BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Oct. 3, 2020) – Three straight third quarter scores pushed Florida Atlantic University football ahead of Charlotte Saturday night at FAU Stadium, giving Willie Taggart his first win as the Owls’ head coach, 21-17.
Quotable
Head coach Willie Taggart:
“It was good to get out there and see where our football team was. We haven’t had a game yet, and you really didn’t know what you have until you go out and play. It was good to see our football team actually play a game. I was really excited. I’m excited about this football team. You can be down 10 points and nothing going your way there in the first half, and (to) come back the way they did and win the ballgame, I’m really impressed with our guys. This says a lot about our players and how much they care for one another.”
The Turning Point
Held scoreless through the half, and with a long play to that point of eight yards, the Owls (1-0) came out with 21 unanswered in the third quarter, all on long gains: a 49-yard rush by Nick Tronti, and Tronti connecting with receivers for two scores through the air (25 yards to Logan Peterson and 16 yards to TJ Chase).
The Finish
Charlotte (0-2) cut it back to a one-score game early in the fourth, but neither team scored the remainder of the frame. The 49ers got into the red zone late, and the Owls responded with two consecutive sacks with under 30 seconds left – on second and third down – to force a rushed pass short of the line to gain (and end zone) to end it.
Quick Hits
- Charlotte moved the ball on their first drive, but a 3rd down sack for a loss of nine yards by Leighton McCarthy came just before a successful 43-yard field goal
- CLT led 10-0 after a touchdown pass and were driving again, but again, McCarthy came away with a big 3rd down sack, this time preceding a missed field goal
- That was the score at the half
- Similarly, the Owl defense held after a prolonged drive to start the third quarter, forcing another missed field goal
- The offense countered quickly with a 73-yard drive, the bulk coming on the quarterback keeper up the left side by Tronti for the touchdown
- And on the very next possession, the Owls took the lead on a quick strike drive of five plays and 80 yards
- Plays were a 10-yard rush by James Charles, six on the ground by Charles, four on a jet sweep to LaJohntay Wester, a 35-yard rush by Larry McCammon III, and then Tronti to a wide open Peterson for 25 yards and the score
- McCarthy’s third sack also came with a strip that forced a fumble into the hands of Caliph Brice for the first takeaway of the day (and FAU’s 13th straight game forcing a turnover). That gave the Owls great field possession, on the Charlotte 16-yard line
- Immediately on the next play, Tronti found Chase over the middle for a 16-yard score
- Charlotte cut it to 21-17 by getting into the end zone early in the fourth
- The FAU defense’s success on 3rd down continued when freshman Chris Jones came up with the team’s fourth sack of the day (the first not by McCarthy)
- The Owls milked the clock on the ground, but a turnover on downs gave it back to CLT with 1:54 to go
- After a 48-yard pass completion put the 49ers in the red zone, two plays later, the Owls came up with yet another sack, by the combo of Jones and Jalen Joyner
- On the very next play, Joyner came up with yet another sack to force the desperation final play
Stats and Records
- FAU rushed for 217 yards and nearly seven yards per carry (6.8)
- Tronti led the rushing attack with 94 yards on 10 totes, Charles had seven rushes for 45 and McCammon 43, on six carries
- Tronti’s 49-yard run was a career long
- Peterson’s reception was both his first ever catch and touchdown; similarly, it was Chase’s first score as an Owl
- McCarthy became the eighth FAU player ever with three or more sacks in a game, and first since Rashad Smith three years ago. Only Trey Hendrickson, with four in 2015, has recorded more
- McCarthy posted 10 tackles (including four for a loss), and was joined in double digits by fellow linebackers Chase Lasater – with a team-high 11 – and Brice, also with 10
- As a unit, the Owls’ defense had six sacks and 12 tackles for loss, while holding the Charlotte ground game to 82 yards on 41 rushes, exactly two yards per carry
What’s Next
FAU is on the road next week for another C-USA matchup, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi against Southern Miss. Gametime is 4 p.m., and the contest will be broadcasted live on STADIUM network. The next home game is four weeks from today, Halloween night, Oct. 31, versus UTSA. Tickets are available by visiting FAU’s football tickets website or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
– FAUSports.com –
Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 4-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 52-28 victory over SMU in the 2019 Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
