By AJ Johnson
The FAU Owls won their inaugural AAC matchup against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes on Saturday night 20-17.
The Owls came out fast in front of an enthusiastic home crowd of 21,077 at FAU Stadium. Striking first and playing fast the Owls scored on their first two drives thanks to sophomore defensive back Jayden Williams finterception (first int. of his college career) on the first Tulsa drive of the game, and the smash mouth running of senior RB Larry McCammon and were able to hold on in a clash that came down to the final minute of the game, playing much of the second half in a torrential downpour.
McCammon ran for 130 yards on 26 carries and scored two touchdowns. McCammon scored both of his touchdowns in the first quarter, scoring from the 1 about 7 minutes into the game, then blasting untouched through a giant hole on the right side for a 10-yard score to make it 14-0 with 3:11 left in the quarter.
The Owls racked up 234 yards on the ground with Kobe Lewis picking up 87 yards on 6 carries, highlighted by a 58-yard run, the longest Owl run this season, and QB Daniel Richardson chipping in 14 yards.
The Owls ground attack has not been much of a factor lately, making Saturday’s effort a sign of what kind of problems a balanced FAU offense will cause opponents in the AAC this fall.
Senior RB Larry McCammon
“Our o-line wants to run the ball, they kept saying let’s run the ball, so why not?..Today was a statement game for us to prove to everybody that we can run the ball.”
Tulsa got on the board early in the second quarter with a 7-yard score by QB Cardell Williams.
Logan Lupo’s 21-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half set up by a 32-yard punt return by junior wide receiver LaJohntay Wester gave the Owls a 17-7 halftime lead.
The second half started just like the first as DB Jarron Morris picked off Tulsa QB Williams early in the 3rd quarter, then the sky opened up.
Much of the second half was played in a notorious south Florida torrential downpour.
The teams traded field goals in the rain, Meyer Chase nailed a 36 yard FG in the 3rd quarter and Lupo chipped in a 27 yarder, his second of the game early in the 4th qtr.
Tulsa got in the end zone on Braylon Braxton’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Luke McGary to get within three points with 5:01 left in the 4th but the Owls stingy defense came through once again as LB Jackson Ambush came up with a victory sealing sack on 4th and 8, giving the ball back to the FAU offense with under a minute left on the clock.
Daniel Richardson was 18 of 28 for 144 yards with an interception for the FAU Owls.
Williams was 10 of 20 for 115 yards and 2 interceptions for Tulsa.
This was a hard fought, smash mouth football game and the outcome was up in the air until the final minute of the game. The FAU defense was huge on Tulsa’s final drive and that defensive stand may be exactly what the Owls needed to put their 3 game losing streak in the rearview mirror and begin to roll through their AAC opponents in the coming weeks.
Head coach Tom Herman, after the game: “I am really proud of the way that we responded to that adversity. I told the guys that the team that jogged into FAU Stadium and Schnellenberger Field four weeks ago would not have won that game, and we did. We found a way to do it, even not playing our best at times in the second half. I’m really proud of the way that we responded, proud of the maturity and growth that we have shown. That team [Tulsa], we knew they were not going to go away. Coach (Kevin) Wilson is too good of a coach and runs too good of a program. Our guys kept fighting. We ran into some self-inflicted wounds, which has been our M.O., but we found a way for the first time all year to really overcome those. Not saying I wanted it to happen it that way, I think championship teams find ways to close the door when they have opportunities, we are not quite there yet. It doesn’t happen overnight, but I’m really proud of the growth and maturity that we have shown. We are going to celebrate this, this is the first win in our program’s history in this conference, and that is something to celebrate, especially against a team that has resided in this conference since its inception. I’m just really proud, but we also know it does not get any easier from here. We are taking the steps necessary to compete. The only long term goal we had was to compete for championships in late November and early December. We are still on track to do that, but we have to make the same kind of improvements week over week that we made the last few weeks.”
Game balls to the Defense, special teams and the running game.
