HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Florida Atlantic University football team lost on the road Thursday night to close out the regular season, 45-31 to Southern Miss at MM Roberts Stadium.
Quotable Head coach Willie Taggart:
“First time all season long where our defense had as many missed tackles as we did tonight. That was uncharacteristic of our defense, we gave up a lot of big plays, explosive plays for touchdowns. They had five series of 75-yard drives, whenever you play a team (that) drives on you five times for 75 yards, that’s not good. Again, that was uncharacteristic of our defense, and very disappointed that our guys didn’t play the way that they had been playing all year long.”
The Turning Point
The Golden Eagles (3-7, 2-4 Conference USA) scored with just seconds remaining in the first half to break a 17-17 tie, and got the ball back to start the second, getting into the end zone again to go up 14.
The Finish
The Owls (5-3, 4-2 C-USA) twice got it to within a score, but couldn’t equalize. The first time, an immediate USM 100-yard kickoff was the answer; in the fourth, the Golden Eagles squeezed out over five minutes on a 90-yard drive that virtually clinched it.
Quick Hits
- Nick Tronti started under center for FAU
- The Owls punted, but on the very first play for the Golden Eagles, Ahman Ross forced a fumble that was recovered by fellow linebacker Caliph Brice, on the USM 20
- And on the ensuing FAU play, Tronti found Brandon Robinson for a 20-yard touchdown and the early 7-0 lead
- The Owls’ defense made it two turnovers on the first two USM possessions, with Jordan Helm tipping a long pass attempt into the hands of teammate Diashun Moss
- USM tied it up on a 73-yard run, and went ahead with 1:39 to go in the first on a 38-yard field goal
- Vladimir Rivas’ 40-yard field goal knotted it up early in the second, but the Golden Eagles responded with a 75-yard drive ending on an eight-yard score on the ground. That put them up 17-10 at 8:54
- Javion Posey then took over at quarterback. On his third play, Jordan Merrell rushed up the left side for 36 yards to flip the field, from the FAU 33 to the USM 31
- James Charles finished off the drive, and tied it up, on a 12-yard rush right up the middle
- With under a minute to go in the half, the Golden Eagles drove to the edge of the red zone, but Ahman Ross’ sack pushed them back to the 29
- A keeper made up for that, all the way to the Owls’ four, but the next rush went for a loss of one, on a tackle in the backfield by Helm
- But a five-yard pass with eight seconds left gave the home team the lead going into the locker room, and a long pass connection on the first drive of the second half extended it
- The Owls halved the deficit on Charles’ second score of the night, from one yard out. That followed his eight-yard carry, and two plays prior, a 16-yard rush by Kelvin Dean, Jr.
- Also on that drive, Willie Wright had a 13-yard run, and a 10-yard catch from Tronti
- However, once again, USM answered, on the immediate kickoff return
- FAU came up with a defensive score on a fumble recovery, taken 43 yards the other way by Armani-Eli Adams
- On the final play of the third, Leighton McCarthy picked up his ninth sack of the season
- USM’s long drive in the fourth, both time- and yardage-wise, was the final score of the game
- An interception in the end zone with 27 seconds left sealed it
Stats and Records
- Charles set a new career best with 79 rushing yards
- Robinson had more catches on the night than he had on the season, five Thursday compared to three in six games coming in. He led the squad in receptions and with 72 receiving yards
- Moss earned the start at cornerback, the first of the senior’s collegiate career, and the interception was his first as well
- For Ross, his third quarter sack was his first as an Owl, this being his redshirt junior year
- Adams’ defensive score was the team’s first of the year, and the first gained turnover of his career
- Helm set a new career best with 10 tackles to tie for the squad lead alongside Ross. The quartet of Moss, Brice, Chase Lasater and Jaylen Joyner added seven apiece
What’s Next Stay tuned to FAUSports.com and @FAUSports and @FAUFootball on Twitter for any potential postseason schedule announcement.
