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On a beautiful day in South Florida, The Florida Atlantic Owls hosted the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers to conclude the season. The Owls, who came off of a tough loss to Middle Tennessee last week, looked to bounce back this week. FAU will want to win and become bowl eligible to continue its season.
Western Kentucky would get the ball to start the game. The Hilltoppers have the #3 ranked offense in the country entering today’s games and would look to make a statement right out the gate against an Owls defense that has been very up and down throughout the season. Both teams would struggle in the first quarter to get anything going; penalties and turnovers played a huge part in that. The Owls would end up having 51 total yards in the first quarter. On the other side of the ball, both sides were playing well. The Owls managed to hold the Hilltoppers to 0 points in the 1st quarter. With little success from both offenses, the score would stand 0-0 at the end of the 1st.
Heading into the 2nd quarter, both offenses would look to improve dramatically. The Hilltoppers would open the scoring when Qb Austin Reed found WR Malachi Corley for a 45-yard bomb at the tip of the 2nd to give WKU a 7-0 lead. The Owls would waste no time responding The Owls would go 11 plays 75- yds to tie the game 7-7 w/ 8:41 in the 2nd qtr. QB N’Kosi Perry would find WR Jahmal Edrine for a 13 yd touchdown to cap off the drive. FAU’s offense would improve but would not be able to find the end zone before the end of the 2nd qtr. Heading into halftime the score would sit tied at 7-7.
The 2nd half of football would see both teams coming out swinging on offense. WKU would take the lead at the start of the 3rd. QB Austin Reed finds WR Malachi Corley for a 45-yard bomb to give the Hilltoppers a 14-7 lead with 12:34 in the 3rd qtr. The Owls jab back with their impressive drive. FAU would cap off a 6-play 75-yard drive with a 48 yd run by RB Larry McCammon to tie the score 14-14 w/ 1033 left in the 3rd qtr. After both teams exchanged field goals, each team would leave the 3rd quarter thinking they could have done more. 17-17 would be the score heading into an exciting 4th quarter.
On the opening drive of the 4th quarter, one could feel the momentum shifting in the game toward FAU. The Owls would drive down the field in 5 plays for 62 to give themselves the first lead of the game. RB Larry McCammon would rush it in for a 4-yd TD giving the Owls a 24-17 lead with 13:08 left in the game. FAU’s defense would continue to be impressive throughout the 4th, really keeping one of the top-ranked offenses out of scoring range. It took an absolute dot from QB Austin Reed to WR Jayln Hall to tie the game 24-24 with 3:56 left in the game. The Owls would drive down the field and give themselves a chance to win the game but freshman kicker Carter Davis could not put the nail in the coffin. Regular time ended 24-24 and the Owls are heading to OT.
FAU would open OT in a big way but the Hilltoppers eventually won on a 2pt conversion. The Owls’ season will end today with his game needed for a bowl berth
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