BOCA RATON, FL- Florida Atlantic came into the 2023 season under new leadership in head coach Tom Herman and looking to make a statement in their season opener.
The scoring started early in the first quarter after Monmouth went three and out their first drive. FAU quickly capitalized with a five play, 80 yard drive capped off by a Larry McCammon six yard touchdown run. The star RB was dominant in the first half finishing with 142 all purpose yards (184 in the game) and a touchdown.
While Monmouth managed two scores of their own on a Sone Ntoh two yard run and an incredible 27 yard reception by Assanti Kearney, a list of penalties proved to be costly over the course of the ball game.
The second half was most of the same. Monmouth was only able to score in the 4th quarter with a 16 yard touchdown reception by Dre Tucker when the game was in garbage time.
FAUs defense was stellar, holding Monmouth to 55% completion through the air and only allowing 4.3 yards per play. The defensive front was very disruptive gathering six tackles for losses.
Casey Thompson was spectacular in this game throwing for five touchdowns through the first three quarters, throwing them to three different receivers. The star QB finished with a rating of 232.1 and only having one blemish on his statline with a lone interception. Tony Johnson and Je’Quan Burton both caught two touchdowns while LaJohntay Wester and Larry McCammon caught one a piece.
Four Owls receivers went over 50 yards receiving while catching 22 out of a total 27 targets bringing their catch% to 76%.
Monmouth struggled to move the ball on FAUs defense throughout the night. Despite the Owls being up three scores, they lost in the time of possession department by a wide margin (34:21 to 22:30).
After the game, head coach Tom Herman spoke on his teams performance:
“The run defense was impressive, like I said I don’t care what conference they’re in or the level they play at when you draw the nations leading rusher in an 11 game season that certainly had our ears perked up in the couple weeks of preparation.”
Herman also spoke on his Thompson’s play and how he deals with mistakes.
“I think it was impressive the way he came back after throwing the pick. You know that probably a play he’s been running since he was 8 years old… They jumped into a coverage they hadn’t shown all night and he got caught off guard and he knew it and he goes right out and throws a strike to Tony Johnson for a 75 yard touchdown.”
What’s next for these teams?
FAU: The Owls stay at home next weekend to take on Ohio to try and build off of the momentum.
Monmouth: Monmouth will look to bounce back traveling to Towson to try and pick up their first win of the season.