Singletary’s career night carries Owls
Back powers runheavy attack with 133 yards, four TDs.
BOCA RATON — Devin Singletary tied a program record with four touchdowns in a game as Florida Atlantic began Conference USA play with a 38-20 win over Middle Tennessee on Saturday night at FAU Stadium.
Singletary, a sophomore from American Heritage, tied the record set by Doug Parker (2001) and Alfred Morris (2011) while rushing for 133 yards on 5.5 yards per rush. Since a season-opening loss to Navy in which the Owls seemingly abandoned the run game, Singletary has run for 466 yards and nine touchdowns.
Five observations from FAU’s (2-3, 1-0) first win over Middle Tennessee (2-3, 0-1) since 2007:
1. Singletary entering FAU’s record books.
Any talk of a sophomore slump for Singletary should have been long erased by Saturday night, but he continues to show why he’s one of the conference’s top backs — and, at the rate he’s going, he could go down as the best back in program history. Not only did Singletary pass former FAU quarterback Jaquez Johnson on the all-time touchdown list with 20, but he tied Parker for third place and is three from passing Charles Pierre for second.
2. Offense finds a nice balance.
With the exception of the second drive, where Jason Driskel attempted and missed three consecutive passes, FAU’s offensive game plan on Saturday night was what coach Lane Kiffin has stressed for months: run-heavy with some passing mixed in. Fifty of FAU’s 79 plays, or nearly 64 percent, were designed runs — not quite the “100-percent run, zero-percent pass” that Kiffin suggested had been the game plan against Buffalo, but still enough for the Owls’ offense to click for all 60 minutes.
3. Driskel, for now, is the Owls quarterback.
After another week of mystery and vagueness from Kiffin, Driskel made his second consecutive start and figures to keep that role indefinitely after a strong performance. A week after looking rusty, Driskel completed 22 of his 29 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown while playing turnover-free. Kiffin has said throughout the season that each week presents competition and Daniel Parr made it clear when he was still the starter that he couldn’t get too comfortable, but the job appears to be Driskel’s to lose.
4. Pass defense continues to be inconsistent.
After not recording a sack for their first two games, FAU’s defense totaled two Saturday, 11/2 of which came from defensive end Hunter Snyder (cornerback Korel Smith had the other halfsack). FAU also forced backup Blue Raiders quarterback John Urzua, filling in for Brent Stockstill (cracked sternum), into three interceptions. However, the Owls allowed Urzua to complete 31 of his 50 passes for 359 yards and two touchdowns, with many of those long gains.
As the Owls get deeper into conference play, they’ll need to limit the big plays, especially against pass-heavy North Texas and Western Kentucky, who they’ll play in weeks eight and nine.
5. Tight ends making impact.
From his first day in spring camp, Kiffin praised the FAU tight ends — a group that hadn’t seen a single player record 30 catches since 2012 — for their depth and playmaking ability. Owls tight ends combined for 10 catches and 114 yards Saturday night, with sophomore Harrison Bryant leading the way with seven catches for 93 yards and his second touchdown in three games; Bryant now has totaled 188 yards on 13 catches this year, establishing himself as a safety blanket for whoever is the quarterback.