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Lance Dunbar made up for two lost fumbles in the first quarter by gaining 279 all-purpose yards, Derek Thompson threw three touchdown passes and Dan McCarney earned his first victory at North Texas as the Mean Green defeated Indiana 24-21 Saturday night.
Dunbar, North Texas' leading rusher the past two seasons, had a career-high 152 yards receiving and added 127 more rushing. After losing fumbles on consecutive drives in the opening quarter, Dunbar caught an 83-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter that gave North Texas (1-3) its first score.
Indiana (1-3) trailed 24-0 before storming back in the fourth quarter. Backup Dusty Kiel threw two touchdown passes in the final 6 minutes, including a 67-yarder to Kofi Hughes that made it 24-21.
North Texas recovered the ensuing onside kick with 1:05 left to secure McCarney's first victory since coaching Iowa State in 2006. North Texas' last win over a school from a BCS automatic qualifying conference was in 2003 against Baylor.
The Hoosiers played without leading receiver Damarlo Belcher, who did not make the trip because of an undisclosed injury. The senior came into the game with 14 catches for 190 yards.
After a mistake-filled first quarter that included a botched snap and Dunbar's two fumbles, North Texas blew the game open by scoring on all three of its drives in the second quarter.
Dunbar made up for his miscues on his 83-yard touchdown reception. The senior running back caught a swing pass at the 20, slipped a tackle and raced past the Indiana defense for his 39th career touchdown. That set the North Texas school record for career touchdowns.
Thompson, who was 10 of 20 passing for 201 yards, added a 17-yard touchdown pass to Chris Bynes and a 32-yarder to Michael Outlaw in the back of the end zone that gave North Texas a 21-0 advantage with 55 seconds left in the first half.
Indiana, which piled up 557 yards of offense last week against South Carolina State, struggled to move the ball against a North Texas unit which came into the game ranked last nationally in total defense and had allowed at least 41 points in every game this season.
Indiana safety Mark Murphy returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown, and Edward Wright-Baker passed for 209 yards before Kiel entered the game in the fourth quarter.
