MIAMI -- North Texas was right back in a familiar position in the second half of its game against Florida International on Saturday.

Thanks to a solid first half and a few key plays, UNT had the chance to close out a game in the final minutes just like it did against Ohio, Florida Atlantic and Louisiana-Lafayette.

And just like in those games, the Mean Green failed to convert in a 35-28 loss at FIU Stadium.

Riley Dodge threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, the Mean Green had a punt blocked to set up a second touchdown and a fumble by Mike Outlaw set up what turned out to be the game-clinching third score for FIU.

UNT had a chance to answer in the final two minutes, but failed to convert on fourth-and-7 from the FIU 10-yard line with 1:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“It’s heartbreaking as competitors,” UNT head coach Todd Dodge said. “It seems like a broken record sometimes in these locker rooms, but these kids are devastated because this team did a lot of what we asked them to do. We just made too many critical mistakes.”

That problem has been a recurring theme for UNT (2-8, 1-6).

Riley Dodge threw three interceptions last week in a blowout loss to ULM. The Mean Green came into the night ranked eighth in the Sun Belt Conference in turnover margin with a deficit of nine on the season.

Those turnovers have seemed to come at the worst of times throughout the year, just like the gaffs UNT has committed on special teams.

The Mean Green avoided those mistakes against FIU in a solid first half that saw UNT jump out to a 28-14 lead behind Riley Dodge and Lance Dunbar. Dodge threw for 162 yards and a touchdown in the first half, while Dunbar rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

The Mean Green had 300 yards of total offense and not a single turnover in the first half.

From there it was all downhill for UNT, which didn’t score in the second half when FIU (3-7, 2-5) took advantage of several of the Mean Green’s mistakes while rallying for the win.

Peter Riley intercepted a Riley Dodge pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown.

Jon Faucher then blocked a Will Atterberry punt that Trenard Turner returned to the UNT 16-yard line to set up Paul McCall’s 3-yard touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton that tied the game at 28.

“That blocked punt didn’t give us much room to work with,” UNT defensive end Brandon Akpunku said. “We needed to make a play there. We just didn’t.”

Wide receiver Mike Outlaw fumbled on UNT’s ensuing possession to set up a 23-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Wayne Younger that proved to be the game-winner.

Dodge threw for 314 yards, while Dunbar had 119 yards for UNT, which finished with a 513-258 edge in total offense.

UNT racked up several of those yards into points on two long touchdown drives in the first half when it converted on a pair of long-yardage situations on both drives.

The Mean Green took a risk by passing on a long field goal attempt when it faced a fourth-and-13 situation from the FIU 30-yard line and converted when Riley Dodge found B.J. Lewis for an 18-yard strike. The Mean Green scored six plays later when Darius Carey caught a 15-yard touchdown strike from Dodge.

UNT also converted on third-and-10 from its own 26-yard line on its next possession on a 13-yard pass from Dodge to Lance Dunbar, who scored on a 6-yard run a short time later.

FIU turned the tide in the second half.

“We made some adjustments at halftime and our defense found a way to not only stop them, but put six points up and ultimately a special teams blocked punt put us in position to win the ball game,” FIU head coach Mario Cristobal said.

Those plays and the mistakes UNT made ended up meaning a whole lot more than the yardage totals. FIU quarterback Paul McCall threw for a measly 85 yards to lead FIU, which made the plays when it had to while UNT made the mistakes it needed to avoid at key times.

 “The turnovers killed us,” Dunbar said. “A ‘pick six’, a blocked punt and then the fumble were the difference in the game. We just have a lack of focus and have unforced errors at the end of the game. We have been trying to correct that for the last few weeks.”