--- This is it. The conference championship game essentially, as both the Owls and Golden Panthers enter the game with a 5-1 record in the Sun Belt Conference. This game as so many implications. A chance at an outright conference title, it’s against our hated rivals, and we have more than a handful of recruits attending the game, and it’s a chance at revenge after the Owls beat us last season. So much rides on the line today, so much at stake. It was a sunny afternoon in Miami, so weather would have no effect on this contest. Florida Atlantic won the coin toss and elected to kick, putting the ball in the hands of our offense to get us started out right.
Our offense did exactly that, as Darrian Mallary plowed through the middle of the line on 1st down to get an immediate 9 yard gain. Unfortunately, that promising start came with a huge penalty, as Mallary was injured on the play, suffering an abdominal tear that would sideline him for a week, ending his day on the field just 30 seconds into the contest. Jerermiah Harden proved more than ready to fill Mallary’s shoes, breaking a 12 yard run on 2nd down to give us a first down. Forcing the Owls to shut us down on the ground, we ran the ball on the first five straight plays of the game, advancing the ball 39 yards down to the Florida Atlantic 35 yard line, before we finally threw our first pass of the game. Unfortunately, our drive would come to an end as we were only able to get 5 yards on 3rd and 6 from the FAU 22 yard line, forcing us to settle for a 35 yard field goal.
Florida Atlantic’s first offensive drive started to bring back memories of Arkansas State, as they passed and ran their way all over our defense, before a 33 yard pass got them all the way down to our 4 yard line. Thankfully, a sack, a run for a loss of 4 yards, and an incomplete pass forced the Owls to instead walk away with only a 26 yard field goal, knotting the game up at 3 points apiece. Unlike the Arkansas State game, Jake Medlock this time proved his useful self, throwing decent passes and not throwing any interceptions, as we proceeded to work our way from our 25 yard line clear down to the Florida Atlantic 23 with a mix of passing and rushing, along with a couple key 3rd down conversions, before the clock ran out on the first quarter.
The beginning of the second quarter found us facing 2nd and 10 on the 23 yard line. Unfortunately, that would be the closest we would get as two incomplete passes, including a pass to a wide open Glenn Coleman in the front of the end zone that was overthrown, and we were forced to settle for another field goal, this one from 40 yards out. However, our offense got new life as Florida Atlantic fumbled the ball on the first play of their offensive drive, which was pounced on by cornerback Terrance Taylor, giving us new life at the FAU 19 yard line. Unfortunately, we were again forced to settle for a field goal as we would only get as close as the Owls 2 yard line, after which Coach Cristobal elected to kick the 19 yard field goal rather than let us attempt the touchdown, making it 9-3 with 6:56 left to play in the half.
Florida Atlantic’s offense meanwhile were unable to get anything going after the fumble on their previous drive, being hit with a false start penalty and a couple incomplete passes, forcing them to punt the ball away. A short punt, and punting from their 15 yard line, meant great field position for our offense, as we began our next drive from the 39 yard line. However, we too would end up going three and out, and punted the ball right back to the Owls. Florida Atlantic would take advantage this time, using passes of 32, 19, and 19 yards to get into our red zone, before an 8 yard touchdown pass from David Kooi to Deandre Richardson gave the Owls a 10-9 lead with 3:38 left to play in the second quarter.
Our offense remained on a cold streak, getting to our 40 yard line before being forced to punt the ball away. The defense at first gave up a 14 yard pass right off the bat to the Owls offense on the next drive, however two dropped passes and an incomplete pass, and the Owls were shut down and had to punt the ball back. A couple of short passes got our offense moving down the field, slowly, but surely. Then Medlock was able to connect with Elijah Maxey for 26 yards, advancing the ball clear down to the Owls 28 yard line with 1:37 left to play. It was the next play where the Owls made a fatal mistake, blitzing their entire linebacker corps, leaving the middle of the field wide open for Medlock to hit Harden, who took it 28 yards, untouched, to the end zone. An extra point later, and we were back on top, 16-10 with 1:23 left in the quarter. Unfortunately, the Owls weren’t done, connecting on passes 9, 12, 5, and 34 yards, before retaking the lead on a 12 yard touchdown pass to Williams, giving the Owls a 17-16 lead with 12 seconds left to play. Getting the ball back with 1 second left, we attempted a hail mary, but the pass was knocked down at the FAU 30 yard line, and that was the end of the half.
The beginning of the second half, the Owls came out firing on first down, picking up an immediate 1st down with a 10 yard pass. That was all they would get though as a holding penalty on 2nd and 8 would unravel their drive, forcing them to punt two plays later. On our first offensive play, Harden showed what a beast he is, breaking a 12 yard rush out to our 24 yard line, gaining those last 5 yards by dragging three Owls players with him before finally falling down for the 1st down. After a pair of incomplete passes, the Owls had a massive breakdown in their coverage, letting Coleman get behind their secondary, something Medlock took full advantage of, dropping a pass right into Coleman’s hands, who took the ball the entire 76 yards for the touchdown. Putting us back up by 5, Cristobal elected to go for the two point conversion, which was successfully converted as Medlock found Dominique Rhymes in the corner of the end zone, giving us a 24-17 lead with 7:13 to play in the 3rd quarter.
Feeling the pressure, the Owls offense were unable to get anything going, gaining only two yards on their ensuing offensive drive, before they were forced to punt the ball back to us. After a 3 yard rush and a 9 yard pass gave us a new set of downs at our 45 yard line, we went exclusively to Harden and the ground game, rushing the ball 8 straight plays all the way down to the FAU 9 yard line, forcing the Owls to stop us on the ground before we finally went back to the air. On 3rd and 4, although Harden was wide open across the middle, Medlock threw the pass too far ahead of him, the ball falling incomplete, and forcing us to kick a 26 yard field goal to extend our lead to 10 points with 3:02 left in the third quarter. The Owls offense needed only 7 plays to drive the ball 73 yards, using passes of 10 and 35 yards along the way, before scoring on a 5 yard rush from Javaris Giles, making it a 3 point game with 1:18 left to play in the quarter.
We once again went exclusively on the ground, forcing the Owls to stop our ground game, as we ran the ball four straight plays, advancing the ball from our 25 yard line to the Florida Atlantic 42 yard line, thanks in part to an 18 yard rush by Harden, before the clock ran out on the third quarter. Facing 2nd and 7 to start the fourth quarter, we finally took back to the air, which was a mistake as Medlock threw two incomplete passes, bringing our drive to an end just 10 seconds into the quarter. Thankfully, our defense rose to the occasion, getting a pair of sacks on Kooi, killing the Owls offensive drive before it had any chance to get going. Even better, it was a short punt, giving us the ball back at our own 42 yard line. We would only need a couple plays to make the drive a successful one, as Medlock was able to get a pass to Rhymes on 2nd and 7, who took it 49 yards down to the FAU 5 yard line. Two rushes later, and we found the end zone again as Coleman fell in from 3 yards out, extending our lead back to 10 points with 6:49 left to play in the game.
Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell our defense that the game was still going on, as Florida Atlantic needed just five plays to respond with a touchdown, throwing passes of 35, 22, 13, 5 and 9 yards to tighten the score back to 3 points with 5:37 left in the game. Our offense was unable to get those points back either, only advancing the ball 6 yards before punting it away with 4:06 left to play. We however got lucky, as Taylor added an interception to his earlier fumble recovery, picking off Kooi on the Owls first play from scrimmage, giving us the ball at the FAU 25 yard line. A huge 17 yard pass to Maxey on 3rd and 10 kept our drive alive, giving us new life at the FAU 8 yard line with 3:32 left to play. It took Harden just one play to find the end zone again, as he got a hole up the middle and took it 8 yards for the touchdown, giving us once again a 10 point lead with 3:02 left.
Facing a two score hole with little time left, the Owls committed yet another mistake, as Kooi threw yet another first down interception, making it two passes in a row by Kooi getting picked off, this one by Emmanuel Souarin, who returned it 26 yards down to the FAU 19 yard line, giving us a new set of downs with 2:42 left to play. We went immediately back to the ground, trying to chew up as much clock as we could. Three rushes were all we would get, as Harden got stopped for only a one yard gain on 3rd and 3, forcing us to attempt a field goal, which ended up getting blocked, leaving us with no points gained with 1:37 left to play.
Florida Atlantic knew time was short, using passes of 8, 25, 24, 8, and 5 yards, along with a 4 yard rush, to find the end zone on a 5 yard pass to Richardson, making it 41-38 with 37 seconds left to play. The Owls attempted an onside kick, knowing they had to recover it as they only had one time out left, but we were able to recover it, giving us possession on the FAU 44 yard line with 33 seconds left to play. Two rushes of 11 and 12 yards by Harden was all it took for the clock to run out, giving us a 41-38 victory over our hated rivals, our first win against Florida Atlantic since 2005, snapping a 6 game losing streak to the Owls.
With the win, we improve to 8-3 on the year, 6-1 in the Sun Belt Conference, and in the process, secure at least a share of our second ever conference championship. If we win next week over Louisiana-Lafayette, we'll win the title outright. With the loss, Florida Atlantic drops to 5-6 for the year, 5-2 in the conference. Next up, in our season finale, we hit the road to take on Louisiana-Lafayette, who is 2-9 on the year, 1-6 in the Sun Belt. The Ragin' Cajuns opened their year with a 34-31 overtime win against Stony Brook, before going on a 7 game losing streak, losing 27-15 to Akron, 38-3 at Connecticut, 52-17 at Ohio State, 35-31 at North Texas, 14-7 at Mid Tennessee State, 30-27 in overtime to Western Kentucky, and 45-7 at Troy. They finally got a second win against their rivals Louisiana-Monroe, 38-21, before losing 43-20 to Florida Atlantic and 42-25 to Arkansas State.
Looking at the conference standings, we have at least a share of the title, with our game against Louisiana-Lafayette remaining. Troy's season is done, sitting at 6-2 in the conference. Florida Atlantic still has a chance at a share, sitting at 5-2 in the conference with their final against at home against Arkansas State. North Texas has been eliminated, after they lost 27-20 to Louisiana-Monroe this week to fall to 4-3.
Looking at the newest bowl projections, we are still projected to play in the New Orleans Bowl, and now projected to play 7-5 SMU. Elsewhere in the conference, Arkansas State is projected to play in the Armed Forces Bowl against 6-6 Mississippi State, and Troy is projected to play in the Godaddy.com bowl against 8-4 Miami University. Florida Atlantic has been dropped from the bowl projections since last week.
Final Score
41,
38
Stat(s) of the Game:
- FIU Offense – Another two-headed monster game. Our running game tallied up 200 yards, Medlock was decent today, but still had a lot of stupid passes or passes that were completely overthrown or underthrown. Thankfully, no interceptions today.
- FIU Defense – Our defense is really beginning to worry me. They were a rock earlier in the season, but these last couple games, while making decent stops here and there and, for the most part, when needed, they have been giving up big plays more and more often lately.
- FIU Kicker Jack Griffin – An almost perfect day, going 4-5 on field goals, 40 yard being Griffin's longest, 3 for 3 on extra points.
Scoring Summary
Team |
1st Quarter |
2nd Quarter |
3rd Quarter |
4th Quarter |
Final Score |
|
3 |
14 |
7 |
14 |
38 |
|
3 |
13 |
11 |
14 |
41 |
Time |
Team |
Result |
Play |
Score |
First Quarter |
5:57 |
|
Field Goal |
J. Griffin, 34 yard field goal |
3-0 |
2:59 |
|
Field Goal |
V. Zaccario, 25 yard field goal |
TIED 3-3 |
|
Second Quarter |
8:52 |
|
Field Goal |
J. Griffin, 39 yard field goal |
6-3 |
6:59 |
|
Field Goal |
J. Griffin, 19 yard field goal |
9-3 |
3:38 |
|
Touchdown |
D. Richardson, 13 yard pass from D. Kooi (V. Zaccario kick) |
10-9 |
1:23 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Harden, 28 yard pass from J. Medlock (J.Griffin kick) |
16-10 |
0:12 |
|
Touchdown |
D. Williams, 12 yard pass from D. Kooi (V. Zaccario kick) |
17-16 |
|
Third Quarter |
7:13 |
|
Touchdown |
G. Coleman, 76 yard pass from J. Medlock (2 point conversion successful) |
24-17 |
3:05 |
|
Field Goal |
J. Griffin, 26 yard field goal |
27-17 |
1:18 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Giles, 5 yard run (V. Zaccario kick) |
27-24 |
|
Fourth Quarter |
6:49 |
|
Touchdown |
S. Coleman, 3 yard run (J. Griffin kick) |
34-24 |
5:37 |
|
Touchdown |
M. Cunningham, 8 yard pass from D. Kooi (V. Zaccario kick) |
34-31 |
3:02 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Harden, 8 yard run (J. Griffin kick) |
41-31 |
0:37 |
|
Touchdown |
D. Richardson, 5 yard pass from D. Kooi (V. Zaccario kick) |
41-38 |
Game Stats
Florida Atlantic |
Stat |
Florida International |
38 |
Score |
41 |
20 |
First Downs |
21 |
505 |
Total Offense |
505 |
20 - 58 - 1 |
Rushes - Yards - TD |
40 - 200- 2 |
31 - 53 - 4 |
Comp - Att - TD |
16 - 36 - 2 |
447 |
Passing Yards |
305 |
3 |
Times Sacked |
0 |
9 - 16 (56%) |
3rd Down Conversion |
5 - 14 (35%) |
1 - 1 (100%) |
4th Down Conversion |
0 - 0 (0%) |
0 - 0 (0%) |
2-Point Conv |
1 - 1 (100%) |
6 - 5 - 1 (100%) |
Red Zone - TD - FG |
9 - 2 - 3 (55%) |
3 |
Turnovers |
0 |
1 |
Fumbles Lost |
0 |
2 |
Intercepted |
0 |
0 |
Punt Return Yards |
24 |
187 |
Kick Return Yards |
98 |
692 |
Total Yards |
627 |
5 – 45.6 |
Punts - Average |
4 - 46.3 |
4 - 22 |
Penalties |
6 - 44 |
14:40 |
Time of Possession |
21:20 |
Florida International Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact |
Goal |
Progress |
Pass Impact |
|
500+ rushing yards in each season |
2/3 Passed |
|
|
Win 8 games in one season |
|
|
|
2000+ total offensive yards in each season |
2/3 Passed |
|
|
7+ passing TD in one season |
|
|
|
10+ points per game in each season |
35 PPG |
|
|
2400+ total offensive yards in one season |
|
|
|
Win 4 games in one season |
|
|
|
2000+ total offensive yards in one season |
|
|
Job Security Status
69%
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