In gut-wrenching fashion, the Florida Atlantic University Owls (0-1) dropped their season opener Friday night against the Michigan State University Spartans (1-0) 16-10. 

The Owl defense played their hearts out, holding MSU to just 14 offensive points while forcing three turnovers, giving the team every chance to win. 

“The defense [was] keeping us in the game; the offense knew we weren’t getting pushed around. They [MSU] weren’t playing with more intensity than us,” said FAU head coach Tom Herman. “I think at half time they kind of realized that and went out and did their job with a little bit more consistency, which was good to see. The way they played most of the second half gave me a lot of hope for going into next week.”

Although tasked with playing a power-conference opponent at home for the season’s first game, FAU didn’t look outmatched by their Big Ten foe. The Owls had the win in their hands with an opportunity to put together a game-winning drive but fell short. 

“It was awesome,” said Herman, referencing the atmosphere. “I have some really good memories from this place; I have them from today, too. When they were playing Journey in between the third and fourth quarter, I grabbed Cam [Fancher] and said, ‘Look around; you have 70,000 people nervous because you’re six points going into the fourth quarter away from winning this.’” 

Recap

On the first play, transfer defensive back Kahzir “Buggs” Brown intercepted MSU quarterback Aidan Chiles on a wild juggling catch near the sideline. Brown could barely keep control and get one foot down in bounds. Initially ruled incomplete, the referees reviewed the footage and overturned the play, setting up FAU’s offense with momentum and great field position. The Owls offense couldn’t take advantage and quickly went three and out.

After a few first downs, MSU’s second drive of the night eventually stalled and they downed their punt at FAU’s one-yard line, which was the worst-case scenario for the Owl offense. 

On their second down of five, the Owls dialed up a play-action pass right next to their own goal line. This led to Spartan defensive lineman D’Quan Douse blowing by the offensive line and meeting FAU quarterback Cam Fancher in the backfield almost immediately for a safety, giving MSU a 2-0 lead. 

MSU needed a big fourth-down conversion to march into the red zone, with the prospect of scoring its first touchdown. On a screen pass to Spartan wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr., FAU defensive back Michal Antoine Jr. forced a fumble. The Owls defensive back Jayden Williams recovered the ball.

After the turnover, FAU’s offense finally started to find a rhythm, fueled by two big Fancher runs and two costly penalties on MSU. On the third big run of the drive, MSU defensive back Malik Spencer came flying in and leveled Fancher. Spencer launched himself face-first into the sliding Fancher. Fancher’s helmet came flying off and he momentarily remained on the ground.

Spencer was ejected for targeting, and Fancher had to come out of the game due to a rule that requires players who lose their helmets to come out for one play. The single play was all Fancher needed before he was right back in the game. A miscommunication occurred between Fancher and wide receiver Milan Tucker resulting in an interception. 

Quick support came from FAU’s defense, forcing a three-and-out after the turnover. However, FAU’s offense shot themselves in the foot when Fancher launched the ball into double coverage and right into the arms of Spartan defensive back Nikai Martinez. Martinez returned it 41 yards to FAU’s 18 yard-line.The Owls started their defensive stand in the red zone. Off a well-designed quarterback draw, Chiles broke free of the defense and walked into the end zone, bringing MSU’s lead to 9-0. 

The offense continued their cold streak with another three and out. Missed assignments and miscommunications on the offensive line were consistent mistakes for the Owl offense that kept blowing up their plans for success. 

On the very first play of the next drive, MSU running back Kay’ron Lynch-Adams took it 63 yards. He followed by bouncing through a hole on the line and splitting the middle of the field.  Lynch-Adams burst past the two wide safeties relatively untouched into the end zone to make it a 16-0 game.

FAU put some points on the board on the next drive. It took a few more good runs by Fancher and another personal foul on MSU, making it 16-3 on a 43-yard field goal by kicker Morgan Suarez. The defense bounced back on the next possession and forced another punt. More missed assignments on the offensive line led to a punt on FAU’s final drive before the half.

To start off the second half, MSU began with two straight 15-yard penalties to put FAU on their side of the 50. After a few more first downs, Fancher was sacked yet again on third down, turning a 35-yard field goal attempt into a 44-yarder. Suarez nailed a 43-yarder, but it would be junior kicker Carter Davis who trotted onto the field for the attempt, which he ended up missing wide right.

The next MSU drive had five straight runs set up a play-action pass that took them down to FAU’s seven. On third down, Chiles’ pass to Foster Jr. was late and transfer defensive back Phillip Dunnam jumped the route for a huge interception. 

“It was awesome; we needed it,” said Herman. 

Dunnam returned the interception 58 yards into MSU territory, setting the offense up with an opportunity to score once again. 

Another personal foul on MSU saved what looked like an immediate turnover on downs for FAU. This time, it was a facemask. As FAU got into the red zone, they faced a fourth-and-one. Fancher rolled out to his right side on a fake play and found Jayshon Platt wide-open for a touchdown. Both defenders crashed on wide receiver Omari Hayes in the flat. 

With the score now 16-10 and all the momentum on FAU’s side, MSU was able to gain some of their own with a few big runs by Lynch-Adams and a DPI on FAU This got them back into the red zone. On fourth and one at FAU’s nine-yard line with 10:44 left in the game, they opted to go for it. On a run up the middle, Lynch-Adams was met by seniors Jackson Ambush and Chisom Ifeanyi for a huge fourth down stop by the Owls defense. Ambush was all over the field Friday night, finishing the game with 10 tackles and that huge fourth-down play.

On FAU’s next drive, Hayes broke free over the middle for a 28-yard gain, leading the Owls onto MSU’s side of the ball. The Owls were faced with a huge fourth-and-two, but the offensive line let them down once again. Defensive tackle Anthony Jones sacked Fanchers to turn the ball over on downs. 

The defense forced another three and out and put the ball into the offense’s hands with a chance to take the lead. 

On fourth and one with 3:27 remaining, Fancher scrambled towards the first-down marker, where he slid down extremely close to the line to gain. Originally, the officials called targeting on the play and gave the Owls a first down. MSU also received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Due to the penalty’s 30 yards, it seemed like FAU would have the ball deep inside MSU’s territory. 

After review, the referees saw that there was no targeting on the play and that Fancher started his slide short of the line to gain. This led to a turnover on downs and a dead-ball penalty. 

“How that wasn’t targeting, I’m a little confused,” admitted Herman after the game.

The Owls’ defense shined once again, forcing a quick three-and-out to give the offense another chance to win. The first play for FAU was a sack, which led them to convert on fourth and eight as Hayes found room over the middle for a 21-yard gain. 

Another sack by MSU led to a fourth-and-14 for the Owls with 1:29 left on the clock when they called their final timeout. 

With the game on the line, Fancher was met with immediate pressure, forcing him to desperately launch the ball no more than a few yards in front of him and fall to the ground. The Spartans gained the ball and took the knee to secure their 16-10 win over the Owls. 

Florida Atlantic will return home to play Army West Point Black Knights (1-0) on Sept. 7 at noon.

John Burke is a contributing writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email him at [email protected].