On a night in which inaugural FAU football coach Howard Schnellenberger was celebrated with the now four-year old stadium named in his honor, current coach Charlie Partridge made sure his Owls were up for the hallowed night. Donning glossy red lids—and Partridge busting out the red slacks for good measure—the Owls punished Tulsa to the tune of 50-21 in front of a swelling student section.

The Owls wasted no time during their home opener by jumping out to an early 17-0 lead in the first quarter. Returning quarterback Jaquez Johnson (who was held out of the previous matchup versus Alabama) completed deep passes to receivers Jenson Stoshak and William Dukes of 59 and 74 yards, respectively. Speaking of Stoshak, his 4 receptions for 155 yards is a new personal best for him, as he and Johnson build a rapport that will be important for the team’s success as the season matures. On the ground, a tandem running attack of Jay Warren, Tony Moore, and receiver Lucky Whitehead proved to be a dynamic cocktail out of the backfield, as the Owls rushed for a grand total of 177 yards.

On offense, Johnson’s play truly colors the hopes of Owl fans moving forward and his final state line of 15/20 for 318 yards with three touchdowns saw him come just three yards short of his personal best passing yardage total, and tied his record of three scores over the air. ‘Quez also added 18 rushing yards and a score, which put the Owls decidedly ahead 30-7 in the late third.

Not lost in the offensive barrage doled out by the Owls, the defense and special teams units tilted the field in FAU’s favor all night. Coach Partridge played with house money early in the first with the lead by gambling with an onside kick, which the Owls recovered. FAU also played with an edge on defense all night by keeping the heat on Tulsa quarterback Dane Evans. FAU capitalized on two defensive scoring plays—including a 23 yard interception for a touchdown by returning defensive back, D’Joun Smith—while turning over the Golden Hurricane a total of four times throughout the night. Still, the defense must remain as hungry as they looked in this game if they want to ride the wave of Saturday night's success.

All in all, it was a game of exceeded expectations for the Owls, who were coming off back-to-back losses to top 25 opponents. With the confidence of this win in their pockets, the Owls will travel to a Wyoming next week before facing their first conference matchup at UTSA.

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About the author
Richard Sena
I am a writer located in Boca Raton, Florida. I am a graduate of Florida Atlantic University and cover both local and national football related stories.