it out.

Messer's record night

There is no sugarcoating how good Messer was. Sixteen targets, 16 catches, 189 yards and three touchdowns, according to the North Texas Daily. The 16 receptions set an FAU school record, per the AP. It came one week after Messer scored five touchdowns as FAU beat Rice 51-49.

Even the winning coach was in awe. "We doubled him, and he just made play after play after play," Brown said. "You just don't see that."

FAU coach Zach Kittley sounded just as impressed. "I think he's putting up all-American-type numbers right now across the board and none of it shocks us," Kittley said, per the University Press.

Veltkamp was terrific too, going 37-of-56 for 452 yards, a season high that matched the career best for Veltkamp, per the AP. Dominique Henry added 10 catches for 116 yards as the second option. The problem was the two turnovers: the Taylor interception and a fumble on a strip sack by CJ Coombes that set North Texas up inside the FAU 35. "Anytime you turn the ball over, it's costly," Kittley said.

North Texas' big three

Jackson finished 33-of-46 for 404 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, and added 41 rushing yards. Per the North Texas Daily, it was the fourth straight 300-yard passing game for Jackson. Stevenson caught nine passes for 119 yards, a third straight 100-yard game, and Koch had nine catches for 78 yards and two scores.

Brown, somehow, was not satisfied, saying the Mean Green "probably played a B-minus game." Brown added, "I mean that in a humble way. I don't think any of our big three played above a B."

Koch said the coaching staff spent all week warning the receivers that this would be a shootout, and the offense prepared accordingly. "They have a great offense, great quarterback, great receivers, and so we knew we were going to have to put up points," Koch said, per the North Texas Daily. That is about as accurate a scouting report as you will find.

What it means

North Texas is 4-0 in the American and, with the win, bowl eligible for a third straight season. Brown was clear about where the bar sits now. "When you get into these conference races, it's about surviving and advancing," Brown said. "We're 4-0 in our league, and we control our own destiny." The Mean Green, a week removed from outlasting Navy 49-39, host Rice for homecoming on Nov. 7. A record 9,088 students showed up for this one, per the North Texas Daily, and that crowd will likely want more of the same.

For FAU, this one hurts. "My heart hurts for that locker room, you know, because we had a great week of practice," Kittley said. The Owls are 2-2 in league play and come home to face UTSA on Nov. 5, with the defense needing answers after giving up 644 yards.

The last word

FAU had the best player on the field, and it was not enough. North Texas had balance, and in a game where both quarterbacks threw for more than 400 yards, the 240 rushing yards were the difference. Every snap is in the box score (opens in a new tab).

Sources: The Associated Press, the North Texas Daily, the University Press, ESPN and CBS Sports. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: FAU Athletics.