Box Score Denis Hopovac's 34-yard field in an NCAA tying seventh overtime helped North Texas to a 25-22 win over FIU, Saturday night in Denton, Texas. The game lasted more than four hours and 15 minutes.
Following a 16-16 tie after regulation, the Mean Green (2-4, 1-2 Sun Belt) and the Golden Panthers (0-6, 0-3) traded field goals. In the seventh and final OT period, FIU Dustin Rivest missed a 35-yarder, wide right, setting up Hopovac's heroics.
FIU had one excellent chance in the fifth overtime when Josh Padrick connected with Jeremy Dickens on what appeared to be a 25-yard touchdown. But after review, the ball was placed on the one-yard line and a first-and-goal situation. But two bursts into the line by Julian Reams and an incompleted pass later and FIU was forced to settle for a field goal.
"This was a very disappointing loss for us," said FIU head coach Don Strock. "We had opportunity after opportunity to win this game and we didn't take advantage of them. I feel for our players. They gave it their all, but we did not come out on top in the end."
Reams, who replaced A'mod Ned as starting tailback, ran for 96 yards on 27 carries for the Golden Panthers and Padrick completed 29-of-43 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown for FIU in what was the Golden Panthers third all-time overtime game. FIU is now 1-2 in OT contests.
FIU get the better of some North Texas trickery on the Mean Green's very first play from scrimmage. A hand off to running back Jamario Thomas was lateraled back to quarterback Woody Wilson who threw long, intended for Johnny Quinn. The pass was intercepted by Robert Mitchell, but when the Golden Panthers couldn't move the ball and were forced to punt from their own 23-yard line, the center snap went far over the head of punter Chris Cook and through the end zone for a safety, and a 2-0 North Texas lead.
The ensuing kickoff was a squib that up-back James Mitchell fielded on the North Texas 40 and moved eight yards to the 48. Thirteen plays and 7:34 later, a 35-yard field goal by Hopovac gave the Mean Green a 5-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
North Texas tried to return the favor when an attempted on-side kick failed to go the required 10 yards and FIU started at the NT 44-yard line. But the drive stalled almost as soon as it began. A holding penalty on the very first play pushed the ball back and four plays later, the Golden Panthers were forced to punt again.
The FIU offense looked as though it would get something going just before the half. After converting only 1-of-6 third-down situations, Padrick found Chandler Williams (Padrick's 700th collegiate completion) for ten yards on a third-and-three play to the North Texas 42, and a 15-yard face-mask penalty spotted the ball at the 27. A Reams' 23-yard run put the ball inside the 10 for a first and goal and from there, a nine-yard pass play to Williams gave FIU a fourth-and-less-than-a-yard situation.
Looking to take the lead, FIU decided against a field goal attempt and went for the touchdown, only to have Reams stopped short of the goal line as the second quarter ended.
The offense made amends to start the second half when Padrick directed an 80-yard drive, culminated by a 21-yard TD pass to tight end Andy Anderson, the first collegiate touchdown for the redshirt freshman. But as has been the case far too often this season, the PAT attempt was blocked and the Golden Panthers settled for a 6-5 lead.
The FIU defense stepped up as it had so many times this season and made it 13-5 to end the third quarter when defensive end Antwan Barnes grabbed his second career interception and returned it 23 yards for a score.
A change in North Texas quarterbacks cut the FIU lead to 13-8 with 5:12 to play in the game on Hopovac 23-yard field goal after Daniel Meager replaced Wilson and moved the Mean Green 51 yards in 15 plays.
It was Meager, again, directing a late North Texas score, hitting Quinn with a five-yard TD pass, for a 16-13 NT lead with two minutes to play in regulation.
But the FIU offense put one last drive together after a Lionell Singleton 40-yard kick return that put the ball at midfield. A pair of completions to Williams and another to Ashlyn Parker, who finished with a career-high eight catches, got FIU down to the 11 and Rivest tied the score at 16, with six seconds to play.
