The UNT football team continued its assault on the program record book, and national record book, on Friday with a dominant 52-25 win over Temple in its regular-season finale to secure its 11th win of the season for the first time in program history.

The No. 21 Mean Green (11-1, 7-1 American) will move on to the American Conference Championship game for the first time in program history after their usual suspects led the way once again in Friday's win, as UNT scored 50 points for the seventh time this season – the most in FBS since 2018.

The 11 wins was special for many reasons, but head coach Eric Morris said it was special to see given the distractions surrounding his program this week.

"It's pretty sweet," Morris said. "Not only for our guys and for our staff, but also for me, emotionally all week – I've been a bit of a basket case. This place means so much to me and this team means so much to me. To watch our kids keep fighting and our coaches keep coaching the way they are, it's been really special."

Redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Mestemaker continued his storybook season by going 20-for-24 for 366 yards and three touchdowns and his 3,835 passing yards this season set a new American Conference freshman passing record, previously held by Dillon Gabriel, who had 3,654 as a freshman at UCF.

Mestemaker said his team wasn't affected by the distractions and was ready to play on Friday.

"We kind of knew it wasn't his end all be all," Mestemaker said. "We knew his goals. We know the caliber of coach he is, so it really didn't take anyone back. We all know the season's clearly not over and we have more games to win."

Freshman running back Caleb Hawkins had yet another game with four rushing touchdowns and is now the only player in FBS since 1995 to have four such games in a season. He now leads college football in rushing touchdowns with 23 and has 26 total touchdowns this season – the second-most in American Conference history.

The Mean Green also had two 100-yard receivers in senior Cameron Dorner, who had four grabs for 125 yards and opened the game's scoring with a 77-yard touchdown reception to cap the first of two 99-yard scoring drives for the Mean Green on Friday. Sophomore Wyatt Young had his fifth 100-yard receiving game in the last six with six grabs for 127 yards.
Next up for UNT will be the conference championship game on Friday, most likely in New Orleans against No. 22 Tulane, as long as Tulane beats one-win Charlotte on Saturday. After that, a spot in the College Football Playoff could be waiting for the American champion.

"This is like the playoffs, I told them that all week," Morris said. "If you win, you stay in. You advance. That won't change next week. The stakes keep getting higher and higher. It showed how much the kids want this. Everything is about this team and this university and all about doing something we've never done before. I'm super excited to watch these guys fight again.

"We saw this university come together this year and show how important a football team can be to have people come out and have fun on Saturdays here... The sky's the limit for this program. We love the administration here and love everything about this place."