The Florida Atlantic University football team scored just 18 seconds into its game at Middle Tennessee on Saturday, but it was a touchdown with 19 seconds remaining that gave the Blue Raiders a 35-34 victory in Murfreesboro.
“I’m proud of the way the kids came and fought tonight and the fact that we got better,” said Charlie Partridge, FAU’s head football coach. “That [Middle Tennessee] is a good football team.”
Lucky Whitehead broke off the longest run in FAU history on the first play from scrimmage, an 80-yarder to give the Owls (3-8, 2-5 C-USA) an early lead. That rush also marked the fastest score by the Owls to open a game in the program’s history. Following Whitehead’s speedy score, the FAU defense forced a punt and then drove 55 yards in 10 plays, setting up a 25-yard field goal by Greg Joseph. The Owls were up 10-0 with 7:26 to play in the first.
MT (6-5, 5-2 C-USA) scored to pull within three at 10-7 on a 75-yard drive in just 2:48. On the next drive, FAU freshman Henry Bussey ate up much of the distance with a 69-yard reception and was brought down just short of the goal line. The Owls finished the seven-play, 77-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Jaquez Johnson, his sixth of the season and 43rd total touchdown of his career.
Late in the first half, the Owls ran a fake punt and nearly saw punter Dalton Schomp connect with Alex Deleon, but the ball sailed just over Deleon’s outstretched hands, which gave MT the ball on the FAU 22. Three plays later, the Blue Raiders found the end zone on a 30-yard carry by Reggie Whatley to pull within three at 17-14. The Owls would use the next drive to move down the field and tossed a “Hail Mary” as time expired on the clock, only to be intercepted, taking the two teams into intermission with the Owls up 17-14.
MT opened the second half only to see the drive cut short when Sharrod Neasmanmade a diving interception just off the ground on the second play of the half. Johnson would find a leaping Kalib Woods in the corner of the end zone from 23 yards out to put the Owls up 24-14 with 13 minutes left to play in the third.
On the ensuing MT drive, a lateral was dropped and covered up by FAU freshmanJerrad Ward at midfield. Eight plays later, Joseph made his second field goal of the night, this time from 19 yards, to give the Owls a 27-14 edge. It took Middle Tennessee just 19 seconds to respond as Whatley ran 75 yards on the second play of the next drive to cut the lead back to six. Midway through the fourth quarter, Johnson, who was 21-of-33 for 304 yards, hit Alex Deleon in stride with for a 50-yarder, Deleon’s career long, to get the Owls within the red zone. The duo then connected on a 5-yard TD pass to put the Owls up by two scores once more. The Blue Raiders pieced together another speedy drive, marching 56 yards in 1:35 as Whatley capped it off with his third touchdown run of the game to make it 34-28 FAU with 4:15 to play. MT burned all three of its timeouts on FAU’s next drive, forcing a punt just 1:07 later. Dalton Schomp punted 26 yards to setup the Blue Raiders at their own 30-yard line with 3:08 to play.
Nine plays later, Whatley ran for 14 yards to setup a first-and-goal at the FAU seven. His next attempt went for a loss of five yards as Neasman came up with a tackle for loss. Two incomplete passes later, including one in the end zone that was broken up by D’Joun Smith, made it fourth-and-goal from the 12. MT quarterback Austin Grammer found Marcus Henry in the back of the end zone on his next attempt to tie the game with 19 seconds left. Kicker Cody Clark converted the point after for what proved to be the game-winning point. Johnson completed a pass to Woods on FAU’s final drive to get to the FAU 33, but his next heave was intercepted at the MT 27 as time expired.
Jay Warren carried the ball 26 times for 95 yards while Jenson Stoshak made nine receptions to lead the Owls with 93 yards. Whitehead’s game ended with 125 total yards, including 39 through the air. Defensively, FAU was led by Cre’von LeBlanc who recorded nine tackles. Andrae Kirkand Jerrad Ward added seven each. Whatley led MT with 198 of the team’s 470 yards. The running back tallied 321 total yards thanks to 136 on kick returns.