FAU Delivers 40-21 Vintage Statement Win Over Tulsa

It was homecoming weekend in Paradise as Florida Atlantic hosted Tulsa (2-7, 0-6 American). On a day full of celebration, the Owls lived up to the hype as FAU handled the Golden Hurricane 40-21 in a day that looked like vintage Owl performances.

Coach Kittley’s Comments

Opening Statement

“We got a lot of positive feedback on the throwback helmets, which I thought was really cool. Kudos to Anthony, our head equipment manager, for coming up with that idea and getting that done for us. Thought we looked really sharp tonight. So again, big positive for me coming out of this game is, we were able to create some turnovers on defense, which is something we’ve been lacking. And that was huge. Clearly you get a defensive score that always can swing the game. And that was a huge momentum swing for us. And so, great job there by [Damarius] McGee getting that done. We were able to run the ball a little bit better. You know, it’s kind of a weird game. We only ran 57 plays on offense, and so it’s kind of one of those deals where you look at your call sheet at the end of the game, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I didn’t call anything.”

QB Caden Veltkamp Update

“I think he’ll be all right, you know, we’ll see. It was at the point to where he was begging me to go back in the game. And he probably could have went in, but at that point, I didn’t feel like that was necessary. And, you know, Zach’s a savvy vet as well, and I trust him too. I’m sure, I’m sure Caden will be sore there. But again, I haven’t exactly gotten to see the full injury board on him quite yet, but I’ll do that when we’re done. But he’s a tough kid, man. You know he wanted to come back in and play, and I have no doubt that he probably could have. But again, we’ll look at exactly kind of how banged up he actually is.”

Game Recap

First Quarter

The Tulsa offense took the field first as the Golden Hurricane earned a first down but FAU earned their first interception of the year as the ball found Terez Reid’s hands. Thanks to the redshirt-senior’s return and a 19-yard run by Kaden Shields-Dutton, the Owls were set up inside the redzone. The next three plays did not amount to much though as Florida Atlantic settled for three by the leg of Garrison Smith.

The Owls defense stayed consistent in the first with Caden Veltkamp and his FAU offense taking the field after a failed Tulsa fourth down attempt. Later in the drive, a short pass to Jayshon Platt led a 43-yard explosion for a touchdown as the redshirt junior added to the Florida Atlantic advantage at 10-0.

Second Quarter

FAU had their chance to make it a three-possession game but a fumble on the goalline swung momentum into favor of the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa then proceeded to tack on two field goals before the Owls offense finally got back into form and a wide open Easton Messer found the endzone off a 44-yard pass from Veltkamp.

The half closed out with Tulsa being inside the Owls 10, but a scoop and score for nearly 95-yards turned the tide as FAU closed the half out with two touchdowns in 44 seconds of game time.

LB Tyler Stolsky gets to the Tulsa quarterback during FAU's contest. (Photo: Angelina LaBelle)

Halftime Notes

Third Quarter

The second half saw Tulsa start to claw their way back into the contest. The Golden Hurricane held the Owls on their opening drive, and drove down the field and scored a touchdown making it a 31-12 contest. FAU responded with a field goal, but TU scored another touchdown. When Tulsa went for two, they failed as the score remained 34-18. 

Fourth Quarter

The Golden Hurricane’s momentum kept building with another score as they cut the deficit to 13, 34-21 with 13 minutes left in the game.

On the Owls ensuing drive, Florida Atlantic managed to work their way inside Tulsa territory but QB Caden Veltkamp took a hit on 3rd down that sidelined him for the remainder of the game. Zach Gibson stepped in as his next two passes led the Owls into the end zone solidifying a FAU win; 40-21.

Easton Messer and Jayshon Platt celebrate after a FAU touchdown (Photo, Angelina LaBelle)

Standouts & Stats

QB Caden Veltkamp finished with 272 yards on the night, three touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. WR Jayshon Platt led Florida Atlantic in receiving yards with 114 off of 5 receptions including one for a touchdown.

Defensively, the linebacker duo of Tyler Stolsky and Leon Hart combined for 23 tackles, while CB Jayden Sweeney had two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries on the night.

Offense

Kaden Shields-Dutton

The running game did not look too special, but entering the contest, Xavier Terrell and Kaden Shields-Dutton were listed on the injury report. That in turn made the expectation a reliance on Gemari Sands. But, it was all Shields-Dutton as the Owls third-string running back rushed the ball 11 times for 107 yards, including a 50-yard run that became his career high. 

Shields-Dutton’s role has increased throughout the season but with his name being listed on the availability report it looked to be a concern. Thankfully, the sophomore shared, “I mean, I’m always good. Putting me out there, I’m gonna produce every time. Nicks and bruises come with the job. I mean, you can’t expect to go into a football season and play valuable minutes, and expect to come out 100% healthy. I think that’s unheard of. So I mean it comes along the way. It’s nothing that’s going to hinder me going forward, and I’m ready for next week.”

QB Caden Veltkamp hands the ball off to RB Kaden Shields-Dutton. (Photo, Angelina LaBelle)

Easton Messer’s Career Day

The connection between Veltkamp and Messer had been talked about all of Fall camp, and we saw it throughout the regular season, but the redshirt junior wide receiver never truly turned that production into points. On Saturday, the former WKU Hilltopper duo made their mark known. Veltkamp completed two touchdown passes to Messer while Zach Gibson’s role filling in allowed another one to find the sure hands of the receiver. 

Messer’s three touchdown receptions were a career high for a single game and his first multitouchdown game of his career. The three touchdowns also listed Messer with only five other Owls to do the same feat.

Defense

Turnover Dominance

Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb made it a point of emphasis during his weekly presser that FAU was dead last in turnover margin in the country. Alongside those numbers, Florida Atlantic had not recorded an interception all season. In the first half, FAU recorded two.

Including the forced fumble by Zyere Horton, the Owls defense was humming on all cylinders in the first half. The scoop and score is the second longest fumble recovery for a touchdown in FAU’s 25 year history as a program. The only run back fumble longer than that was from the Owls first win in program history against Bethune-Cookman in 2001. Possibly the best homage to the original FAU team 25 years ago.

Five Sacks & Eight TFLs

From kickoff to the end of the game, the Florida Atlantic defense was in the backfield on nearly every play. DE Deshaun Batiste recorded two of the Owls five sacks while the other three were earned by Josh Roberts, Bryce Langston, and Wilky Denaud. 

The amount of sacks is not surprising as Tulsa allowed 17 on the season, but FAU’s five sacks are nearly 25% of all sacks the Owls have earned all season. Including the loss of yardage from the tackles for loss, TU lost 57 yards throughout the game due to a thrashing Owls front.

Special Teams

K Garrison Smith finished the evening 2-2 on field goals with a long of 35. P Logan Lupo finished the evening with three punts averaging 37 yards per boot and a long of 50 yards.

Closing Remarks

This is a game where if the Owls are playing in the postseason, this was the diving board. FAU needed a statement win and they earned it over Tulsa. While things did not look perfect at times, the Florida Atlantic offense stayed clean, the Owls defense finally earned interceptions, and also were able to show their resilience throughout.

Although the road ahead is tough as FAU faces three opponents with at least six wins and a scrappy Tulane team on the road, it will be more than what’s on paper deciding these outcomes. The remainder of the month of November should be an exciting one in Boca Raton.

Look Ahead

Florida Atlantic (4-5, 3-3 American) will hit the road to NOLA as they will face the Tulane Green Wave (7-2, 4-1 American). Tulane is looking to make an appearance in the AC title game while the Owls are fighting for a bowl game berth. It will be a tougher one for FAU, when a bowl is on the line, anything can happen. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 PM and the game can be seen on ESPN+.

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