BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Dec. 7, 2019) – Florida Atlantic University football hauled in the program’s second Conference USA trophy in three years, with the Owls taking the 2019 Ryan C-USA Football Championship over UAB on Saturday by a final score of 49-6, the largest margin of victory in C-USA title game history.
Quotable
“Today is about this team, these players, these assistant coaches, these fans,” said head coach Lane Kiffin. “Three years here, not just playing in two conference championship games, (but) winning two conference championship games at home … Potentially two 11-win seasons, it’s a special team. And now here’s another conference championship game that’s a blowout, 49-6, against a really good team.
“To have 585 yards today was really special, and I think these kids did a great job avoiding distractions that obviously could have been there. Really proud of these guys, and just really happy for the university (and) for the fans. They’re champs again and so that trophy is back here for another year, and that’s pretty neat.”
Quick Hits
· FAU (10-3) continued to have success in the coin toss, winning for the 12th time out of 13 opportunities. They chose to defer to UAB (9-4) to the second half
· After the two teams traded punts, on the Blazers’ second possession, senior defensive end Damian Horton picked up his second sack of the year to force another fourth down
· Owls got on the board first, with BJ Emmons stretching across the goal line on 4th-and-goal from the one
· UAB’s first points came on a 44-yard field goal late in the quarter
· On the ensuing play, Chris Robison found Deangelo Antoine wide open over the middle, and he outran the entire UAB defense for a 75-yard score
· Just two plays after, Meiko Dotson came up with his ninth interception of the season, and back-to-back rushes of 14 and 23 yards by Malcolm Davidson moved the ball into UAB territory to take the game into the second quarter
· Robison started the second with a slant to Antoine for 14 yards, and connected with John Mitchell for an 18-yard score three plays following
· Kevin McCrary posted FAU’s second sack of the day, midway through the second
· FAU extended the lead with a special teams score. A punt block by Tyrek Tisdale was picked up by Eddie Williams, who took it in from the seven-yard line for a 28-3 advantage
· UAB put through their second field goal with just under 5:00 to go before the half
· The Owls were able to add on with seconds left, 0:26 to be exact, on a beautiful fade pass from Robison to Harrison Bryant for an eight-yard touchdown. That made the score 35-6 heading into the locker room
· The third sack Saturday was also the third by a senior, this one by Ray Ellis
· Bryant hauled in an 11-yard pass midway through the third to go over 1,000 for the year
· Emmons picked up his second 1-yard score of the day for a 42-6 lead
· Chris Tooley’s interception early in the fourth made for a new single-season record of 21 for the Owls’ defense
· A 30-yard gain by Davidson pushed him over 100 in the game
· Robison’s fourth touchdown pass of the day came on 4th down, a 20-yard catch by Chauncey Mason
· The Owls’ final drive included a 32-yard pass from Nick Tronti to Brandon Robinson; a 12-yard run by Tyrek Tisdale; and an 18-yard run by Tronti that dragged multiple defenders for multiple yards to break the single-game mark for the season
Stats and Records
· The Owls outgained the Blazers, 585-223. That mark is a new season high (besting 579 against FIU in the Shula Bowl on Nov. 9), and the fifth time this year the FAU offense has reached that mark
· Robison threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns and earned game MVP honors
· Additionally, he moved up the record book in multiple categories: surpassing Rusty Smith for second in single-season passing yards; going past Smith and Jared Allen for second in single-season touchdowns (25 to the duo’s 24); to second in single-season completions, ahead of Graham Wilbert; and he is now third in career passing yards, leapfrogging Jaquez Johnson. He is also now tied with Johnson for third with 38 career touchdown passes
· The Antoine 75-yard touchdown was not only FAU’s longest play this year, it also matches the longest pass reception ever recorded in a C-USA Championship game
· He would go over 100 yards for the fourth time this season on the opening drive of the second half, finishing with 112 on five catches
· Bryant’s 1,000-yard season is the third such season by an Owl receiver (Anthony Crissinger-Hill in 2003 – 1,134; Cortez Gent in 2007 – 1,082)
· He also became the third C-USA tight end to ever reach that plateau (James Casey, Rice, 2008 – 1,329; Garrett Mills, Tulsa, 2005 – 1,235)
· The senior tight end moved into a tie for fourth for single-season catches with 65; passed Lester Jean for second on the career list for catches (Bryant now has 148); and also moved ahead of Kalib Woods for second on the career yardage ledger
· Davidson went over 100 in a game for the third time this year, wrapping the day with 128 yards on just 11 carries (for 11.6 yards a rush)
· This is the second time FAU has had a 100+-yard rusher and receiver in 2019; it was Davidson and Antoine then too, vs. FIU
· The Owls’ rushing corps totaled 286 yards on the ground to go over 2,000 in a season for the fifth time in history (2,136 and counting)
· Dotson’s pick was the team’s 20th this year, which tied a single-season FAU record set two years ago; Tooley’s broke the mark
· FAU’s defense held UAB to 223 total yards and just 14 first downs. The Owls forced seven three-and-outs, plus two takeaways and a turnover-on-downs, making for 10 of UAB’s 14 drives
· The unit tallied six tackles for loss, tied for first in a single season, with the 2017 squad
· Da’Von Brown led the way with eight tackles; Rashad Smith and Akileis Leroy each had seven.
· Leroy had a tackle for loss, and now has 15.5 on the year, a new single-season record (Trey Hendrickson had 15.0 in both 2015 and 2016)
· The Owls’ last punt block that was converted immediately to a score came in 2013, against New Mexico State. The punt was blocked by Randell Johnson, allowing Damian Fortner to scoop and score
· The previous top margin of victory in a league title game came two years ago when FAU topped North Texas, 41-17
What’s Next
The Owls will find out their bowl location and opponent on Sunday. For all of the bowl-eligible information, visit HERE, and to request bowl tickets, visit HERE.
– 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.
