Shula Bowl blowout: FAU crushes FIU for 9th straight victory
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) -- Jason Driskel threw four touchdown passes, completing 18 of 25 for 239 yards, and Florida Atlantic cruised to a 52-24 victory over Florida International on Saturday night.
Devin Singletary rushed for 164 yards and two scores, including a 70-yard TD run late in the first quarter that gave the Owls (8-3, 7-0 Conference USA) a 14-0 lead.
The Golden Panthers (6-4, 4-3) answered with Alex McGough's 13-yard scoring strike to Darrius Scott and Jose Borregales' 31-yard field goal to pull within 14-10 with 3:43 remaining before halftime. But Driskel engineered a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard TD pass to D'Anfernee McGriff to close out the half with a 21-10 lead.
In the second half, Driskel picked up where he left off -- hooking up with Kalib Woods for two scores -- a 79-yarder and a 6-yarder -- to stretch the lead to 37-17 after three quarters.
McGough tossed his second TD early in the fourth quarter -- finding Shermar Thornton from 39 yards out -- to pull the Golden Panthers within 37-24. But Singletary's 3-yard TD run after a 13-play drive that took 7:04 off the clock sealed the victory. Gregory Howell Jr. ran it in from the 3-yard line with 1:34 left to put the finishing touches on the victory.
The Owls amassed 333 yards on the ground, compared to just 85 for FIU. Florida Atlantic outgained the Golden Panthers 572-303.
