It was supposed to be a statement night in Denton — a national showcase for a red-hot North Texas team chasing its first 6-0 start since 1959. Instead, the Mean Green melted under the lights as turnovers and defensive breakdowns fueled a 63-36 beatdown by No. 24 South Florida on Friday night.

UNT (5-1, 1-1 AAC) looked poised early, trading punches with the Bulls and entering halftime tied 21-21 after a muffed punt led to a late USF touchdown. But the second half quickly spiraled into a disaster. The Bulls exploded for three touchdowns in just over three minutes, capitalizing on UNT’s giveaways to blow the game open.

South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown was unstoppable — throwing for 245 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 82 yards and two more scores. It marked his second straight five-touchdown performance. The Bulls (5-1, 2-0) piled up 580 total yards, while their defense forced five turnovers, including a 34-yard fumble return touchdown by Jhalyn Shuler that buried UNT midway through the third quarter.

Mean Green freshman quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who entered the game without an interception all season, threw three in the loss despite finishing 30-of-46 for 326 yards and two touchdowns.

“I’ll beat myself up for a long time over this one,” UNT coach Eric Morris said. “It was such a great opportunity for our fans, our program, our university — and we didn’t deliver.”

The sellout crowd of 31,386 was electric early, but by the fourth quarter, DATCU Stadium had thinned out as USF cruised to its fifth straight win.

North Texas will look to regroup quickly before hosting UTSA on October 18, hoping to prove Friday’s collapse was just a one-night nightmare, not a season unraveling.