Singletary’s 203 yards help earn bowl eligibility
BOCA RATON — In what essentially served as Conference USA’s East Division championship game, Devin Singletary and the Florida Atlantic Owls clinched bowl eligibil- ity with a 30-25 win over the Marshall Thundering Herd on Friday night at FAU Stadium.
The victory was the first for the Owls after losing their first four meetings against the Thundering Herd.
Rushing for 203 yards in FAU’s fifth consecutive vic- tory, Singletary gave the Owls (6-3, 5-0) a 22-16 lead in the third quarter on a 60-yard pass reception from wide receiver Kamrin Solomon.
Singletary added his 19th touchdown of the season early in the fourth quarter, three more than any other FBS player.
“Anytime you do something that hasn’t been done before, as far as beating Marshall for the first time ever, it’s exciting,” FAU coach Lane Kiffin said.
“This really is about these players, and it’s just been really exciting for me to just work for them … Because from the day we got here, the guys have done everything we’ve asked (and) they’ve worked really hard.”
Despite giving up more than 400 yards of total offense, FAU’s defense intercepted Marshall
quarterback Chase Litton four times in the win, with junior safety Jalen Young (Seminole Ridge) contributing three of those. Young tied a program record for most interceptions in a game, a list that includes D’Joun Smith, the highest-drafted player in FAU history.
Here are five takeaways from the victory:
1. Jason Driskel manages game: While his final statistics weren’t overly impressive, Driskel played well and kept the Owls in the game when the Herd scored 16 unanswered points.
Completing 11 of 17 passes for 104 yards, Driskel lived up to his reputation as a game manager. So long as Driskel continues to win and limit his mistakes, games where he finishes with roughly 100 passing yards will be accepted by Kiffin.
“We found a way to win, that was really the real thing,” Driskel said. “You spend all week thinking about this game.”
2. Willie Wright continues hot streak: Wright continues to show why defensive line coach Eric Matheis recently said he expects at least five freshman to make the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
With his first-quarter rushing touchdown, Wright — who finished with 30 total yards — became the first FAU receiver since William Dukes in 2013 to score in three consecutive games. Making plays through the air and on the ground, Wright continues to impress.
3. Kalib Woods is officially back: After catching a key two-point conversion against Western Kentucky last week, Woods recorded his first receptions since returning last month from a team-issued suspension stemming from a January arrest.
Woods, last year’s leading receiver, finished with two catches for 37 yards, providing Driskel with another target in the passing game.
With Woods’ return has come a reduced impact for DeAndre McNeal, who was held without a catch for the second time in three games.
4. Owls struggle on third down: FAU’s defense allowing the Herd to finish with 381 total yards was to be expected, with how effective Litton and teammates have been this year, but Marshall finishing 8 of 18 on third downs came as a surprise.
Several of those thirddown conversions came on extended plays, a factor that Kiffin and his coaches will likely stress this week with Louisiana Tech up next.
“It bothered us a little bit,” junior linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said of the team giving up eight third downs.
“Obviously, you’re always trying to get off the field. … We have to make sure we’re in the right spot at the right time and make those plays.”
5. Fans still not buying into FAU: While Kiffin and the Owls are earning a little national attention — a video of a train with the coaches’ face on it (quite literally, the Lane Train) riding through FAU’s Breezeway on Friday went viral — the local support still is lacking.
Even in what was essentially a championship game on Friday night, the stands were mostly sparse of FAU fans, with the official attendance clocking in at 15,880, and that was long before the rains came.