FAU was dripped out Saturday night as the Owls wore their brand-new sand-colored uniforms in a conference matchup against UTSA.
The uniforms didn’t impact the final score, though, as the Roadrunners ran away (as their name suggests) with the game.
UTSA struck first. On the very first drive of the game, the Roadrunners went 14 plays, 75 yards, capped off by a Robert Henry 15 yard rushing touchdown. It was the 5-10, 190 pound junior’s fifth rushing touchdown of the season.
FAU’s first offensive drive resulted in a 37 yard field goal from Logan Lupo, cutting UTSA’s lead to four points with 6:20 remaining in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, FAU’s Daedae Hill recorded the first interception of his career, picking off UTSA quarterback Frank Harris. The offense couldn’t convert, though, following the interception.
FAU’s defense went back to work and Latrell Jean, the 280 pound big man, recorded a pick-six (or thick-six) for the Owls. With 23 seconds remaining in the first, FAU had their first lead of the game, 10-7.
THICK 6
— New Era Prep (@EraPrep) October 21, 2023
Latrell Jean intercepts a UTSA pass and returns it for a 7 yard TD
10-7 FAU
:23 1st
📸- @Shotby_Dan pic.twitter.com/h6FFYhkKPd
It was Jean’s first career interception and FAU’s second pick-six of the year.
“Man, I just scored,” Jean said out loud after reaching the endzone.
Shortly after, UTSA tied the game at 10 on a Chase Allen 34 yard field goal.
With 10:31 remaining in the second quarter, FAU quarterback Daniel Richardson threw his first interception of the game. UTSA’s Pewee Harris recorded the INT; the first of his career.
Richardson was named AAC Offensive Player of the Week and Manning National QB of the Week last week in a 56-14 win over USF. Richardson completed 31-of-38 passes for 382 yards and three touchdowns.
UTSA turned the interception into points, taking back the lead with 6:47 remaining in the first half. Frank Harris found wide receiver Willie McCoy in the endzone for a 10 yard touchdown, his second of the season. The Roadrunners led 17-10.
To end the first half, Allen’s 37 yard field goal went through the uprights, extending UTSA’s lead to 10 points heading into the halftime locker room.
In the second half, Frank Harris threw a 42 yard touchdown to wide receiver Tykee Ogle-Kellogg to extend UTSA’s lead to 27-10. It was Harris’ second touchdown of the game.
The Roadrunners didn’t stop pulling away from the Owls as Joe Evans sacked Richardson in the endzone for a safety, making it 29-10 at the end of three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Xavier Peters notched his first career fumble recovery, but yet again, the Owls couldn’t translate the turnover into points as Richardson threw his second interception of the game. UTSA’s Nicktroy Fortune caught the ball in the air after it was deflected off of LaJohntay Wester, the intended receiver.
UTSA running back Rocko Griffin scored a six yard rushing touchdown with three minutes remaining. 36-10 was the final.
It was a rough game for the Owls offense. The usual stars struggled, especially wide receiver LaJohntay Wester and running back Larry McCammon. Wester had four catches for only 14 yards. McCammon, who is arguably the best running back in the AAC, had 15 rushes for only 30 yards. Despite the epic performance last week against USF, Richardson completed just 19-of-34 passes for only 142 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions. As a team, the Owls offense finished with just 162 total yards.
“You can tell that UTSA has been building something special the last four years,” head coach Tom Herman said postgame. “They came out, they out-coached us, they out-played us, they out-everything’ed us.”
I asked FAU head coach Tom Herman about pointing fingers at each other following a bad loss. He gave me an in-depth response. pic.twitter.com/BP1KtEx3C1
— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) October 22, 2023
Richardson also spoke about UTSA.
“I thought they had an awesome gameplan. Hats off to them. Their defensive line was very good as we expected. They are a good defensive all around. Number one is a good player. Number seven, their nickel, stood out. Their coaches did a good job putting some pressure on me. They saw last week I got the ball out quick… I had no sacks. They had us pretty good tonight.”
FAU has dropped their first-ever AAC (American Athletic Conference) game and they are now 3-1 all-time against UTSA.
The Owls will travel to Charlotte next week to face the 49ers at 7:30 PM. UTSA, meanwhile, will host East Carolina next week at 3:30 PM.
Cover Image Credit: Christian Proscia/New Era Prep
