2011 games of the year: FAU versus UAB

Florida Atlantic versus Alabama-Birmingham:

Florida Atlantic scored 14 points in the 4th quarter to squeak by the Blazers of Alabama-Birmingham 38-35 in a barnburner that no one saw coming.



Florida Atlantic took the opening kickoff in Boca Raton and did just like the beleaguered fan base saw all season. Three offensive plays and a punt to pin Alabama-Birmingham at their own 22-yard line for the Blazers opening possession. The Owls broke the mold on their first defensive play versus UAB and saw Treon Howard pick off UAB quarterback Jonathan Perry's pass taking it 23 yards to give the Owls a 7-0 lead with only 2 minutes played in the game.

The Blazers responded to the haymaker from Florida Atlantic and picked themselves up to the beat of a 9-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a Jackie Williams 2-yard rushing touchdown. Ty Long's extra point was good and UAB tied the game at 7 with 8:13 left in the first quarter. Florida Atlantic moved the ball with precision in the following possession but faced a 4th-and-4 at the UAB 12-yard line and trotted out Vinny Zaccario for a 29-yard kick. The kick was no good giving the ball back to UAB with the score still tied at 7.

The Blazers moved the ball quickly down field and faced a 1st-and-10 at the FAU 3-yard line as time expired in the first quarter. The second quarter picked up with more of the same as UAB finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run from Perry to give the Blazers their first lead at 14-7 with 13:09 left in the half.

The Owls again moved the ball right down field versus the Blazer defense before losing the ball on a fumble at the UAB 20-yard that was recovered by Blake Bierman on the UAB 16-yard line. FAU gave up one first down but then stiffened up forcing a UAB put to the FAU 25-yard line with 10:54 left in the half. Determined not to see another drive come up empty inside the Blazer 20-yard line, Alfred Morris took the ball in from 1 yard to tie the game up at 14-14. That was a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ate up nearly 5 minutes of game time.

Alabama-Birmingham then faced disaster with Perry turning the ball over again, this time with a fumble. FAU recovered the ball at the 9-yard line facing 1st-and-goal with the chance of regaining the lead in their grasps. After three unsuccessful plays, out trotted Zaccario to atone for his previous miss and give FAU the lead at the half. The 28-yard field goal was good and with :10 left in the first half, FAU was up 17-14.  UAB could not score in the :10 giving FAU that coveted lead at the half.

The Blazers got a chance to recover from a disastrous first half and received the opening kickoff to start the second half only down 17-14 when it could have been much worse. Perry led the Blazers on a 9-play, 72-yard drive that ended with Perry finding DJ Vinson for a 9-yard pass to give the lead back to the Blazers at 21-17.

Not to be outdone, Graham Wilbert led the Owl offense on a 7-play, 62-yard drive that would give the Owls the lead again at 24-21. The touchdown was scored by Morris from 4-yards out giving him two for the day. UAB had a solid kickoff return starting the next drive at their own 41-yard line down by 3-points again.

It took the Blazers 6:07 of game time but Jamarcus Nelson ran the ball in from 3-yards out to finish a 12-play, 59-yard drive. After the extra point UAB again had the lead, this time at 28-24 with 1:26 left in the third quarter. The third quarter ended with a pivotal 4th-and-2 from the FAU 35-yard line. Morris took the handoff and sprinted 23-yards in a game changing play that could have been the end for FAU.

Building off of the momentum of a 4th-down conversion in their own territory, FAU moved the ball quickly before facing another 4th-down at the UAB 11-yard line. Again, the Owls trusted Morris with the ball and he came through squeaking past the defenders to barely get the first down. Morris found better openings on the next play going 10-yards to give the lead back to the Owls at 31-28 with 11:27 left in the game.

After a tough 3-and-out wasting great field position, UAB boomed a 50-yard punt that went into the end zone. FAU started at their own 20-yard line with 11:27 left and went on a soul sapping 17-play, 80-yard drive that went 8:13 and saw Morris carry the ball 14 times for 77 yards capped by his 4th touchdown run of the game, a 9-yard rush that left him 2 yard short of breaking 200 yards in the game. Following an extra point kick, the Owls had a 10-point lead at 38-28 with only 1:38 left on the clock.

UAB wasted no time going 92 yards in 8 plays while only draining 1:05 off of the clock to cut the lead back to 3-points at 38-35 with :33 seconds left in the game. Fearing the worst, the FAU crowd rejoiced as the  Ragland on-side kick scooted out of bounds giving FAU the ball with the ability to run out the clock. The Owls downed the ball and watched as the clock ran out giving Florida Atlantic their first win in the new stadium as well as their only win of the year.