South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Owls QB Chris Robison sets school passing record in his second start.
BOCA RATON — When quarterback Chris Robison first arrived at Florida Atlantic, he immediately drew comparisons to Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.
On Saturday, he showed why. Robison, making just his second collegiate start, threw for a schoolrecord 471 yards and three touchdowns in the Owls’ 33-27 victory over Air Force. The performance left little doubt that he is the clear choice to remain as the starter.
“I think he’s very talented,” FAU coach Lane Kiffin said. “We saw that last year on the [scout] team. He would make plays like that all the time. It was good to see it come together. As crazy as it sounds, 471 yards and he left some out there.”
The week began with Kiffin still contemplating who he wanted under center. As of Wednesday, he was considering playing backups De’Andre Johnson and Rafe Peavey.
Robison, a redshirt freshman transfer from Oklahoma, stated his case. He completed 33-of-40 passes, including a 48-yard touchdown to junior receiver Jovon Durante in the third quarter that put the Owls ahead, 25-14. Durante finished with 12 catches for 147 yards.
Robison broke the passing mark of 463 yards, set by Rusty Smith in a win over Minnesota in 2007. Smith, who went on to play four seasons in the NFL, is generally considered the best quarterback in FAU history.
“That was a great sight,” running back Devin “Motor” Singletary said of Robison. “It’s showing that he’s really maturing and growing up. We were definitely glad to see that.”
The moment helped the Owls forget about last week’s disappointing 63-14 loss at Oklahoma. Kiffin played all three quarterbacks because of the struggles.
That appears unlikely to continue if Robison plays at this level. His arm helped offset a slow day from Singletary. A third-team AllAmerican last year, he finished with just 57 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown but also had a 75-yard score called back because of a holding penalty.
“That’s what we’re facing,” Kiffin said. “That’s why you’ve got to be able to do multiple things in order to win. People are going to take [Singletary] away. They’re daring you to throw the ball down the field.”
With Singletary less of a factor, Robison put the game away early in the fourth quarter. He hit sophomore Willie Wright for a 26-yard touchdown with 10:41 remaining. The Owls received a bit of late scare when Air Force scored on a blocked punt and recovered the ensuing onside kick. The rally was stopped when FAU linebacker Rashad Smith, who had a team-high 19 tackles, intercepted quarterback Isaiah Sanders with 10 seconds left.
The game ended later than expected because a lightning delay pushed kickoff back 80 minutes. It was the second straight season the home opener was affected by weather. Last year’s game against Navy — a 42-19 loss in Kiffin’s debut — was halted nearly three hours because of multiple lightning sightings.
The win gives the Owls momentum heading into next week’s home game against Division I-AA Bethune-Cookman. A week later, they play at Central Florida.
“It was really important but at the same time you’re just taking it one game at a time,” linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said. “The most important thing is to get the win. I just think we had to get to 1-1 because we were 0-2 last year. But every week you just want to win that game so it’s really just 1-0 that week.”