Middle Tennessee brings back ghoulish memories for FAU

by Tom D'Angelo

Hey, it’s Halloween week (or is it Owloween) so why not bring up a frightening moment in this program’s history that should make its fans’ skin crawl and want to vomit just at the thought.

Middle Tennessee 14, FAU 13.

Scary thought, isn’t it?

Perhaps more than any other game last season, this is the one that makes the Owls cringe.

Even after a game of which Howard Schnellenberger says is “mindboggling we could play so poorly” FAU was leading with just seconds remaining.

But then the egg hit the windshield.

The Blue Raiders scored on a desperation fourth-down pass with no time remaining on the clock and then kicked the extra point. Freshman receiver Malcolm Beyah hauled in the 32-yard pass from Joe Craddock in the end zone before kicker Alan Gendreau won the game with the clock at 0:00.

It was like taking candy from a baby.

The game didn’t exactly bury the Owls, it was their Sun Belt opener and dropped them to 1-4 overall, but it sure did dig this team’s grave a bit deeper.

Now, 2-4 FAU is preparing to face a 4-3 Middle Tennessee team with which it is tied in the Sun Belt at 2-1. And with a defense that has at times played like a bunch of zombies this season, we could see a lot more plays from MTSU like that one that altered the season last year.

“This is like revenge for us because of the Hail Mary,” said cornerback Tavious Polo, one of several defenders on the play in the end zone. “It shouldn’t have happened in our eyes. We should have knocked it down, could have won that game and probably would have won the conference.”

Rusty Smith, though, blames an offense that mustered just one touchdown.



Pumpkin photo courtesy of the Bartels family
“We gave them the opportunity to have that Hail Mary,” he said. “If we were to have scored more points they would not have had a chance to catch that Hail Mary.”

That is something the Owls have not been lacking of late. The offense has been a treat, scoring 95 points and totaling 1,153 yards the last two weeks. FAU’s offense has surged to No. 10 in the country.

“Every game from here on out is so important to us,” Polo said. “I tell the guys it’s playoff time, it’s elimination, you lose a game. … you don’t want to think you’re out of it but you’re pretty much out of it if you lose a game.”

Any predictions for the Halloween night bash? Let me know if you think this will be another tombstone game or if the Owls will light up Middle Tennessee like a Jack-o’-lantern.