Football Trounces Old Dominion, 41-3

Saturday, October 26

Norfolk, Va.

3:30 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

Old Dominion

10/26/2019 7:22:00 PM | Football

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – The Florida Atlantic University Owls routed Old Dominion on Saturday at S.B. Ballard Stadium, 41-3, to improve to 3-1 in Conference USA play. The 38 points is the Owls' biggest margin of victory since a 50-3 win over Akron in the 2017 Boca Raton Bowl, and matches the team's biggest win in C-USA play (also beating North Texas by 38 points, 69-31, in 2017).

Coupled with Marshall's victory over WKU, the Owls (5-3, 3-1 C-USA) and fellow 3-1 Thundering Herd sit just behind the 4-1 Hilltoppers in the C-USA East Division standings. FAU faces WKU next Saturday.

Quotable

"I'm proud of our guys, they came in here after a tough loss last week and played really well and took care of business," said head coach Lane Kiffin. "Especially defensively … that was big, I thought were we very aggressive. I thought the defensive staff did a great job and the players executed today."

Game Highlights

Quick Hits

FAU won the toss, but deferred to the second half
After ODU (1-7, 0-4 C-USA) got one first down, on a penalty, they didn't get another because Leighton McCarthy took down the Monarchs' quarterback for a sack
A block in the back negated an ODU score on a punt return, and the Owls defense held for a three-and-out, including a tackle for loss by William Davis and quarterback hurry for Hosea Barnwell V
For the second straight possession, the Owls got good field position, starting on the ODU 36
Two plays later, Chris Robison found Deangelo Antoine for a 14-yard gain, and a Monarch personal foul penalty added half the distance to the ODU 11
Robison would hook up with John Raine three plays after that, wide open over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown to open the scoring
Rashad Smith was everywhere on the next ODU series, starting with a QB hurry, then posting an eight-yard sack on second down
The Owls got three chunk plays early in the next possession – Robison to Harrison Bryant for 12 yards, Antoine for 16 on the ground, Robison to James Brunson for 25 – followed by a James Charles rush for eight
Then Malcolm Davidson went untouched up the middle for a 21-yard score and a 14-0 lead
A third FAU sack was credited to Damian Horton with time ticking down in the first quarter
With under a minute to go, the Owls' defense had held ODU to just 10 total yards, before a 21-yard screen pass tripled that figure (and that was a followed by a 17-yard completion)
Though ODU was now in the red zone as the second quarter began, FAU gave up just a one-yard rush, forced an incompletion, and another one-yard rush before a Monarch 30-yard field goal
Robison made liberal use of his tight ends to facilitate the next drive: His pass to Raine garnered 25 yards; going for it on 4th-and-9, he connected with Bryant for 14 yards to move the chains; and he and Bryant hooked up again for 11 yards to the ODU 13
After two plays covering negative one yard, it was again Robison to Bryant, for the latter's first touchdown of 2019, a 14-yard score
An offensive pass interference call backed up the Monarchs, and McCarthy pushed them back further with his second sack of the day to force a punt
On the return, Dante Cousart peeled off his longest runback of the year, 30 yards
Three first-down completions moved it to the red zone for the Owls: Robison to Bryant for 11, Tavaris Harrison for 16 and Bryant again for 12 more
With three seconds left in the half, Vladimir Rivas' field goal was good from 25 yards for a 24-3 lead heading into the locker room
The teams traded punts to start the second half, with ODU's drive ending on FAU's fifth sack, by Akileis Leroy
Nick Tronti took over at quarterback and showed off his legs (rushes of nine and eight yards) while sprinkling in a first-down pass to Bryant
Charles sprinted up the left sideline for a 26-yard gain, into ODU territory, before the Owls were denied on 4th down
FAU returned the favor, with a stuff for no gain on 4th-and-5 by Ray Ellis and Tim Bonner, among others
On the ensuing play, Antoine took a reverse 48 yards for a score, with Rivas' extra point extending the lead to 31-3
Tronti led the Owls to the doorstep early in the fourth, and his first incompletion was a near-touchdown (after a 6-for-6 start). Rivas would then add on with a 27-yard field goal
Willie Wright got his first score of the year on a 22-yard jet sweep to provide more cushion (and eventually, the final margin)
Two plays later, a tipped pass led to the first turnover for the FAU defense, with linebacker Caliph Brice coming up with the interception
Graduate student quarterback Trent Wessel saw his first ever action, late in the game, which included a six-yard completion to Wright

Stats and Records

The Owls outgained the Monarchs on the day, 430-204. That included just 70 rushing yards for the home team, 38 of which came in the fourth quarter, and 33 on back-to-back carries (the first double-digit gains on the ground of the day for ODU)
FAU defenders had 12 tackles for loss, six sacks, nine quarterback hurries and three pass breakups
Smith led the unit with seven tackles, Leroy had six and Ellis five
Amongst the receiving corps, Antoine had nine catches for 69 yards; Bryant had eight receptions for a team-high 92 yards
Antoine's 48-yard reverse actually led the rushing attack, as the carries were spread out: Charles had 45 on six totes, Chauncey Mason three for 28 (including a 24-yarder), Tronti 23 on eight and Davidson 17 on six. All told, eight Owls combined for 159 rushing yards
In one half of play, Robison was 17-for-24 (70.8%) for 208 yards and two scores
Tronti ended up 7-for-10 for 57 yards in the air, in addition to his 23 yards on the ground

What's Next

The Owls are on the road again next weekend, for a 4 p.m. Saturday kickoff in Bowling Green, Kentucky against first-place WKU. The team's next home game is Nov. 9, the annual Shula Bowl matchup against FIU. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or click HERE.