FAU Football Tops Ball State for Win No.1

MUNCIE, Ind. – (Sept. 14, 2019) – Florida Atlantic University picked up win No. 1 of the season, topping Ball State on Saturday at Scheumann Stadium, 41-31. The Owls’ defense swarmed the Cardinals for four turnovers and posted 10 tackles for loss, while wide receiver John Mitchell had a career day as he tied the all-time program record with three touchdown catches.

Quotable
“I think there’s a sense of excitement but there’s also a sense of relief,” said head coach Lane Kiffin. “We’re down 14-7 even though we’re kind of outplaying them, you know, here we go again. I think that the changing point was right before half … being able to go down there and score was a big deal.”

Quick Hits

FAU (1-2) won the coin toss and chose to receive. Ball State (1-2) held the first Owl drive to a three-and-out
The first two Cardinal plays were for naught: Rashad Smith hit a receiver as soon as he caught the first pass for a loss, and he and Ray Ellis bottled up a back right at the line of scrimmage
After a completion on 3rd down from Chris Robison to Tavaris Harrison, the Owls went for it on their own 34. Larry McCammon III went for eight yards on 4th-and-1 to move the chains
Smith continued to shine, picking up a fumble on a missed connection when Ball State was attempting a reverse
That gave the ball to the Owls on the BSU 31. The drive began on a six-yard successful shovel pass to Deangelo Antoine; then, Robison found John Mitchell for nine yards and a first down, to the 16
The Owls then continue to move the ball in chunks: James Charles on the ground for four yards and five; Robison got three on a keeper for the first down; and then Robison put FAU on the board with a four-yard slant to John Raine for the score
After forcing a BSU punt, the Owls to the edge of Cardinal territory with first down catches by Raine and Dante Cousart, and across midfield on an eight-yard jet sweep by Antoine
On the next play, freshman Kelvin Dean, Jr.’s first collegiate carry went for a first down; however, his second saw a BSU forced fumble, scoop and score to tie the game
The very next Owls’ play also was a fumble forced and recovered by the Cardinals, giving them the ball on the FAU 14. They took the lead on a one-play drive, a 14-yard touchdown pass
That score held into the first quarter break; the Owls got back-to-back chain-moving gains of 13 (a rush by McCammon) and 10 (a pass to Mitchell)
Then a wide-open connection from Robison to Mitchell, for 33 yards, knotted up the game
The Owls’ defense held firm despite a 51-yard quarterback run to take it into the red zone. A two-yard rush and two incompletions came before a 30-yard Cardinal field goal
Facing a long 3rd down after back-to-back losses, Robison again hooked up with Mitchell in space for 22 yards. That gave the senior wideout 75 yards in the game, not just the most in a game in his career, but more than in any prior season in total
With BSU driving late in the half, Leighton McCarthy came up with an eight-yard sack, his second of the season (and the second of the day for the Owls, following Tim Bonner’s a handful of plays earlier). The drive would end as the Cardinals missed a 40-yard field goal attempt
Again the Owls got near midfield, Robison to Mitchell for 17 more (giving him 92 yards in the first half)
An 11-yard completion to Tavaris Harrison preceded an 18-yard run by McCammon, down to the BSU 26
McCammon then went for five, and eight, the latter another first down that put the ball into the red zone, to the 13
On 3rd-and-6 from the nine-yard line, a facemask penalty on BSU at the edge of the goal line made for an automatic first down at the four
Robison scrambled and then again found Mitchell for his second score of the day, and gave FAU the lead heading into the locker room
After the Owls forced a half-opening punt, Robison found Harrison Bryant in stride for a 52-yard catch-and-run on their first play
With just over 11 minutes on the clock, Robison went to Mitchell for four yards, giving him exactly 100 on the day
The Owls fell a yard short on a 4th down conversion attempt, turning it over to the Cardinals
BSU was on the precipice of regaining the lead, but Da’Von Brown punched out the ball from the running back inside the five, and Smith fell on it in the end zone for his second recovery of the day
FAU went deep on the first play, Robison to Harrison for 48 yards, and five plays later, McCammon punched it in from the one for an 11-point lead at 28-17
The Owls’ defense continued to succeed, as Akileis Leroy notch the Owls’ third sack of the day, the very play before James Pierre picked off the BSU QB
Another sack by McCarthy pinned the Cardinals back and forced another punt
Robison and Mitchell extended the lead, with Mitchell outleaping his defender and pulling it away from him for his third score, a 24-yard touchdown
FAU had scored 20 straight points, but BSU put together a quick five-play drive and touchdown to cut it to 34-24 with 0:36 left in the 3rd
Smith came up with a crucial sack early in the 4th, forcing a fumble on the hit as well, recovered by Ellis to force the Cardinals’ fourth turnover of the day
First down passes to Bryant (10 yards) and Harrison (22) set up Charles’ first touchdown of his FAU career, a four-yard score for a 17-point lead
The Cardinals cut back into the deficit late, scoring with 3:52 to go to make it 41-31
After that, the Owls were able to run out the clock, including McCammon getting the final first down. He finished a yard shy of the century mark on the ground in the win

Stats and Records

Mitchell’s stat line for the day read: eight catches, 124 yards and three touchdowns (he was at 6-96 and two scores at the half)
His first touchdown was the first since his freshman year – ironically, a 33-yard score as well, on Nov. 5, 2016 against Rice – and second, at that point, of his career
When he hit the century mark for the first time in his career, he became the first receiver for the Owls to do so since Oct. 15 of last year (Harrison Bryant against North Texas, 138 yards)
The senior wideout tied the school mark, becoming just the second FAU receiver with three catches for scores in a game (Cortez Gent vs. FIU on Nov. 29, 2008)
Smith became just the fourth Owl ever with two fumble recoveries in a game (the last was Frantz Joseph on Nov. 8, 2008)
Overall, the Owls’ defense picked up five sacks among 10 tackles for loss and the four turnovers (Smith’s two fumble recoveries, and his forced fumble pounced on by Ellis, and the interception by Pierre)
Brown, Leroy and Zyon Gilbert led the way with eight tackles apiece, while Ellis and Smith each had six
At 366 yards in the air, Robison notched the third 300-yard passing game of his young career (slotting in between 471 vs. Air Force and 339 vs. Old Dominion, both last season). He was 33-for-41 on Saturday for 80.5 percent
Robison’s four touchdown passes set a new career high and finished one away from the school record
After Mitchell amongst the receivers was Harrison (4 catches, 87 yards) and Bryant (3 for 80)
McCammon set a new career best with 99 rushing yards on 25 carries and scored for the third straight game (one each in all three career games for the freshman). He added four receptions for 23 yards out of the backfield as well

What’s Next

The Owls return home to FAU Stadium next Saturday, Sept. 21, hosting Wagner at 6 p.m. Tickets are on sale here, and discounted admission is available on the day of the game for teachers:

In conjunction with Extra Yard for Teachers Week, FAU Athletics is offering all teachers 25% off tickets. To receive the discount, teachers can present a valid teacher ID or badge at the FAU Stadium Box Office by Gate 1 starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The offer is valid for walk-up sales only.

– 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 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry 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 andscholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.