Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Owls turn ball over 4 times in loss to Eagles
FAU coach Willie Taggart emphasized one thing to starting quarterback Javion Posey and the Owls for their game against Georgia Southern: Don’t turn the ball over.
The message didn’t get its desired results.
In a drastic departure for a Florida Atlantic team that had done a good job of taking care of the ball throughout the season, the Owls’ lack of ball security against the Eagles was their undoing in a 20-3 loss to Georgia Southern Saturday at Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Ga., ending a fourgame win streak.
FAU (5-2, 4-1 Conference USA) committed four turnovers against Georgia Southern (7-4, 4-3 Sun Belt Conference — 6-0 at home) after only having four through its first six games. The Owls ended four consecutive mid-game possessions by giving the ball to the Eagles during crucial possessions in the middle of the game.
“You can’t turn the ball over,” Taggart said. “I told you guys earlier in the week we couldn’t do that, especially going on the road where a team plays very well at home. All the things we talk about each week when it comes to playing to win, our guys didn’t do it and we got the outcome we got.”
Starting quarterback Javion Posey had three of the turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble. The Eagles dominated the time of possession (36:45), which made FAU’s turnovers more costly.
The Owls’ defense held Georgia Southern to 323 yards on 68 plays (4.8 yards per play), but they didn’t overcome the offense’s inability to take care of the ball for their first loss in 1 ½ months.
“Even though we played solid defense,” linebacker Chase Lasater said, “it wasn’t enough to win the game.”
After a scoreless opening quarter, the Eagles scored the first points of the game with 13:29 left in the second quarter when Khaleb Hood returned Matt Hayball’s punt for a 49-yard touchdown.
Two possessions later, FAU seemed to have found its flow offensively with Posey rushing 9 yards for a third-down conversion, but Rashad Byrd knocked the ball out of the redshirt freshman’s hand for the Owls’ first turnover of the game with the Eagles starting their possession at FAU’s 13 with 7:48 left until halftime.
Georgia Southern kicker Alex Raynor capped off a 10-play, 34-yard drive with a 30-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 10-point lead in the second quarter.
Posey threw an interception on FAU’s ensuing drive for the Owls’ final possession of the first half to enter halftime trailing 10-0.
FAU had a strong offensive start in the second half — gaining 32 yards on its first four plays — before Willie Wright fumbled on an 11-yard rush for the team’s third giveaway. The Owls forced the Eagles into a three-and-out on the next drive, but Posey threw his second interception of the game on their ensuing drive.
Nick Tronti, who started at quarterback in FAU’s first four games, replaced Posey at quarterback for the remainder of the game after the interception.
“Javion’s going to be fine,” Taggart said. “Those mistakes he had are things that are correctable and he’s got to correct them.”
In his first possession, Tronti led the Owls on a 10-play, 67-yard drive that ended with a Vladimir Rivas 26-yard field goal for FAU’s first points to bring Georgia Southern’s lead down to 10-3 with 2:26 left in the third quarter.
Tronti finished 7 of 13 for 82 yards, along with 16 yards on the ground on three rushing attempts, while Posey finished 7 of 15 for 107 yards with 61 yards on the ground on eight rushing attempts.
Taggart said both quarterbacks could play in the Owls’ regular-season finale against Southern Miss.
“There’s always a quarterback competition,” Taggart said. “It was good to see Tronti come in and make some plays for us in the second half. Both guys were moving the ball. We didn’t finish drives. When it comes to Southern Miss, we’re going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win. They both might play. Whatever it takes to win this game, we’re going to do it.”
The Eagles scored a touchdown and field goal on their next two drives — which took over 10 minutes of game time — to put the game out of reach in the late stages of the fourth quarter.
FAU didn’t score on its final drive, finishing a game without a touchdown for the first time since its 52-3 loss to Western Kentucky on Oct. 29, 2016.
The Owls have a quick turnaround before their last game of the regular season that will make or break their chances of clinching a spot in the C-USA title game on Dec. 18.
Marshall’s (7-1, 4-1 C-USA) 20-0 loss to Rice Saturday afternoon opened the door for the Owls to possibly win the C-USA East division if they take their matchup against the Golden Eagles (2-7, 1-4 C-USA) on Thursday in Hattiesburg, Miss. The Thundering Herd, who are at the top of the East division due to beating FAU earlier in the season, will play Charlotte (2-3, 2-1 C-USA) in their last regular-season matchup on Friday in Huntington, W.Va.
FAU needs to beat Southern Miss and have a 49ers win against Marshall to make the conference championship game for the third time in four years.
“Like I told them [Saturday], none of that’s going to matter if we play like we did [Saturday],” Taggart said. “We got to go and win this ball game, and you win the ball game by not turning the ball over, doing better on third downs and not having the penalties we had in this game.
“Southern Miss will do the same things to us if we don’t correct those things.”