Florida Atlantic University’s football team (2-7, 0-5 AAC) fell 49-14 to East Carolina University Pirates (5-4, 3-2 AAC) in monumental fashion.
The Owls have three games left in the season and with yesterday’s loss, they have officially fallen short of bowl game eligibility.
ECU came hot right out of the gate. In the first quarter, they scored 21 points, but for FAU, the real tragedy struck when starting quarterback Cam Fancher suffered a fractured clavicle injury, where he was carted off the field, and was unable to finish the rest of the game.
“I’d imagine that it’ll probably be it for his season,” said head coach Tom Herman.
The Pirates dominated the entirety of the game. They scored on their first drive within 24 seconds and from that moment on they continued with the same level of momentum. ECU quarterback Katin Houser threw for 343 yards and five touchdowns, while FAU’s backup QB Kason Weisman had 188 yards, two touchdown passes and one interception.
“I told the guys in the locker room to those of them that fought till the end that how much I appreciated them and that I apologize to the seniors,” said Herman. “But I remind them that they’re going to remember these last three games for the rest of their lives and for these young guys that are now being thrust into action, these are extremely valuable reps and an opportunity to grow.”
Florida Atlantic’s next game will be at Temple University (2-6, 1-3 AAC) on Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.
Recap
FAU won the coin toss and chose to defer the ball. Houser passed to the right to wide receiver Tyler Savage for 25 yards, reaching the 50-yard line. The next play, Houser set his eyes downfield to wide receiver Chase Sowell, who ran the final 15 yards to make it to the endzone. It took ECU 24 seconds and two plays to gather the first touchdown of the game, 7-0.
On the Owls first drive, running back CJ Campbell Jr. began by rushing to the left for two yards. After a 7-yard completion, Campbell Jr. tried rushing on third-and-one but fell just short of the first down and FAU was forced to punt.
The Pirates started their second drive and running back Rahjai Harris broke through FAU’s defense in three straight runs. On the fourth play of their drive, Houser was given the ball and he threw it downfield to wide receiver Winston Wright Jr., leading to their second touchdown with 10:40 to go in the first quarter.
FAU’s quarterback Cam Fancher passed to wide receiver Omari Hayes for 20 yards. Then Fancher made a 7-yard pass to Campbell Jr., who followed it up with a 2-yard rush. On third-and-one Fancher threw a quick pass straight into the hands of wide receiver Jabari Smith who bobbled the ball for a second until he dropped it.
The Owls called a timeout and they intended to go for the fourth down but got flagged on a false start. Then ECU got called on roughing the kicker which gave the ball back to the Owls and Fancher came back out to go for the fourth-and-one. He handed it to Campbell Jr. who cut inside for a 10-yard rush.
ECU’s defense broke through the offensive line forcing Fancher to scramble out of the pocket and gain five yards. Then Campbell Jr. got dragged down for a 4-yard sack. Pressure came again at Fancher and Pirates had success by sacking him 6-yards, causing a fourth-and-15.
The ball was back in ECU’s hands and on second-and-10 running back Jahari Patterson broke through FAU’s defense and got down to the 35-yard line. Houser quickly passed to the right and Wright Jr. escaped two FAU defenders for a touchdown, 21-0.
On second-and-12. Fancher threw downfield and running back Gemari Sands leaped up to catch it with one hand for 33 yards.
“Zuberi [Mobley] was down, he didn’t travel this week, so I knew I had to step up and I just showed up…I seen the ball in the air, [the] ball mine so I had to get it,” said Sands.
On the next play, Fancher got hit hard and landed hard on his left arm, remaining on the ground for a while until medical staff helped him get up and carted him off the field.
Weisman made his second game appearance after Fancher’s injury. He ran the ball for four yards but FAU was called on holding. Weisman kept the ball again and the QB scrambled to gain six yards. The Owls went for fourth-and-12, Weisman again had to scramble, he gained seven yards but fell short and turned over the ball for the second time on downs.
In the second quarter, the Pirates began their descent downfield again, starting off with a 25-yard pass to Wright Jr. On third-and-one the Owls held their ground and stopped the drive. ECU brought out their field goal team and it just fell short, marking the Owls first stop of the night.
The Owls started from their own 35-yard line. Campbell Jr. rushed up the middle for nine yards to gain the first down. He rushed another three times to reach second-and-five but on the next play he got hit hard and was taken out of the game, but later returned.
Weisman completed a perfect 21-yard pass down the sideline to Smith, placing FAU in the red zone. Sands rushed up the middle for a gain of seven yards. He made another completion to Smith, this time in the endzone and in 12 plays, FAU gained their first touchdown, 21-7.
The teams exchanged failed drives down the field. On ECU’s second play of their drive, Houser made a completion to Smith who ran it 65 yards, outrunning four FAU defenders to the endzone. But, the play was overturned as his knee touched the ground just inches before the goal line. The Pirates remained unphased and Harris lept over FAU’s defensive line to gain the touchdown, 27-7 with 1:19 left in the second quarter.
The Owls started and threw two incomplete passes, a completion came on the third down but tight end Kahil Brantley was short two yards and they were forced to punt.
ECU gained the ball with 47 seconds to go. They made the drive look easy again and by the fourth play Houser decided to keep the ball. He rushed up the middle for 35 yards to gain his first rushing touchdown of the game, 35-7.
Entering half-time, FAU maintained the ball for seven more minutes than ECU. Nevertheless, the Pirates held 418 yards and 15 first downs, over the Owls’ 173 yards with seven first downs.
In the third quarter, the Owls started with the ball. Campbell Jr. began the drive with a 2-yard rush. Weisman slowly began to lead the team downfield with completions, but after a hard hit, he fell on his ankle and had to get taken out.
Entered third-string QB Tyriq Starks, who hasn’t played since last season against Rice University. He quickly made an impact and on first-and-15 ran for 12 yards. But, following the run, he threw a pass that got tipped to ECU’s defensive back Ja’Marley Riddle, leading to an interception.
The Pirates quickly capitalized on the turnover. Harris and Wright slowly chipped away at yards with their run game. Then the ball was placed back in Houser’s hands and he made a deep pass to Smith for their fifth touchdown.
Weisman entered the game again with 7:02 left in the third quarter. He began to pump out completions to lead the team down the field. The Owls got to ECU’s three-yard line and elected to go for it on fourth-and-three. Weisman looked to his left and spotted Hayes but the trajectory was off and he threw an interception.
For the rest of the third quarter the teams exchanged unsuccessful drives. As the fourth quarter began, ECU regained their domination and maintained their drive for 8 minutes. With 8:16 left in the fourth quarter, Houser completed a short 2-yard pass to wide receiver Jayvontay Conner for a touchdown, 49-7.
On FAU’s final drive of the night, Weisman slowly led the team down the field. The drive lasted 6:12 and on third-and-two in the red zone, he threw to Campbell Jr. who pushed into the endzone for the Owls’ second and final touchdown of the night, 49-14.
ECU knelt with 1:07 left in the game and gained their third conference win of the season.
Megan Bruinsma is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories email her at [email protected] or DM her on Instagram @megan_bruinsma or Twitter (X) @MeganBruinsma.
