DENTON, Texas (AP) — Darian Mensah threw three touchdown passes, Makhi Hughes ran for a career-best 195 yards and Tulane held off a late rally to defeat North Texas 45-37 on Saturday.
Hughes’ previous career high was 166 yards against Louisiana-Lafayette in September. With 939 yards, the sophomore is closing in on his second 1,000-yard season. He had 30 carries on Saturday.
Yulkeith Brown’s 11-yard run plus a two-point conversion gave the Green Wave (6-2, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) their biggest lead, 45-24 late in the third quarter. The touchdown came on the first play after Sam Howard recovered a fumble by North Texas quarterback Chandler Morris.
After an exchange of punts, the Mean Green got within 45-30 on a 2-yard run by Makenzie McGill II but their 19-play, 80-yard drive took nearly 7 1/2 minutes off the clock. North Texas got the ball back with 2 1/2 minutes remaining and drove 90 yards to Morris’ 10-yard touchdown pass to Damon Ward Jr. with 41 seconds left.
Tulane recovered the onside kick.