Football Suffers First Home Loss of 2014

Saturday, November 1

Boca Raton, FL (Homecoming)

7:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

3-6 , 2-3

UAB

5-4 , 3-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UAB

FAU

11/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

Nov. 1, 2014

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Florida Atlantic University football team suffered its first home loss of 2014 season with a 31-28 decision to UAB, thanks to a 24-yard field goal in the closing seconds, on Saturday.

UAB (5-4, 3-2 C-USA) owned the first half of the contest, racking up 291 yards of offense while holding the Owls (3-6, 2-3 C-USA) to 46 total yards and two first downs.

"You have to give UAB a lot of credit for the way they performed in the first half," FAU Head Coach Charlie Partridge said. "They got a big head start on us and made a couple of big plays."

The Blazers drove 68 yards to score on their first possession when Jordan Howard kicked off his big night with a 4-yard touchdown run.

The Owls responded in the second quarter when Kamrin Solomon blocked a UAB punt and recovered the ball on the Blazers' 11-yard line. Two plays later, Jaquez Johnson found Lucky Whitehead on a nine-yard pass to tie score at seven.

UAB would find the end zone twice more before halftime on a 78-yard pass from Cody Clements to JJ Nelson and a 32-yard run by D.J. Vinson to take a 21-7 lead.

The Blazers were forced to punt on their first drive of the second half, but FAU's Whitehead muffed the punt, giving UAB the ball on the Owls' 19-yard line. Four plays later, Howard picked up his second score of the night, on a seven-yard carry, to increase the lead to a game-high 28-7.

FAU would get into the red zone on the ensuing drive, but Greg Joseph's 24-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

Johnson took control in the fourth quarter, throwing 10-of-13 for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

On the first drive of the frame, he led the Owls 73 yards in 3:06, finding Alex Deleon for a 16-yard score, cutting the lead to 28-14.

The defense stood strong, forcing UAB into a 3-and-out to give FAU the ball back just one minute later. After an incompletion on first down, Johnson completed four-consecutive passes to get into the red zone. Senior Tony Moore then ran it in from five yards out to make it a one-possession game with just under ten minutes to play.

On a third-and-seven on FAU's next drive, Johnson scrambled 29 yards to the UAB 22. He gave FAU its 21st point on its 21st play of the quarter, a seven-yard touchdown pass to Whitehead to tie the game at 28 apiece.

UAB ate up the clock on the final drive, going 64 yards in 12 plays to get to the FAU seven-yard line. Kicker Ty Long then drilled the game-winning field goal as the clock ticked down to two seconds.

On the ensuing kickoff, D'Joun Smith picked his way into UAB territory, but was taken down at the 43-yard line with zeros on the clock.

"It was a chance for us to fight back, I'm proud of the kids for that," Partridge said. "These kids continue to show character and continue to fight as we build this program and that's something that we will continue to build on."

Johnson's night ended with 177 yards and three scores through the air along with 44--rushing yards and an interception. Moore carried the ball 10 times for 45 yards and a score while Whitehead tallied 89 all-purpose yards.

Five Owls set their career highs for tackles, led by Sharrod Neasman's 14 total and eight solo tackles. Three of Andrae Kirk's 12 tackles went down for losses as he led FAU to 13 tackles for loss on the night.

FAU returns to the road to face North Texas in Denton on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.