Regardless of QB, FAU running game the key in win over Western Kentucky

With all the back and forth at quarterback, Florida Atlantic relied on its running game and defense to earn a homecoming victory over Western Kentucky.

The Owls rushed for 315 yards — junior running back Devin “Motor” Singletary had 148 of them — as FAU held off the Hilltoppers, 34-15, on Saturday night at FAU Stadium. Singletary and redshirt junior back Kerrith Whyte each scored two touchdowns in the win.

After redshirt junior quarterback De’Andre Johnson ignited the Owls’ offense in relief against upstart rival FIU last week, FAU coach Lane Kiffin opted to stick with redshirt freshman Chris Robison as his starter. He went back to Johnson on FAU’s fourth drive, and after his two chances went scoreless, finished with Robison.

Robison was 17 of 21 for 231 yards, without a touchdown or interception but he did lose a fumble. Johnson was 3 for 4 with a red-zone interception.

“We just went back to last week that De’Andre played really well coming off the bench,” Kiffin said. “I thought that that would be a good situation for him, you know, a little less pressure and do the same thing we did last week. [Have] Chris take a few series early, and then regardless whether it was good or bad, which Chris had done some good things — we had 10 points at that time — and then went with De’Andre.”

Leading, 10-9, at halftime, FAU (5-5, 3-3 Conference USA) went up 8 when Singletary took a carry 40 yards for a touchdown in the middle of the third quarter.

After a field goal, the Owls scored on another Singletary rush from a yard out to go up, 27-9, on Western Kentucky (1-9, 0-6). Robison connected with Tavaris Harrison deep down the FAU sideline for a 49-yard completion to set the Owls up at the WKU 5-yard line.

“It’s really just a mindset of finishing [drives],” Singletary said. “That’s all it took.”

The scoring scampers for Singletary moved him past Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne and into a tie for sixth with Texas’ Cedric Benson and Indiana’s Anthony Thompson on the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision’s all-time career rushing touchdowns list at 64.

Down, 27-9, the Hilltoppers scored a fourth-quarter touchdown, recovered an onside kick and threatened in the red zone again, but FAU clamped down for a fourth-down stop to turn them over on downs.

Whyte, who finished with 163 rushing yards, put more cushion between the Owls and Hilltoppers with 2:19 to play, bursting through the line for FAU’s longest run of the season (77 yards).

As FAU has made a regularity of late, the Owls scored on their opening possession. With Robison at quarterback, they had an eight-play, 75-yard drive over 3:15. It was capped by Whyte’s first touchdown run.

“It’s pretty hard to [go back and forth] because at quarterback you have to gain a rhythm,” said Robison, who added he didn’t know he was starting until the time of that drive. “But we work on it in practice every week, so we’re prepared when the game comes around to do that.”

FAU came up empty on its second drive as field-goal woes continued and kicker Vladimir Rivas missed a 29-yarder. Rivas redeemed himself with a 30-yarder on FAU’s ensuing possession to put the Owls up, 10-0. He would hit another chip-shot, from 22 yards out, early in the fourth quarter.

Following a Western Kentucky touchdown pass that went 15 yards from Steven Duncan to Mik’Quan Deane and a missed extra point, Kiffin went to Johnson during FAU’s first chance of the second quarter.

Johnson engineered a march up the field that would’ve culminated in his 5-yard touchdown run were it not called back for an illegal block below the waist. As it was, Johnson ended up throwing an interception in the red zone to end the threat.

The Owls got the ball right back as cornerback Shelton Lewis intercepted Duncan on the ensuing play, but FAU went three-and-out with Johnson, leading Kiffin to go back to Robison the next time they had the ball.

Robison was blasted on a blind-side sack before the half and fumbled the ball away. The Hilltoppers were able to get a field goal ahead of halftime to cut their deficit to, 10-9, before the Owls scored 17 unanswered points to start the second half.

FAU has had a Saturday-to-Friday turnaround for games twice this season, but the Owls have an even shorter week ahead of them as they play at North Texas on Thursday night.

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