South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Owls’ triumph comes with a price attached
QB Robison injures shoulder, doesn’t return vs. Monarchs
NORFOLK, Va. — Florida Atlantic left S.B. Ballard Stadium on Saturday night with a blowout win — and some major injury concerns.
The Owls thumped host ODU 41-3 but lost starting quarterback Chris Robison to injury in the second quarter. He didn’t return and the extent of his injury was unknown.
Robison, who passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, appeared to injure his left (non-throwing) shoulder on a scramble right before halftime.
Sophomore Nick Tronti took over for Robison and passed for 57 yards and a touchdown in the second half.
The undermanned Owls (5-3, 3-1) didn’t let up on the gas, scoring 17 points in the second half to hand the Monarchs (1-7, 0-4) their seventh straight loss.
Deangelo Antoine scored on a 48-yard run, and Willie Wright added a 22-yard catch-and-run for a score to pad FAU’s lead in the second half. Vladimir Rivas booted a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Owls coach Lane Kiffin expressed concern earlier this week that his team was not respecting ODU enough with the effort it was showing in practice. He wasn’t sure how that would translate to the Owls’ performance against the Monarchs, but it turned out Kiffin had no reason to be worried.
The Owls thoroughly dominated the
game, outgaining ODU 430-204. Defensively, FAU recorded a season-high six sacks and had 12 tackles for a loss.
The Owls, who improved to 3-0 all time at ODU, are now one win away from bowl eligibility and are still alive in the Conference USA championship race.
Robison was injured on the penultimate play of the first half on a 5-yard scramble. He was tended to by trainers and left the game with seconds left in the quarter.
Rivas booted 25-yard field goal a short time later to give FAU a 24-3 lead.
FAU also lost starting running back Malcolm Davidson to injury two plays earlier. He left and didn’t return.
The Owls were in control from the start, leading 14-0 in the first quarter and
24-3 at the half.
FAU took advantage of a short field to strike first midway through the first quarter. Tight end John Raine snagged a
15-yard touchdown pass from Robison to cap a four-play drive that started at the ODU 36 thanks to a shanked Monarchs punt.
FAU pushed its lead to 14-0 on a drive that consumed much more real estate. The Owls covered 82 yards in seven plays, completing the possession with a 21-yard touchdown run by Davidson.
ODU got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter on a 30-yard Nick Rice field goal.
Robison connected with tight end Harrison Bryant on a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to make it 21-3. Bryant caught the pass in front of the goal line and powered through ODU defenders to reach the end zone.