Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
FAU comeback falls short
AMHERST, N.Y. — Florida Atlantic and coach Lane Kiffin couldn’t carry over the momentum from their first win of the season in Saturday night’s 34-31 loss at Buffalo.
Buffalo’s backup quarterback, Drew Anderson, led three second half scoring drives and threw a late touchdown to lead the Bulls (2-2).
Coming off a record 439 yards rushing in last week’s win over Bethune-Cookman, the Owls (1-3) ran for 262 more yards on Saturday and averaged 7.1 yards per carry. Devin Singletary led the way with 156 yards and three touchdowns. Kerrith Whyte Jr. rushed for 72 yards and a score.
But the passing offense struggled, and the Owls defense gave up 458 yards.
Jason Driskel replaced Daniel Parr as the starting quarterback and was 17 of 29 passing for 150 yards and an interception.
The Owls also played without last week’s leading rusher, Gregory Howell Jr., and top tackler Azeez AlShaair.
FAU trailed 27-17 early in the fourth quarter before scoring a touchdown and forcing a punt. The comeback run stalled when Singletary was stopped inches short of a first down on a 4th-and-3 run with 2:51 remaining.
Two plays later, Anderson threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Johnson to give the Bulls a 34-24 lead.
Singletary scored on a 1-yard run to get the Owls within a field goal with 1:13 left to play after Kamrin Solomon made a 23-yard reception. Buffalo recovered the ensuing onside kick.
After the Owls punted on their first three drives of the second half, Singletary scored his second touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run to cut Buffalo’s lead to 27-24 with 7:30 left in the game. Driskel kept the 65-yard drive alive by connecting with tight end Harrison Bryant to convert a third down and finding DeAndre McNeal on a fourth down rollout pass.
Theo Anderson’s 7-yard touchdown run put Buffalo ahead with 2:17 left in the third quarter and Adam Mitcheson made a 42-yard field goal with 10:54 remaining. Drew Anderson completed 5 of 6 passes for 75 yards on the two drives, which combined to take up 10:27 of game time.
Buffalo’s starting quarterback, Tyree Jackson, was knocked out of the game with a knee injury after taking a hit from Owls linebacker Quran Hafiz on a scramble in the final minute of first half.
The Owls scored 17 straight points to take the lead midway through the second quarter after falling behind 14-0 early.
Driskell threw an interception on FAU’s first possession, but the Owls ground game found traction on the second drive. Kerrith Whyte Jr. scored his first touchdown of the season, running off the left end for 37 yards to make it 14-7 with 3:19 left in the first quarter.
The Owls needed just 2:05 to drive 92 yards on their next series. Singletary bounced outside for a 34-yard touchdown run that tied the game in the second minute of the second quarter.
Greg Joseph kicked a 35-yard field goal to put FAU ahead 17-14 with 6:35 left in the first half. Singletary appeared to score a 7-yard touchdown on fourth down the play prior, but was called back due to a holding penalty on right tackle Brandon Walton, one of seven infractions the Owls were whistled for in the first half.
FAU came into the game with the nation’s 11th-ranked pass defense, allowing 124.3 yards per game, but gave up 145 yards through the air in the first half on Saturday.
Jackson ran for two touchdowns in the first 9:29 to give Buffalo a 14-0 lead.
Buffalo marched 75 yards on its opening drive and Jackson punched it in from the 1 to make it 7-0 at 10:23 of the first quarter.
Jackson’s second scoring run, from six yards out, came at the end of a 79-yard drive that started when Driskel’s deep pass was intercepted by Buffalo’s Ryan Williamson. Owls defensive tackle Jeremiah Taleni took a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the first play of the series.
The Owls defense stiffened up, allowing a total of 55 yards and forcing punts on each of Buffalo’s next three possessions. Buffalo held the ball for the final 6:35 of the first half and tied the score at 17 on Adam Mitcheson’s 23-yard field goal just before halftime.