The Shula Bowl is back following a 1-year hiatus and the 2024 rendition saw FAU keep their stranglehold on the rivalry, as the Owls earned their first win of the 2024 campaign with a dominating 38-20 victory over in-state rival FIU. The Panthers scored the first 7 points of the game following a 2 hour rain delay, but it was all Owls from there as FAU rumbled for 259 yards and 5 scores on the ground and forced 5 turnovers, turning a must-win game into a matchup where the Owls got back to having fun and got the W along with it. It was a big win for the Owls as they put their defensive struggles from last week behind them and they finally found a way to run the ball, in a big way, and it resulted in an explosive out put on both sides of the ball and an overall performance the team can feel happy about, but not without fixing a few mistakes, according to FAU coach Tom Herman. Excited to get to win, excited to get to win in the Shula Bowl, excited to get to win for our team, to go through the frustration of the first couple weeks knowing that we didn’t play up to our standard for most of those games, and for this one, we decided the first quarter we were going to do everything we could to lose the game.” “But I was so proud of our guys for responding. I don’t know if we could have withstood that first quarter just two weeks ago, and we did, and we withstood it, we have to figure it out, and make sure that doesn’t happen again. And then we have to figure out how to win, when you have a 34 point lead, going into the fourth quarter, you have to put your foot on people’s throat, and I was proud of the offense there the last drive, but we have to do a better job finishing teams off.” “But that second and third quarter, I think was indicative of the way that we can play, but I told the team, we’re going to celebrate the hell out of this. It’s been almost a year, calendar year, since we won a game, and we won a rivalry game to boost, but I think we all know that the competition level is going to increase as we continue our season, and we’ve got to continue to increase our level of play in order to accomplish the things that that we want to accomplish, Herman said. Game Recap: Following a delay of nearly 2 hours, FAU won the toss and deferred to the second half, which FIU capitalized on in a big way. Following a solid kickoff return of 36 yards for FIU to start the game they were able to pick up the 64 yards they needed quickly and efficiently. In only 3 plays, Keyone Jenkins marched the Panthers up and down the field needing only 3 plays to do it, completing 2 play action passes to Dean Rivers and Dean Patterson, which the Panther WRs turned into big gains. That set up 1st and 10 from the 32 for FIU, and Jenkins kept on slinging it, finding an open Rivers deep down the right sideline and the 2 connected for a 32 yard TD pass which put FIU up 7-0 just 3 plays into the game. That drive ended up being one of the only ones all day where FIU was able to put it altogether and stretch the field, and according to FAU DB Daedae Hill, Jenkins and company stretching the field was something that was talked about during the week, but also something the Owls were more than prepared for. It actually wasnt surprising, we knew that he wanted to come out here and try to take shots and take us deep, because we heard a few stories, but I dont get into all of that talking and stuff, just go out there and play. In an ideal world, FAU would have been able to find their mojo on the first drive for the first time this season, except that wasn’t the case. Three straight incompletions by FAU quarterback Cam Fancher (top photo left, Angelina LaBelle) to start the day wasnt what the doctor ordered, but that was reality and the Owls once again started behind the 8-ball offensively. The good thing for the Owls was the defense came to play in a big way and following that collapse on the first drive of the day it was tough sledding from there for the Panthers. The teams traded 3 and outs on their ensuing drives, however bad turned to worse quickly for FAU. With 10:56 to play Logan Lupo punted from inside the Owls endzone and it was blocked by Luby Maurice and whistled dead at the 12 yard line, setting FIU up with what looked to be a good situation, but thats where the Owls defense came to shine. FIU hurt themselves to start the drive with a false start and it only got worse from there, as on 1st and 15 Wendol Philord tackled Shomari Lawrence for a loss of 4, Chris Jones batted down the 2nd down pass at the line of scrimmage, and on 3rd down Philord and Hill combined to wrap up Lawrence on the outside which set FIU up for a 41 yard field goal. FIU opted to go with their kickoff specialist, Alejandro Prato for the lengthy attempt, but it was wide-right and what looked to be a disaster turned into a game changing drive for the Owls. That was a monumental stop for the Owls as should FIU have scored on that drive, FAU would have been down 2 scores and the run game that opened up, may have been forgone for the pass if they trailed. That wasnt the case however, and FAU Coach Tom Herman said the defense early on in this game had some of the biggest drives of the day. It was important because we responded and we haven’t done that. We’ve been when things get bad, they get worse team, and we drew a line in the sand. And I think, you know, I don’t know what the stats are, but getting a punt block for them, our defense has to jog out and hold them to zero points when they got the ball in the 12, that was the drive of the game, in my opinion, to get a punt block inside the 15 yard line and have your defense jog out on the field and come away with zero points, that was monumental, Herman said. Despite the defense amping up, in the beginning the offense was struggling to put it all together, as through the first 3 drives the Owls gained 10 yards of offense in 9 total plays. The 4th drive of the day saw the Owls snap their extreme cold streak, gaining the offense’s first first down of the day, but stalling out after that and punting it back to FIU after gaining just 10 more yards. The defense kept on making plays despite that, and on FIUs ensuing drive Keyone Jenkins attempted a QB keeper and the play was almost busted immediately by Devonta Davis who broke through almost instantly, but behind him was Eric Brantley Jr who whalloped Jenkins, forcing a fumble which was recovered by Jaden Wheeler. FAU was set up with 1st and 10 from the 12 and were in need of their first score of the day and they got it. Fancher rolled out on 1st down and completed a pass to Jayshon Platt which almost touched the pylon, and two plays later Zuberi Mobley (top photo right, Angelina LaBelle) punched it in from the 1 which tied it up at 7. Following another defensive stop which featured the Owls second sack of the season coming from Chisom Ifeanyi, the Owls got the ball back with 12:37 to go in the second and they were ready to capitalize. FAU had success early in the drive, picking up a first down on back to back runs from Zuberi Mobley, but the Owls found themselves in a 4th and 1 situation at their own 28 just a few plays later and opted to trust their defense and go for it. That was the right choice, as on 4th and 1 the Owls got some of their best blocking of the season and the seas parted for Mobley to take it 72 yards to the house, which made it 14-7 and opened up the floodgates for FAU. That was the big play FAU has been lacking so far through 2 games, and for Tom Herman that was a show of trust in his team, and one of those moments as a Coach that hell be able to look back on one day. Our Captain, Federico Maranges came to me after that play, and he thanked me on the sideline, he said, Thank you for trusting us, and they didn’t let me down and I think that was pretty cool, as a coach, those are the times that you’re going to remember, I don’t know that I’ve gone for it any time any game on the minus 28 before, but we needed it and Im glad they came through, surprisingly it wasnt a difficult decision, but it was cool really proud of those guys, Herman said. Just 3 plays later on the Owls next defensive possession, FAU recorded their first interception of the game as Jenkins rolled out, missed his target and found Daedae Hill who returned it to the FIU 37. The running back group was red-hot following Mobleys big run, as CJ Campbell picked up 32 scrimmage yards on the next drive following the interception, and the Owls added a field goal to make it 17-7 with 6:47 to play in the half. FIU began to put a drive together down 10 with under 7 minutes to go in the half, marching down to the 11 yard line before the Owls defense had enough. FIU went play action and Jenkins floated a pass on the outside near the endzone, which Phil Dunnam returned back to the Owls 11 and would have been a pick 6, if not for an unfortunate collision with Wendol Philord. FAU was unable to capitalize and had their FG attempt blocked, but the defense once again was ready to step up. Following a pair of first downs for FIU, Jenkins completed a pass to Patterson who was met by Wendol Philord, who stripped the ball which was recovered by CJ Heard for the Owls 4th forced turnover of the half. (Jayden Williams, photo right Christian Proscia, led with Owls in tackling with seven) The Owls capitalized off the turnover this time, as Campbell picked up 36 more scrimmage yards, Fancher was able to scramble for a first down, and was targeted by JoJo Evans which set FAU up 1st and goal from the one. 2 plays later, Zuberi Mobley powered his way in for his third TD of the half, which made it 24-7 which was the score going to half. Mobley had his best day in 2 years for the Owls, punching it in 3 times and rushing for 134 yards and after the game he said once he scored the first time, it was contagious for him and his teammates from there. We were physical out there, we were supposed to set the tone and thats what we did its contagious, once I scored one time, I just kept scoring, Mobley said. It was all Owls in the first half, and that didnt change much in the second half as FAU put their first complete drive together to start, marching 14 plays and 75 yards in a little over 7 minutes and 23 seconds and getting a 12 yard Fancher run for a score to make it 31-7 with 7:37 to go in the 3rd. Runs like that from Fancher were missing during FAUs 24-7 loss to Army, as Fancher only carried it 4 times, however in this one he rushed 14 times for 64 yards, and although that worked today according to Fancher hell do whatever he needs to be successful. My job was always how can I make the play successful, whether its hand the ball off, throw the ball or extend plays, so when stuff isnt there and its me extending plays thats just me trying to make the play successful, Fancher said. Following an FIU turnover on downs, the Owls were gifted positive field position which they capitalized on, Fancher completed a 22 yard strike to Joe Young and 3 plays later Cj Campbell joined the rushing party, punching it in from 2 yards out to make it 38-7, which put this game to bed. Deep passes like that to Young and overall offensive consistency are things that Tom Herman can walk away with as positives in a game where the Owls dominated the run game, but had an up-and-down day passing. We protected better, you know, we hit a wheel route for a deep shot, we missed a deep shot, but we were getting guys open down the field a little bit more than we had now, whether we hit on them or not, we’ll go back to the drawing board on that, but it felt like the field was a little bit more open, and that we were able to get in some of those windows in that zone coverage, Herman said. FIU was able to put 2 scoring drives together down the stretch, as the Owls were hampered by a few injuries and ultimately rotated heavily in the second half, but Buggs Brown was able to intercept Jenkins for the Owls 3rd interception late in the 4th quarter, which officially sealed the deal for an Owls 38-20 2024 Shula Bowl victory. Final thoughts: It was do or die time for FAU in this rendition of the Shula Bowl, as the Owls were staring down the barrel at 0-3 and like Tom Herman mentioned, they responded and in a big way. For the first time this season, the Owls got the run game going with their tailbacks as Mobley and Campbell both found success and it led to the offense opening up as a whole. With an added run game and upgraded protection, Fancher was able to connect with 10 different pass catchers on the day, diversifying the offense and although it wasnt consistently explosive, it provided different looks which exposed FIUs zone defense multiple times. On the defensive side of the ball, it was a return to form, as following a gashing at the hands of Army the Owls went from allowing over 400 yards against Army to only 87 against FIU, while also forcing 2 fumbles. Pass-defense remained solid, as FAU stymied Jenkins as he looked to stretch the field, forcing 3 INTs and sending Jenkins back to Miami with a 23.7 QBR. It was a much needed victory and display of explosiveness from the Owls and its a performance that they will be able to hang their hat on for a few days before shifting their focus to UCONN. It would have been dreadful to head to UCONN at 0-3, and now at 1-2, the Owls will look to build on this performance and come out in that one ready to get their season back to .500. The Shula Bowl remains in Boca Raton for another year as the Owls have not lost the battle since 2016. FAU now leads the all time series 17-4 and will head to Miami next season to defend their title once again, but until then, FAU has claimed their bragging rights over the Tri-County.
