As Quinn Shanbour walked across the bright green turf of the south end zone at Apogee Stadium, he stopped every few steps to embrace another hug. Hugs are usually a signal of goodbye, and that’s ultimately what this was for Shanbour. Tears were visible on his face during each short walk between hugs.
North Texas had just beaten Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic 41-38 in a game that started Thursday night and went into early Friday morning before UNT quarterback Mason Fine took a knee to ultimately conclude it. It was a rematch of last season’s Conference USA championship game and a contest between two teams that failed to reach expectations this year.