fau shula trophy

Nowhere to Run

BOCA RATON – Save for one play, FAU’s defense shut down FIU – the biggest reason the Shula Bowl trophy will spend another year in Palm Beach County.

FAU surrendered a 75-yard touchdown run to Napoleon Maxwell early in the second quarter of the Owls’ 37-7 victory over the Panthers in the southernmost rivalry in college football, but other than that the Panthers never found a rhythm.

FIU managed only 37 yards on their other 28 carries, an average barely better than one yard per try.

“I thought that we stopped the run and made them one dimensional,” FAU coach Lane Kiffin said.

One of Conference USA’s better rushing teams entering Saturday’s Shula Bowl, FIU had to rely on a subpar passing game to beat the Owls. That didn’t work out so well.

FIU quarterback Jake Morgan completed 27-of-30 passes for 192 yards, with a long of only 27 yards. No receiver found the end zone.

“We kind of knew what they were good at so we tried to take that away,” FAU cornerback Meiko Dotson said.

FAU limited FIU to four-of-15 on third down conversion attempts, and didn’t surrender a point on either of the Panthers’ two trips into the red zone.

GameBrowser: FAU (7-3, 5-1) 37, FIU (5-5, 3-4) 7

TURNING POINT

Leading 13-7 at the half, FAU received the second-half kickoff and promptly drove 75 yards in seven plays, culminating with a Harrison Bryant five yard score. The Owls would never look back.

TRENDING TOPICS

  • The Owls ran the ball successfully against FIU. The Panthers struggled against the run this year, allowing 199 yards a game. FAU took advantage by advantage of the weaker rushing defense recording 261 yards rushing, a season-high for the Owls. Malcolm Davidson enjoyed a career game, but he wasn’t the only productive back. Chauncey Mason and James Charles combined for 95 yards and FAU averaged 5.9 yards per rush.
  • Meiko Dotson grabbed his fifth interception of the season., this one coming on special teams after FIU botched the snap on a field goal attempt, causing a panicked throw from holder Alec Hallman. Dotson has been quiet on the interception front since his two interception game against MTSU but is not among the nation’s leaders..
  • FAU can’t catch a break when it comes to attendance. Though some of the issues are self inflicted, FAU can’t control the weather, which undoubtedly kept thousands of fans from enjoying the Owls’ victory in person. The actual crowd on Saturday didn’t come close to the announced attendance of 17,603.
  • The stands were empty, but the FAU sideline was packed with former players, including current NFL players Buddy Howell and Cre’von LeBlanc. It’s a positive for the program that so many former players want to return for the Shula Bowl.
  • KEY STATS
    1 – Punt for FAU punter Matt Hayball.

    2 – Turnovers forced by FAU. The Owls didn’t commit a turnover.

    3 – Touchdowns by running back Malcolm Davidson.

    10 – Tackles for linebacker Rashad Smith, a team high.

    30 – First downs the FAU offense.

    125 – Receiving yards by receiver DeAngelo Antoine, to lead the Owls.

    192 – Passing yards allowed by the FAU defense.

    298 – Passing yards by quarterback Chris Robison.

    579 – Total yards for the FAU offense, a season high for the Owls.

    -GameBrowser written by Matt Wilson



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