(Photo via FAU Athletics)
FAU football reached a new low on Saturday afternoon, losing in overtime 18-15 to Temple, marking the teams 5th straight defeat, something that has not happened since 2016.
The Owls had a litany of changes occur heading into this week, however some of the problems that plagued them prior to the moves occurred in this one as FAU led heading into the 4th quarter and once again surrendered a late lead. FAU did a good job at limiting the Temple run game at times, however Dante Wright hurt them through the air hauling in 14 catches for 147 and whenever Temple needed a big play late they were able to get one.
Although FAU collapsed late, the Owls fought hard in this one. After allowing Temple to hold the ball for over 13 minutes to start the 4th quarter and score 9 straight points, the Owls were led by 3rd string quarterback Tyriq Starks who took FAU 75 yards in 11 plays and converted a 2 point conversion to tie the game at 15, which ultimately sent the game into overtime. FAU showed fight in this one when they could have quit, however they still lacked execution when they needed it the most, finishing 3 of 14 on 3rd down on the day and over the final two games they will still work to improve that.
“I’m really, really proud of the effort to be down three out of four of your captains, to be with your backup center down to your third string quarterback for much of the game, and to be down eight with a minute and whatever it was. 45 seconds left, there was not one ounce of disbelief on our sideline, and ton of confidence in Tyriq and the offense to go down and do what they did. And our defense played really, really well. Obviously third down getting off the field was still the problem. Played well in the red zone at times. And then offensively, you know, with that crew in there, we struggled running the football, which set up some third and longs. I know we weren’t in third down a whole lot, but we didn’t convert any of them. I don’t know that I’ve been in a game where that’s happened. So again, really, I know we’re not in the moral victories, but to be under the circumstances that that team was in, and to come out here and go on the road and fight their tails off to get to overtime. I told them, it’s not effort. Now obviously we didn’t win that game because we didn’t execute. They gave us everything they had, and I told them how much I appreciate them for that, and it’s our job as coaches to make sure that we continue to improve in our execution,” Herman said.
(Photo via FAU Athletics)
The Owls defense kept them in the game when the offense was struggling in this one, as they were flying around to the football, recording 7 tackles for loss and 7 QB Pressures, one resulting in a sack for Chisom Ifeanyi. Although Temple was able to break off big runs when they needed it, the Owls held Temple to only 3.3 yards per carry on the day, which set them back and helped the Owls forced 4 Temple punts, and 2 missed FG attempts on the day.
It was a bit of a return to form for an FAU defense which has allowed 35+ in 4 straight games coming into this one and it came on a week where it could have been possible for this unit to quit following the firing of DC Roc Bellantoni, however they rallied around interim DC Brandon Harris and played with high energy. The Owls also did a good job at limiting the big play in this one, as after allowing an egregious amount of chunk plays against ECU, they responded allowing only 3 plays of 20 or more all day.
The biggest struggle on the day came on 3rd down on both sides of the ball, as FAU finished 3 of 14, while allowing Temple to convert 8 of 20 3rd downs and both of their 4th downs, keeping an FAU defense on the field a lot more than they probably should have been. Ultimately there was defensive improvement this week as FAU got after Evan Simon and limited their run game, but in the end it was not enough and Tom Herman acknowledges the improvement but knows there is still work to be done.
“Guys just executed. And there were plenty that were big missed tackles, but for the most part I think we tackled better. I wouldn’t put us in a great category just yet. But making improvements is, if you come to work every day and each week you’re better at something, then that was a good week, and we’re better at tackling right now, we have to get better on third down, on that side of the ball. But I was happy with the effort that they made,” Herman said.
Kasen Weisman led the Owls to a 7-3 lead into the second half, and he finished 11 of 23 for 123 yards, also recording 31 yards on the ground, finding different ways to manage the offense effectively. He went down with a leg injury following a hit midway through the 3rd quarter and Tyriq Starks led a ferocious comeback, finishing 8 of 13 for 71 yards, also adding 25 yards on the ground, showing a strong sense of confidence late in the game.
The offensive success was limited to slim bright-spots, however once again it was CJ Campbell leading the charge as he finished with 129 scrimmage yards on 2 TDs, serving as the Owls leading receiver on the day when the downfield passing attack was limited. The Owls were able to do the most they could behind a make-shift offensive line as Federico Maranges was out with a knee sprain suffered in practice Wednesday, which limited the Owls run game at times.
It wasn’t a great showing offensively, but Herman could see the fight from his guys and specifically from Tyriq Starks who almost led a comeback victory. Starks has been preparing for this moment all season and will be ready for anything else that comes his way.
“Absolutely love him. I think he’s one of, if not the most improved players on our team. I shouted that from the rooftops to anybody that will listen. And you know, unfortunately, he was having a good training camp and had a little pec strain for a while there that kept him from throwing and Kasen continued to improve and kind of supplanted him, but it didn’t deter him one bit, he’s been in, he’s been in the coaches meetings. He watches film, he does everything that you would want a guy in his position to do. And when his number was called, he was ready, and I appreciate the heck out of him. He’s the quarterback room. Obviously, we know cam is not going to be back this season, and so we decided to see how severe Kasen’s ankle sprain is,” Herman said.
FAU suffered another gut-wrenching defeat, however without bowl eligibility on the line the Owls still fought hard but just came up short. Execution will still be priority number, as the Owls had their chances in this one but were unable to make the plays when needed. Heading into the final 2 weeks of the season, FAU could be down to a skeleton crew on both sides of the ball, however Herman remains confident in his guys, including Tyriq Starks who could potentially make his first career start against Charlotte next week.
FAU will take on Charlotte in the final home game of the season, next Saturday at 3 Pm EST from FAU Stadium.
Previous in-game updates
1st Quarter
Temple started the game with a 33 yard return off a short kick which brought them out to their own 42 yard line. They advanced it past midfield on a few nice completions from Evan Simon, however Marlon Bradley shut down an attempted pitch play on 3rd and 4 which forced a 54 yard FG attempt, which Temple Converted to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
FAU started slowly offensively, as after getting stuffed on first down a false start pushed them back 5 yards and they were never able to recover. On 3rd and long, Kasen Weisman was forced to scramble and threw it away, resulting in a 3 and out and Lupo punting back to Temple already leading 3-0.
The Owls defense came with early energy as freshman CB Lawrence Johnson forced a PBU on the first play and Cj Heard stuffed a screen on second, however Simon found an open man on 3rd and 10 to move the chains. FAU wasn’t letting that phase them, as the DLine stuffed 2 straight runs, with Chisom Ifeanyi getting a TFL in his return to Philly and on 3rd and long FAU brought pressure and forced Simon out of the pocket and he had to throw it away.
FAU would start their second drive of the day 1st and 10 from the 20 yard line following a touchback on the Temple punt.
The Owls started with a loss of 2 on a screen pass to Omari Hayes, however Kasen Weisman took a zone read 14 yards for a first down and a few plays later he found Jabari Smith Jr for a gain of 26 over the middle giving the Owls early life. The drive looked to stall after that as despite getting 3rd and manageable the Owls were unable to convert the pass over the middle, however on 4th and 4 the Owls opted to go for it and Weisman found Omari Hayes over the middle which moved them inside the 20 to the 19. On the ensuing set of downs, Cj Campbell almost turned a corner and broke off a 19 yard TD however he was 2 yards short and that would stall the drive as on 4th and 2 Temple brought pressure and Weisman’s pass sailed out of the end zone, turning it over on downs back to temple.
Terrez Worthy has been huge for Temple recently and he got going on their next drive, picking up a gain of 18 on the first set of downs getting Temple out of the shadow of their own end zone. Temple looked to convert a 3rd and 2 on a rollout dumpoff from Simon to his tight end, however an offensive pass interference brought it back 15 yard and FAU was able to force Simon to only a gain of 2 on 3rd and 16 and Temple punted back to FAU leading 3-0 with 19 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter.
2nd Quarter
The Owls moved the ball efficiently on their first drive of the second quarter, as Cj Campbell picked up 7 on the first play of the drive and Weisman found Milan Tucker for a gain of 9 on 2nd and 3and 2 plays later Weisman kept a zone read for 17 yards and he was hit out of bounds which moved FAU inside the Temple 30. After defensive holding on the ensuing second down moved them inside the 20, Weisman found a wide open Wyatt Sullivan for a gain of 25 down to the 1 yard line and CJ Campbell trotted into the end zone a play later for his 9th TD of the year, giving the Owls a 7-3 lead with 11:53 to play in the half.
The defense for FAU was locking up following the first drive of the day and after allowing a first down on the first set of downs, the Owls stuffed a run and forced 2 incompletions to force their 3rd consecutive punt. Through a quarter and a half the Owls were allowing less than 50 pass and rush yards to Temple and were locking them up.
FAU looked to have something rolling on their second drive of the quarter, as Weisman found Khalil Brantley over the middle for a gain of 16, which moved them past the 30. That was all they could get however, as Temple stuffed a Campbell run and forced 2 Weisman incompletions and that forced an FAU punt and Temple took over 1st and 10 at their own 27.
Temple got their pass game rolling on the ensuing drive, as they completed 4 straight passes, 3 of them to Dante Wright and after a gain of 17 to Jamar Taylor, Temple was past midfield to the FAU 33 yard line. After a Simon completion to John Adams moved them to the FAU 22, they worked out another first down, with Littleton converting a 3rd and 2, they and found themselves 1st and 10 inside the 20. The Owls defense stood up from there, as Temple gained 6 yards on a rush from Worthy and that brought up a 3rd and 6 which FAU stuffed. Temple looked to settle for 3, however Trujillo who hit from 54 earlier in the game, missed a 26 yard field goal off the uprights and FAU’s 7-3 lead held with 1:50 remaining.
The owls were able to pick up a quick first down on their next drive, as Weisman found Marlyn Johnson near the right sideline for a gain of 10, however after that Temple forced 3 straight incompletions and FAU punted back to Temple with 53 seconds remaining.
Temple also had a bit of momentum, picking up a first down on their next drive converting a 3rd and 5 on a dump-off from Simon to Ashton Allen, but the FAU defense was resilient all day early on and they were once again. Marlon Bradley and Chris Jones stuffed the next 2 Temple run plays and on 3rd, FAU stuffed them again for a loss of 5, forcing a punt which would essentially end the half with FAU leading 7-3.
Halftime thoughts
Kasen Weisman was 9 of 20 for 110 yards at the half, while connecting with 6 different receivers and FAU had 62 yards on the ground, 31 from Campbell and 31 from Weisman. Defensively, the Owls looked solid during the 1st half under Brandon Harris, forcing 5 tackles for loss, 2 from Marlon Bradley and 4 QB hurries, 2 from Chris Jones. Temple’s run game has helped them in recent weeks however FAU was holding them to only 53 yards on 17 carries at the half, and while Evan Simon was completing 61% of his passes for 116 yards, they were only 4 of 10 on 3rd down and the FAU defense was bending but not breaking early on.
3rd Quarter
FAU’s offense started slowly to kickoff the second half, as CJ Campbell had 2 hard runs to pick up 5 yards and bring up 3rd and 5, however Weisman’s pass to Jabari Smith Jr was caught, but short of the sticks and FAU’s drive resulted in a 3 and out.
Temple had a 3rd and 10 facing them right away on their first drive of the day, however Simon found Dante Wright for a gain of 16 on 3rd and 10, his 6th catch of the day to move the chains and look to spark something for temple. Ashton Allen followed that up with 29 yards on back to back carries of 22 and 7, however after that the FAU defense responded. Chisom Ifeanyi got to Simon for his second sack of the season on 1st down, and the FAU defense went on to force back to back incompletions on 2nd and 3rd down and on 4th down Trujillo missed his second straight field goal off the cross bar, this time from 51, to keep the FAU lead at 7-3 with 9:57 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
FAU started their drive converting their first 3rd down of the day as Weisman found Jabari Smith on 3rd and 5 for 6 yards, however Weisman was hit as he threw and the Temple defender came down on his calf and he left the game due to the injury. Tyriq Starks took over with a fresh set of downs following the injury and picked up 6 yards on 3rd and 10, showing great pocket presence to avoid the sack, but on 4th and 4, FAU only gained 3 on a Sands carry and Temple took over at their own 44 following the turnover on downs.
Dante Wright took over on the next drive for Temple, as he hauled in 3 straight balls for 24 yards and with the short field that moved Temple into field goal range. The Owls locked up following those 3 receptions, forcing back to back incompletions with Ifeanyi getting in the backfield on 3rd down. Temple opted to go with a 50 yard attempt from Trujillo and despite his 2 straight misses, he converted on this one, giving Temple their first points since their first drive of the game, making the score 7-6 FAU with 4:26 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
With Tyriq Starks remaining in at quarterback FAU opted to start their next drive on the ground with CJ Campbell and it payed off. CJ Campbell rushed it 3 straight times for 35 total yards and the last run moved FAU past mid-field to the Temple 45. Starks attempted his first pass of the day beyond the line of scrimmage on the ensuing play and took a deep shot to Omari Hayes and it was batted away by Temple, on the next lay FAU was hit with a holding penalty which backed them up to 2nd and 20 and they were not able to recover. Starks was stuffed on a QB Keeper and a screen pass to Campbell JR was short of the sticks and following a lupo punt temple took over at their own 13.
Temple started their drive with a big completion once again to Dante Wright, this time for 23 yards racking, his total up to 10 receptions for 114 yards and following a Worthy carry for 3, the 3rd quarter concluded with FAU holding a 7-6 lead. Temple would have it 2nd and 7 following a TV timeout.
4th Quarter
Simon went back to Simon as on 2nd and 7 he found him for 6 yards and after Littleton was stuffed short of the marker, he found him for 4 yards on 4th and 2 to move the chains. That sparked a drive for Temple, as on the ensuing set of downs Temple converted 4th and 1 with a trick play as it looked like they were attempting a tush push, however Worthy took it to the outside and picked up a first down with a gain of 14 moving the Owls to the FAU 29. Temple was finding success and through Dante Wright as on the next set of downs, Temple faced a 3rd and 7, Simon found Wright over the middle for 19 yard, his 13th reception of the day, to move Temple inside the FAU 10, to the 7. Simon had back to back completions to Wright and Della Pesca to get them to the one, and 3rd and 1 Simon pitched it to Worthy who trotted in unguarded, which gave Temple a 12-7 lead that remained the score after a failed 2 point conversion with 7:15 remaining.
The Owls needed a response and Tyriq Starks was still the QB set to lead his 3rd drive of the day. On 1st down and 2nd down Temple forced back to back incompletions and on 3rd Starks scrambled, but was short of the sticks, gaining 5 on 3rd and 10 and the Owls went 3 and out. Temple would take over 1st and 10 at their own 31 with 6:19 remaining.
The Owls defense was gassed, however on 3rd and 7 on the first set of downs they looked to have forced their first 3 and out of the day, but defensive holding extended the Temple drive and moved them close to mid-field at their own 44. On the next 2 plays, Antwain Littleton broke of runs of 6 and 19, which moved them deep into FAU territory at the FAU 31.
Temple looked to have a 3rd and 4 upcoming which would take them to the 2 minute warning after, however a false start turned it into a 3rd and 9 and their pass fell incomplete and meant Maddox Trujillo would attempt a 46 yard FG to extend the lead to 8. He converted, extending the Temple lead to 15-7 meaning FAU would have to go the length of the field, score a TD and convert a 2 point conversion with 2 timeouts and their 3rd string QB.
Tyriq Starks and company went to work, as on the second play of the drive he found CJ Campbell for a gain of 31 on a dumpoff pass which jolted this offense and moved them past mid field. On the next play, Starks took a deep shot to Hayes and drew pass interference which moved FAU down to the Temple 24. On 4th and 3 with the game on the line, Starks rolled out and threw a prayer to Omari Hayes down the right sideline and it was caught as Hayes made an incredible toe-tapping catch which moved FAU to the Temple 8. A few play later after Starks scrambled down to the one, Campbell carried it in from one yard out which brought the game within 2, 15-13, pending a 2 point conversion. The Owls went with a philly special, as Campbell flipped to Hayes on a fake jet-option and Hayes found a wide-open Starks in the corner of the endzone to tie the game at 15, which was our score heading into OT.
Overtime
The Owls started off overtime picking up a first down with 10 straight scrimmage yards from CJ Campbell, however after that Temple responded. Temple stuffed Campbell on 1st and 10 and then second Starks on second and third down, which set up a lengthy 40 yard attempt for Morgan Suarez. He missed wide-left and Temple was set up to put themselves in position to kick a desirable field goal and win.
They did that, as Littleton gained 11 and put them in position for a 39 yard Trujillo field goal and he drilled it, sealing a Temple 18-15 victory and sending FAU into heartbreak as they fought to come back but fell short.