Owls Fall in Season Opener

Saturday, September 4

Gainesville, Fla.

7:30 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

0-1 , 0-0

Florida

1-0 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Fla. Atlantic

No. 13 Florida

9/4/2021 11:22:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University football was topped by No. 11 Florida, 35-14, Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to open up the 2021 campaign.

Quotable

Head coach Willie Taggart:
"We had a lot of mistakes that just can't happen, lining up mistakes or not aligning properly, or getting plays in late. It just wasn't a clean game from our standpoint, that we have to get corrected. The beauty of it is, they are all things that we can correct, and they can get corrected quickly, and we need to correct them quickly. But I was proud of our guys, they didn't quit, they kept fighting in that ballgame. We got down too big, and we've got to play better."

The Beginning

The Gators (1-0) scored twice in the first quarter, and forced a fumble in the final seconds of the period to halt an Owls' (0-1) drive that had crossed midfield.

The Turning Point

A 15-play drive for UF extended the lead to three scores midway through the third. Early in the fourth, back-to-back big pass plays put the Owls on the cusp of the red zone: N'Kosi Perry to John Mitchell for 25 yards, and Perry to D'Marcus Adams for 39. However, two plays later, UF pounced on a bobbled handoff to take possession at their own 27, and 2:38 later, were in the end zone.

The Finish

With under eight minutes left, Perry once again hooked up with Adams, who outleapt his defender for a 46-yard grab, taking the ball down to the UF 12. Three plays later, Johnny Ford punched it in from two yards out, with Aaron Shahriari tacking on the extra point. A long rushing TD for the Gators was answered with a 75-yard drive for the Owls, culminating in a Perry 13-yard TD pass to Brandon Robinson (and another Shahriari PAT) with 1:37 to go, ending the scoring.

Quick Hits

After UF gained the first quarter fumble and eventually took it down to the FAU 12, Diashun Moss came up with an interception in the end zone to even up the turnover battle
Later in the second, again Florida moved into the red zone, down to the 2-yard line, and on consecutive plays, the Owls' defense recorded a TFL to turn the ball over on downs (the first by Ahman Ross and Teja Young; the second by Young and Korel Smith)
In fact, the FAU 'D' shut out the Gators in the second quarter
Young snagged the second pick of the night for the DB's, in the waning seconds of the third
Ford's rushing score and Perry's TD pass were each the first of their Owl career

Stats and Records

Besides the two turnovers, the Owls' defense had four tackles for loss and four pass breakups
Jordan Helm (11), Young (10) and Smith (nine) led the squad in tackles, with all three setting a career high. Caliph Brice also added 10
Zyon Gilbert and Chris Jones totaled seven stops apiece; for Jones, that also marked a career best
In his debut, Perry threw for 261 yards on 19-of-33 passing, connecting with nine different receivers
Mitchell tied for the team lead with four catches (along with Robinson and LaJohntay Wester), playing for the first time since Dec. 20, 2019
Adams paced the team with 85 yards in the air, Robinson had 60, and Mitchell 51
Malcolm Davidson led the rushers with 52 yards on nine rushes (5.8 per), one more yard than Ford (10 for 51, 5.1 per)
All told, five Owl running backs combined to average exactly 5.0 per carry (23 for 115)

Digital Dailies

Gallery: (9-4-2021) Football at UF 9-4-21

What's Next

The Owls return to Boca Raton for the 2021 home opener, hosting Georgia Southern next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting HERE or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS, and the game will be broadcasted live on STADIUM Network and on Fox Sports 640AM South Florida.