Owl-ch: Tulsa Surrenders 50 To Lowly Florida Atlantic In Ugly Loss

Florida Atlantic jumped out to a quick start, scoring 17 points in the first eight minutes, and went on for a 50-21 victory over Tulsa in front of 14,112 fans at FAU Stadium Saturday night.

Two first-half Tulsa turnovers, one which was returned for a touchdown and one that stopped a Hurricane drive at the FAU four-yard line late in the first half, as well as three first-half FAU offensive plays covering over 50 yards, including two for touchdowns, doomed the Golden Hurricane in a first half that saw the Owls put up a 33-7 lead.

Tulsa gave up 50 points for the second straight week, while the Hurricane gave away three turnovers in dropping to 1-2 on the season, while FAU improved to 1-2.

FAU ended the game with 518 total yards, as 177 yards came on the ground and 341 yards came through the air. FAU's Jaquez Johnson completed 15-of-20 passes for 318 yards and three TDs, while rushing for 18 yards and one TD on the day. Dane Evans finished the day for Tulsa with 269 yards and one touchdown on 24-of-49 passing, while Zach Langer and John Flanders each had 48 rushing yards.

Tulsa put the first second-half points on the scoreboard as Mandel Dixon's three-yard TD run capped a 56-yard, five-play drive in 1:37 to bring Tulsa to within 19 points at 33-14 with 8:01 remaining in the third quarter. However, whatever hope the Hurricane might have gathered with that touchdown ended as FAU scored the next 17 points.

The Owls responded with a 76-yard, nine-play drive on their subsequent possession as Johnson ran in from five yards out for the touchdown and a 40-14 lead. FAU added three points with a 41-yard field goal for a 43-14 lead on a five-play, 19-yard drive. The Owls added another seven points at the 11:57 mark of the fourth quarter on a Greg Hankerson nine-yard touchdown toss to Derek Moise, capping a 34-yard drive, and putting the Owls ahead 50-14.

The Hurricane added a score with 6:52 left in the contest as Langer's three-yard TD run capped a 14-play, 73-yard drive, cutting the FAU lead to 50-21.

In the first half, the game wasn't six minutes old, and FAU had already taken a 10-0 lead at the 9:24 mark of the first quarter and built their lead to 17 points with just a little over seven minutes remaining in the first 15 minutes.

FAU took its opening possession 75 yards in eight plays as a key 59-yard third down pass took the Owls to the Tulsa six-yard line, but the Hurricane defense held FAU to just three points on a 21-yard Greg Joseph field goal.

On FAUs next possession, Jaquez Johnson hit William Dukes on a 74-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage for a quick 10-0 lead for the home team.

The Owls converted an onside kick on the subsequent kickoff and recovered the ball at their own 45-yard line, but the Hurricane defense forced an FAU punt. FAU, however on Tulsa's drive, took a tipped pass off the hands of a Hurricane receiver 23 yards by D'Joun Smith for another Owl touchdown and a 17-0 lead with 7:09 left in the first quarter.

The first quarter ended with FAU ahead 17-0 on the scoreboard and holding a 178 to 33-yard advantage in total offense.

Tulsa scored its first points of the game at the 10:35 mark of the second period, capping a 10-play, 89-yard drive in 4:13. Evans threw the final nine yards to Conner Floyd in the end zone for the TD. The Tulsa scoring drive was aided by a 23-yard pass completion to Keyarris Garrett and a 33-yard completion to Keevan Lucas to the FAU six-yard line.

On FAUs subsequent drive, Lucky Whitehead took the opening play from scrimmage 47 yards to the Tulsa 28-yard line, and the Owls got to the Tulsa 13-yard but the Hurricane forced an FAU field goal that went wide left, holding the Owls to 17 points with 8:15 remaining in the first half.

However, Tulsa mustered no offense on its subsequent drive and gave up a two-play, 47-yard drive as the Owls took a 24-7 lead on a 14-yard TD pass to Alex Deleon at the 6:16 mark of the second period. The Owls scored two points on a safety when Evans had an intentional grounding call from the end zone on a 19-yard loss, thus giving FAU a 26-6 lead with 5:37 left on the first-half clock.

FAU added seven more points on a 59-yard pass to Jenson Stoshak with 3:30 remaining in the first half, as the play covered 69 yards in four plays.

At intermission, FAU held a 362 to 174-yard edge in total offense, while putting up 243 passing yards and 119 yards on the ground. The Hurricane rushed for 60 first-half yards and passed for 114 yards.

Tulsa will be off next Saturday, before hosting Texas State on Saturday, Sept. 27, at H.A. Chapman Stadium.