All that stood between the Florida Atlantic Owls and their second straight victory on Saturday night was 96 yards and a clock that said only 2:46 remained in the game. No problem.
Quarterback Jason Driskel took his team down the field to come away with a thrilling 35-31 win over the Texas-El Paso Miners in Boca Raton. Driskel’s seven-yard toss to Nate Terry, who made a spectacular one-handed catch, gave FAU the go-ahead score with only 25 seconds left to play.
The Owls showed plenty of grit in this game, especially over the last half of the final period. When Miners’ Quarterback Ryan Metz hit Hayden Pinke for an 11-yard touchdown with 7:34 remaining, UTEP had a 31-20 lead.
Driskel led his team on a 75-yard scoring drive that cut the deficit to 31-28. The Owls’ defense then stepped up to force a punt.
FAU averted disaster when Henry Bussey III fielded the punt, fumbled, but recovered on the FAU four yard line. Driskel then led his team into the end zone in 10 plays.
Ocie Rose clinched the game with an interception at the UTEP 42.
Driskel finished with 233 yards passing with a touchdown and one interception while also rushing for 79 yards. Devin Singletary had a huge rushing game, gaining 145 yards and scoring two touchdowns. Kalib Woods had 104 receiving yards.
With the victory, Florida Atlantic improved to 3-7 and 2-4 in Conference USA. Next week they will play their final home game of the season. Old Dominion provides the opposition.
