North Texas beats FAU 20-14, best start since 2005

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) -- Derek Thompson threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns in North Texas' 20-14 win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday.

It marks the third time since 1997 that North Texas has been 2-3 after five games. The Mean Green was also 2-3 in 2003 and 2005 and had started 1-4 or worse in every year since 2005.

Thompson's first touchdown pass, a 68-yard strike to Brelan Chancellor, opened scoring and Zach Olen's 48-yard field goal gave North Texas a 10-0 advantage.

Chancellor finished with 135 yards receiving on six catches.

Thompson's second TD pass, a 14-yarder to Drew Miller, gave the Mean Green a commanding 17-0 third-quarter lead.

FAU rallied, scoring 14 unanswered points and cutting the deficit to 17-14, but Olen converted his second field of the day to seal the win.

Graham Wilbert led FAU (1-4) with 142 passing yards on 21 of 34 attempts, but threw two interceptions.