Football Stymies Middle Tennessee in Second Half in 28-13 Win

Saturday, October 12

Boca Raton, Fla.

4 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

4-2 , 2-0

Middle Tennessee

2-4 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

FAU

Football Stymies Middle Tennessee in Second Half in 28-13 Win

10/12/2019 8:50:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Gallery: (10/12/2019) Middle Tennessee vs FAU

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University Owls pitched a second-half shutout, and sophomore running back Malcolm Davidson rushed for a career-high 149 yards, helping to overcome Middle Tennessee in a home Conference USA matchup Saturday, 28-13. The win moves FAU to 4-2 on the season, the team's best start since 2004 (when they began 5-1).

Quotable

"It was not a very clean game," said head coach Lane Kiffin. "But walking off, I remind myself this is a team that beat us eight years in a row (before we) got here, and a very well-coached team ... To knock off the division champs from a year ago, that's big. If you want to be in first place, you have to stay in first place."

Post Game Recap

Postgame Comments
Lane Kiffin

Akileis Leroy

Nick Tronti

Quick Hits

FAU (4-2, 2-0 C-USA) and MT (2-4, 1-1 C-USA) traded punts, and on the Blue Raiders' second possession, they scored first, on a 30-yard pass
However, on the extra point attempt, the Owls' Akileis Leroy got the block, scoop and score, going the distance the other way to make it 6-2
Later in the opening frame, Meiko Dotson picked off his third pass of the year
The Owls' offense found some rhythm early in the second. Chris Robison found Harrison Bryant for 25 yards down to the 3-yard line, and two plays later, he connected with John Mitchell from four yards out for the score and the lead
MT regained the advantage, 13-9, on a quarterback keeper, but FAU responded with a 37-yard field goal by Vladimir Rivas to cut it to one. That was the score at the half
On that drive, Mitchell again hauled in a long pass of his own, going for 30
After the FAU defense forced a three-and-out and punt on the first MT series of the second half, they marched into the red zone on the legs of Malcolm Davidson, with carries of 25 and 10 yards
The drive stalled, but Rivas gave the Owls the lead back (for what would be for good) with a field goal from 26 yards
It was again another three-play drive on the next MT series, ending on a sack by Ray Ellis
After getting the ball back, the Blue Raiders went for it on 4th down, but Rashad Smith batted away a pass in the end zone for a turnover on downs
Nick Tronti saw his first action as the Owls took over, kept it himself for two carries and 11 yards, then handed off to Davidson for a 57-yard touchdown run and the game's biggest lead (22-13, 3:23 left to go in the third)
Early in the fourth, a key tackle for loss – for five yards by Kevin McCrary – pushed MT back, and their field goal attempt from 38 yards missed wide left
Again, the Owls' defense continued to shine, with a Rashad Smith interception snuffing out a Blue Raider drive and giving the offense possession at the MT 27
Owls were able to bleed 4:15 off the clock, with Larry McCammon III punching it in from one yard out for a 28-13 lead
Tim Bonner picked up FAU's second sack of the day, for a loss of 13, and four plays later, Dotson snagged his second interception of the day on the next-to-last MT drive
The Owls gave up just 185 yards in the second half, and 99 of those came on the final two defensive possessions when FAU had a more forgiving formation

Stats and Records

Davidson's 149 yards came on 21 carries for an average of 7.1 per, and marked the first time the sophomore eclipsed the century mark in his career
He became the first Owl back to achieve that plateau since current Buffalo Bill Devin Singletary's 148 against WKU on Nov. 10 last year
Bryant paced seven receivers with four catches for 68 yards
The trio of Da'Von Brown, Zyon Gilbert and Akileis Leroy led the way with eight tackles apiece
Ellis had two of the team's six tackles for loss, and now has 3.5 sacks on the year. Bonner's sack gave him three
Dotson doubled his season total to now have a team-high four interceptions
Special teams starred as well, besides the Leroy block and conversion. Deangelo Antoine had a 48-yard kickoff return, and four of Matt Hayball's punts were inside the 20, while he had an average of 42.0 per
Leroy's XP return was the second in program history, with the other coming in 2008, when Darian Thomas pulled off the feat against North Texas on Nov. 8

What's Next

The Owls will host a second straight matchup, and it will be Homecoming, next Friday against Marshall. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. at FAU Stadium, with the game being broadcasted live on CBS Sports Network. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or click HERE.