Florida Atlantic picked up its first conference win of the season by beating the University of Tulsa, 63-16, Saturday at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
With the win, the Owls improved to 3-9 overall and 1-7 in the American Athletic Conference. Tulsa finished the season with an identical 3-9 and 1-7 AAC record.
Following the firing of head coach Kevin Wilson earlier this week, Tulsa was playing for the first time under interim head coach Ryan Switzer.
“Okay, hats off to those guys on the other side, man,” Switzer said after the game. “I thought they did a great job, especially early of really controlling the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively.”
For Florida Atlantic, getting the players to believe they could win has been the challenge for interim head coach Chad Lunsford.
“Last week it was about believing we could win, and they did a really nice job of believing it, but then we didn’t finish,” Lunsford said. “This week it was about expecting to win, expecting to get yourself in position to win, and they did it. They came out and executed early and often.”
The Owls scored first on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Tyriq Starks to Kahlil Brantley.
On the next FAU possession, Tulsa’s Zach Marcheselli tackled Starks in the end zone for a safety.
Early in the second quarter, Tulsa quarterback Cooper Legas threw an interception that was returned 16 yards into the end zone, giving the Owls a 14-2 lead.
FAU scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions to extend their lead to 42-2, but then Tulsa responded after Kirk Francis replaced Legas in the lineup and connected with Luke McGary on a 10-yard scoring strike.
Florida Atlantic led 42-9 at halftime. Their highest score for an entire game this season was 41 points against Wagner.
The Owls didn’t slow down in the second half, scoring 21 second-half points to Tulsa’s seven points to close out the scoring. The 63 points for the Owls is their second-most points in a single game in FAU history.
The only other Tulsa touchdown came on a 21-yard Francis pass to Kamdyn Benjamin, with 7:18 left in the third quarter. Benjamin caught eight passes for 67 yards. The senior, was asked how it felt to score a touchdown in his final game at TU.
“Obviously that’s a memory I’m going to have forever,” Benjamin said. “That’s a great thing to take with me. But it was just nice to go out there one more me with the guys, be able to enjoy the game with them.”
Tulsa’s defense had a difficult time making tackles which turned into long scoring plays for FAU. Six of the Owls’ touchdowns were on scoring plays of more than 20 yards; 28, 22, 78, 93 and 55 yards.
FAU totaled 665 yards of total offense. Tulsa gained 351 total yards, including 64 yards on the ground and 287 through the air.
Tulsa backup quarterback Francis completed 19-of-31 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns and one interception.
Switzer was asked about the decision to start Legas at quarterback in this game, considering his inconsistent play this season.
“We just felt like we needed from a run game standpoint, maybe from a protection standpoint, if he could get out of the pocket, maybe extend some plays,” Switzer said. “He did a couple times. Obviously, we had some turnovers, and we had some missed throws early. But Coop, man, the last couple weeks you couldn’t have asked more from how much he’s battled.”
Legas completed 9-of-19 passes for 63 yards and one interception.
Next for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane is finding a new head coach. Hopefully and decision will be made soon, as players are currently considering their options of and entering the transfer portal.