North Texas Mean Green at Texas State Bobcats

Lincoln Pare rushes for a 73-yard TD late and Texas State beats North Texas in First Responder Bowl

Texas State (8-5) secured eight wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1981-82. North Texas (6-7) was seeking its first bowl win since the 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Pare carried 21 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns. His first score, from 1-yard out, capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes to give Texas State a 23-14 lead midway through the third quarter.

Neither team scored again until Makenzie McGill's short TD run got North Texas within 23-21 with 3:20 left. Two plays later, Pare raced for his long score and Texas State made the extra point for a nine-point lead.

North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker answered with a 70-yard run with 1:49 left to get within two points again. The Mean Green got the ball back with 40 seconds left at their 8-yard line. But Texas State defensive end Kalil Alexander made a sack on first down to work down the clock and linebacker Treylin Payne sealed it with an interception over the middle.

Mestemaker, who was making his first career start, finished with 393 yards passing and two touchdowns with two interceptions for North Texas. It was the most passing yards in a bowl game in program history. He also carried nine times for 55 yards and a touchdown.

Mestemaker started in place of Chandler Morris, who threw for 3,774 yards and 31 touchdowns with 12 interceptions this season before transferring to Virginia. Mestemaker, a freshman, matched his season passing total of 69 yards on North Texas' only scoring drive in the first quarter.