OKLAHOMA TEACHES FAU HARD LESSON IN OPENER
Rout shows Owls how far they have to go to have a prayer against the elite.
NORMAN, OKLA. — The weekend began with Lane Kiffin tweeting to nationally known preachers, asking for divine intervention for his Florida Atlantic Owls. To be safe, just before kickoff, he invoked inspiration from Gene Hackman (via “Hoosiers”).
But it started to get ugly when Oklahoma recovered a ball in the end zone on what was scored as a blocked punt even though it more closely resembled a Sooner simply snatching the ball off the punter’s toe.
It was downright sublime when Oklahoma scored a 65-yard touchdown ... followed by another 65-yard touchdown ... followed by a third 65-yard touchdown.
Final score Saturday afternoon: Oklahoma 63, FAU 14.
So much for that 10-game winning streak the Owls carried into this season.
So much for FAU being a trendy upset pick on opening weekend.
This is what happens when one team thinks it might be Top 25 material and the other team knows it is.
It’s what happens when one team has some players with eyes on the NFL and the other is so stacked one of its players walks around with a signed, $5 million contract in his back pocket (for baseball).
“Did you guys enjoy that preseason game?” Kiffin told report-
ers as he entered the postgame interview room. “It didn’t really count, right?”
In a lot of ways, it didn’t. Sure, a win against the No. 7 Sooners would have gone down as the most monumental in Owls history. This loss, even by 49 points, does nothing but reinforce that while FAU has grown immensely under Kiffin, plenty of steps — the toughest steps — lie ahead.
“I’ve been saying it all week, that this game is not going to define our defense, it’s not going to define our season, because that’s a really good team and the chances were, you know, we probably weren’t going to beat them,” Kiffin said. “That’s why there was a lot to that, of making sure people understand. Because what happens is you play a team like this and you build this game up, that this is the Super Bowl, and all of a sudden you don’t play well like this, and then the rest of your season isn’t any good. That’s why every time I get asked, I say the same thing: Our goal is to win our conference.”
They have to go through the Middle Tennessees and the Marshalls to do that. Oklahoma, at last check, isn’t in Conference USA. Mercifully.
“I’d be shocked if there’s a better team in the country than what I saw today,” Kiffin said.
The Owls were roasted worse than the 86,402 who turned out for this game. It was 42-0 at halftime, fans’ arms and cheeks were turning as beet red as their T-shirts, and many decided the sooner they scurried for air conditioning, the better.
The Owls weren’t afforded such luxury. Their defense, boasting 10 of 11 returning starters, was torched for 650 yards. Their offense, which included former Sooner Chris Robison starting at quarterback, scored two touchdowns that did nothing but avert a shutout. Included were 18 carries for 69 yards for running back Devin “Motor” Singletary, ending a 12-game streak of at least 100 yards.
“We got punched in the mouth,” Singletary said.
Special teams were equally culpable when a missed blocking assignment and mishandled snap conspired for a blocked punt that gave OU its second touchdown in 66 seconds for a 14-0 lead.
“That’s the danger of these teams, that when they get rolling, it can get ugly pretty quick,” Kiffin said.
There would be no Kiffin magic this time, no array of razzle-dazzle to leave the Sooners punch drunk. If such creativity willed FAU to that 10-game streak last year, defense was supposed to do the trick this year. In the third quarter, Oklahoma receiver A.D. Miller caught a pass across the middle and was walloped so emphatically, every wall in nearby Bricktown was said to be jealous. The considerable biceps of Joseph Chisholm delivered the toughest blow the Sooners absorbed all day. Only problem: Chisholm was the umpire and he inadvertently collided with Miller. On the sideline, OU running backs Trey Sermon and Rodney Anderson roared with the knowledge they will never let Miller hear the end of it.
Anderson finished with exactly 100 yards and a respectable 20-yards-percarry average on the strength of a 65-yard TD run. Marquise Brown caught a pass for another 65-yarder that may have stung more. Brown is an exceptional talent from Chaminade-Madonna High in Hollywood, 29 miles down the road from Boca Raton. He’s exactly the kind of homegrown gem Kiffin wants to hog in order to affix big-boy pants on the Owls.
FAU isn’t ready for that yet. Oklahoma is simply stronger, faster, better. Baker Mayfield isn’t walking through those doors anymore? Fine. Kyler Murray, an athlete so fine the Oakland Athletics already have signed him, stepped into those footsteps and was virtually perfect in one half of action: 9 for 11, 209 yards, two TDs, plus a dazzling 15-yard run that left the Owls so rattled, Anderson galloped 30 yards untouched on the next play to open the scoring.
Over the next few hours, Kiffin fulfilled his expectation of letting all three QBs play, but while Robison was only somewhat effective (15 of 26, 157 yards), Rafe Peavey threw an interception on his third attempt, which led to De’Andre Johnson, who was just 1 for 3.
“I don’t know that right now,” Kiffin said when asked where that leaves the pecking order.
It was the sound of a coach who recognized he had other concerns. “A teaching moment,” one of his assistants was overheard mumbling as he entered the visitors’ locker room.
“We’re 0-1,” Kiffin said. “We played as bad as you can play . ... Obviously, we didn’t score until the second half, which is ridiculous. And giving up 650 yards is ridiculous. And giving up a score on special teams. So we did the trifecta today.”
They did it against the team on their schedule most qualified to punish them for their sins.
No, the Owls did not have a prayer Saturday.
They also won’t have to call out for prayers from here on out.