FAU Loses Season Opener to No. 5 Oklahoma

By: Michael Demyan

Photo Credit: Josh Gateley

After coming off 10-straight wins to close out last season, the Florida Atlantic University Owls opened the 2018 season with a 63-14 loss to No. 5 Oklahoma Saturday afternoon.

Fans at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium watched as the Sooners quickly jumped out to a 28-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and by the end of the first half, the Owls, led by freshman quarterback Chris Robison, were still unable to find the endzone. The Sooners, on the other hand, were able to score in each of the first five drives.

Things did not get much better in the third quarter as the lead extended to 56-0 after Oklahoma quarterback Austin Kendall tossed in a six-yard pass to A.D. Miller for the team’s eighth touchdown of the game.

It was, however, the quarter when the Owls finally got on the board thanks to a five-yard rush from Devin Singletary, who is widely regarded by fans and coaches as a dark horse contender for the Heisman Trophy. It was the junior running back’s 45th touchdown of his career. He recorded 32 of them in 2017 alone.

Freshman Vladimir Rivas, who took over kicking duties after Greg Joseph tried to go for the NFL, followed up the touchdown with his first career extra point and the Owls brought the score to 56-7.

It did not take long for the Sooners to answer back though, as they opened the fourth quarter with an interception, leading to a 41-yard rushing touchdown from Kennedy Brooks. FAU was back to trailing by a steep hill of 56 points.

The Owls brought in quarterback De’Andre Johnson for their last drive of the game and he was able to slowly march the ball forward before Kerrith Whyte ran the ball seven yards into the endzone on the fifteenth play. Rivas gave the Owls another extra point and that is where the score would finally rest at 63-14.

FAU head coach Lane Kiffin was disappointed with the score, but praised the Sooners on their skill as a team.

“It’s very discouraging, but at the end of the day, we’re 0-1,” he said. “We’ve just got to go back to work. We’ve got the same record we started with last year. I’d be shocked if there’s a better team in the country than the one I saw today.”

FAU will host their first home game of the season on Sept. 8 against the Air Force. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 2 p.m.