The Florida Atlantic Owls (2-4, 0-2 AAC) blew a 10-point lead in the last three minutes of the game against the North Texas Mean Green (5-1, 2-0 AAC). Even with the rain, the game was a shootout between the Owls and the Mean Green. However, the Owls eventually lost this offensive duel 41-37.

The Owls produced 519 total yards on offense, but that wasn’t enough to make up for the 484 yards and 41 points let up by the defense. The Owl offense was in position to win the game with under two minutes remaining if they converted one more first down.

“It’s always tough losing a game like that,” running back CJ Campbell Jr. said. “Just knowing that we get one more first down the game is over with and I guess we didn’t execute good enough on the offensive side of the ball to get that first down.”

After the game-leading score late in the game from the Mean Green, the Owls had 55 seconds left to potentially win the game. Unfortunately for the Owls, quarterback Cam Fancher threw the game-ending interception to confirm the Mean Green win. 

Even with the interception, Fancher had an impressive game. He threw for a career-high 351 yards, three touchdowns and rushed for 69 yards. Of the 519 total yards on offense, Fancher produced 420 of those yards. 

“I saw the guy that we recruited,” Herman said. “I saw a guy that knew he was one of, if not the best, player on the field and he went out and was that. That was really really fun to see, he needed a game like this…he played really good.”

Even with FAU’s fourth loss, head coach Tom Herman remains optimistic about the team. He pointed out the positives from this game.

“I’m not mad,” Herman said. “For huge periods, huge stretches, we played tonight like a championship American Athletic Conference team should play and I was really proud of that. We haven’t seen that in a year and a half, guys, against a really really good team.”

On Oct. 19, the Owls head on the road to play the University of Texas-San Antonio (2-4, 0-2 AAC) at 3:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN +.

Recap

The Owls won the coin toss and decided to start the game on defense. The Mean Green started things off with a pass from quarterback Chandler Morris to tight end Oscar Hammond for 19 yards to get to their own 43-yard line. 

The Mean Green drove down the field with ease, dicing the Owls’ defense using both the run and the pass. After a successful fourth-and-two conversion by the Mean Green, Morris completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to receiver Dalton Carnes to make the score 7-0.

The Owls answered right back with a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Omari Hayes on the right corner of the endzone. Campbell Jr. carried the drive with 48 of the 75 total yards on this possession including a 31-yard rush up the middle to get into Mean Green territory that set up the passing touchdown, 7-7.

On the second offensive possession for the Mean Green, the Owls got a defensive stop. However, Hayes muffed the punt and North Texas recovered the ball to start at FAU’s 25-yard line.

Immediately after that disaster, Morris threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nick Rempert. The Mean Green took a 14-7 lead with 5:11 remaining in the first quarter. 

Fancher stepped up on the next possession making multiple highlight plays. He took the Owls to mid-field with a 27-yard rush to the left and then saved the drive on third-and-18. Fancher evaded the sack and found tight end Wyatt Sullivan for a 38-yard completion. 

The drive ended with kicker Morgan Suarez making a 26-yard field goal to bring the score to 14-10 with 14:19 remaining in the second quarter. 

After the Owls forced the Mean Green’s first three-and-out of the game, the Owls had an opportunity to take the lead. After driving to the Mean Green’s 28-yard line, Fancher handed the ball to Campbell who then handed it to Hayes. Hayes pitched it back to Fancher who threw to a wide open Sullivan for the 28-yard touchdown reception. The Owls successfully performed a reverse flea flicker to take the lead. The score was 17-14 with 7:34 remaining in the first half. 

“I knew I wanted to call it at some point on that drive because we’ve been kind of setting that up with some formation in the boundaries, some wide zone and it was second and 12…it felt like the right time,” Herman said.

The Mean Green immediately responded with a 39-yard completion to wide receiver Wyatt Young to get to the Owls’ 41-yard line. However, the Mean Green weren’t able to move the ball much after this play and kicker Kali Nguma made a 46-yard field goal to tie the game 17-17 with 4:40 remaining in the half. 

On the next possession, the Owls drove down the field once again with the Fancher and Hayes duo. They produced two receptions for 43 yards and set up the Owls offense in the red zone. 

With 1:20 remaining in the first half, Fancher saw wide receiver Jabari Smith running across the back of the endzone and threw it toward him. Smith caught the ball and tapped one foot inbounds for a five-yard touchdown reception. The Owls took their second lead of the night with a score of 24-17 with 1:20 remaining in the first half. 

After an 11-yard rush from running back Shane Porter, the Mean Green offense fizzled out and had to convert a fourth and four. Morris threw an incompletion and the Owls were taking over at their own 48-yard line with 30 seconds remaining in the half. 

Fancher threw a quick, short pass to Campbell who started to run into a sea of Mean Green defenders. However, Campbell broke multiple tackles and rumbled to the North Texas 15-yard line. 

After not being able to get into the endzone, Suarez kicked a 32-yard field goal for the Owls to take a 10-point lead. The score was 27-17 at halftime and the Owls would have possession to start the second half. 

The Owls were able to reach the Mean Green 35-yard line, but could not convert a fourth-and-five to gain a new set of downs. The Mean Green offense took over and immediately drove to the red zone with a 37-yard completion to wide receiver DT Sheffield. Running back Makenzie McGill II ended it with a 3-yard run into the endzone.

The Mean Green closed the score gap to make the score 27-24 with 9:21 remaining in the third quarter.

On third and nine, Fancher snapped the ball and then started to take off. At the last second, however, Fancher threw the ball to wide receiver Milan Tucker for the 52-yard completion. Unfortunately for the Owls, that highlight play would not matter as kicker Carter Davis missed the 51-yard field goal. 

The Mean Green started the drive on their own 33-yard line but ran right into an ambush, specifically, linebacker Jackson Ambush. Morris threw the ball right to Ambush who returned the interception to the 12-yard line. 

“Honestly it was just a great play call by coach Roc [Bellantoni],” Ambush said. “He [the quarterback] didn’t see me right there.” 

Fancher handed the ball off to Campbell who rushed towards the right, spun off a defender and then ran into the endzone. The Owls were leading by 10 once again with a score of 34-24 with 5:06 remaining in the third quarter. 

The Owls defense crumbled on the next possession. The Mean Green quickly got within 10 yards from the endzone, but penalties would be the death of the Mean Green offense on that drive. A holding and illegal formation call took the team out of the red zone and Morris threw three straight incompletions.

Nguma kicked a 40-yard field goal to make the score 34-27 to end the third quarter. 

The start of the fourth quarter didn’t bode well for the Owls offense. They were able to get to mid-field but the Mean Green defense would not budge. Punter Logan Lupo punted to the 1-yard line giving the Mean Green unconventional field position.

The Mean Green converted two first downs, but the Owls defense held strong and forced a turnover on downs at the Mean Green’s 32-yard line. The Owls weren’t able to score a touchdown from this advantageous position, but Suarez made a 32-yard field goal to make the score 37-27 with 4:21 remaining in the game. 

This would be the start of a crazy finish on Howard Schnellenberger Field. After getting to mid-field, Morris passed the ball deep toward the left sideline for wide receiver Dalton Carnes to haul in the 33-yard reception. Defensive back Daedae Hill threw Carnes to the ground after the play was over. This would be called unnecessary roughness and the Mean Green moved from the 15 to 8-yard line. 

Right after the penalty, Morris passed to his right and found Sheffield for the 8-yard touchdown grab to make the score 37-34. The Owls had 2:38 remaining when they started their possession. 

The Owls tried to run the clock out to end the game. They needed two first downs because the Mean Green had three timeouts to stop the clock. The Owls were able to get one first down, however, their offense could not move the ball further than that. 

After two rush attempts that went nowhere, the Owls decided to pass behind the line of scrimmage to Smith which resulted in an incompletion. Lupo punted the ball to Sheffield.

The Mean Green had a chance to take the lead and they did just that. Sheffield returned the punt 27 yards to their own 42-yard line. He added another 19 yards with a reception to get to the Owls 40-yard line. Immediately after, Porter ran 34 yards to get within 10 yards of the endzone. 

Sheffield stepped up at the beginning of this drive and ended it. He caught a 3-yard touchdown pass to help the Mean Green take the lead with a score of 41-37. 

The Owls would have another shot to score with 55 seconds left, but Fancher threw an interception that was caught by North Texas defensive back Jayden Hill to end the game. 

Morgan Larkins is a Staff Writer for the University Press. Email him at [email protected] or DM him on Instagram or Twitter @mj_larkins for more information regarding this or other stories.