FAU Football 34 vs. Southern Miss 17, Nov 30, 2019, 3:30pm, FAU Stadium

The Alabama-Birmingham Blazers (9-3, 6-2 C-USA West) and Florida Atlantic Owls (9-3, 7-1 C-USA East) battle for the Conference USA Championship in Boca Raton, Fla. at 1:30 p.m. ET. Analyzing the UAB-FAU odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.

The Owls are tied for 27th in the nation with 34.1 points per game, and they have scored 34 or more points in each of the past five outings.

FAU went 8-4 against the spread this season, including 3-1 straight up across the past four at FAU Stadium. UAB enters on a three-game winning streak, but is just 2-3 ATS across the past five overall and 2-3 ATS in its past five road outings.

Lines last updated Saturday at 2:30 a.m. ET.
Prediction

FAU 29, UAB 20

Moneyline (ML)
FAU (-334) is an overwhelming favorite in what is expected to be the Lane Train’s final stop in Boca Raton. Will there be a lack of focus for the Owls, or will they claim their second C-USA trophy in the past three seasons under Kiffin’s tutelage? That’s the big question. They have steamrolled their C-USA brethren all season, and UAB (+260) isn’t expected to offer much resistance.

Against the Spread (ATS)
FLORIDA ATLANTIC (-8.5, -115) will look to send Kiffin away, if he in fact does accept the Ole Miss job officially, with a victory and a cover. It will be interesting to see if UAB (+8.5, -106) can slow down NFL prospect TE Harrison Bryant and QB Chris Robison in the pass game.

Over/Under (O/U)
The UNDER 49.5 (-110) might be the best option on Saturday’s early board among the championship games. While FAU has a high-powered offense, the under is 8-1 in its past nine games at home. The under is also 4-1 in UAB’s past five overall, 7-2 in the past nine as a road underdog, and 4-0-1 in the past five away from home. While the over has hit in each of the past six meetings, they haven’t played since 2014, so that trend can mostly be ignored.

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The Owls not only blew out Southern Miss 34-17 at FAU Stadium, and UTSA 40-26 in San Antonio, basically every game across Conference USA yielded the results FAU desired, positioning the Owls perfectly heading into the season’s Championship week.

FAU’s victory combined with Marshall’s 24-13 loss at Charlotte, returned the Owls to Conference USA East Division’s driver’s seat with one game remaining in the regular season. And in Birmingham, Ala., West Division leaders La. Tech fell to UAB 20-14, giving the Bulldogs two C-USA losses on the season.

The confluence of events means that an FAU victory over Southern Miss on Saturday will not only land the Owls in their second C-USA title game in three years, Florida Atlantic would host that Dec. 7 championship game. “What a neat day,” FAU coach Lane Kiffin said on the FAU radio postgame show. “For all this other stuff to go right, all of those others were underdogs in their games, it was pretty amazing.”

FAU (8-3, 6-1) rolled through UTSA (4-7, 3-4) on the ground, with three different Owls rushing for TDs, and tight end Harrison Bryant proved unstoppable though the air.

Announced earlier this week as a Mackey Award semifinalist, Bryant caught his lone touchdown on his ninth catch of the afternoon, a two-yarder in the closing seconds of the third quarter. That was Bryant’s ninth of 10 catches on the day, yielding 182 yards on the day. “No one’s playing like this guy,” Kiffin said. “Pretty amazing.”

Playing for the first time since breaking his ankle in the season-opener at Ohio St., former Alabama running back B. J. Emmons returned to rush for the first two touchdowns of his FAU career, the second one, a five-yard scamper, completed the scoring for the Owls. Earlier in the second half Emmons raced 32 yards around left end for his first score, capping a two-play drive that started at the UTSA 37 following a Jordan Helm fumble recovery. Emmons ran for 53 yards on nine carries. “It definitely felt good being back, just making up for lost time,” Emmons said.

Unlike FAU’s performance against MTSU following its first bye week of the season, the Owls started fast in the Alamo Dome. FAU needed only five plays to march 90 yards on its opening drive, with Malcolm Davidson bursting untouched up the middle for the final 16 yards. Davidson followed his 144-yard, three-touchdown performance in the Owls’ Shula Bowl victory over FIU two weeks by averaging 7.6 yards on his seven carries. Leading 10-3 in the second quarter, James Charles became the second Owl rusher to reach the end zone with a powerful, tackle-breaking run up the middle for a nine-yard touchdown that sent FAU into halftime leading 17-3. After FAU opened a 27-3 lead midway through the third quarter, UTSA managed to pull within two touchdowns on a couple off occasions but drew no closer.

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FAU (7-3, 5-1) outscored FIU (5-5, 3-4) by 15 points in the game’s penultimate quarter, breaking open what was a 13-7 game at the half, to a 21-point advantage for the Owls who now have their sights set on an East division crown. As for the Panthers, their backs are squarely against the wall, needing a victory against crosstown rival Miami or East division foe Marshall to become bowl-eligible.

Right now, a postseason berth is the furthest thing away from Davis’ mind.

“To be honest, the defense were in horrible position for most of the night. I’m pretty proud of the way they held up when they had to defend the short field. But we have to do a much better job on offense. If we can’t run the football more effectively, our offense won’t be able to put up points. We can’t put James (Morgan) or any quarterback in those types of positions,” said Davis.

For the second time in three weeks, mother nature provided rain during an FIU game. Unlike the MTSU game, it wasn’t a torrential downpour, but it was enough to cause punter Tommy Heatherly’s second muff on a punt attempt. Following an incompletion on a third-and-short, the ball slipped away from Heatherly as he started to take his steps to punt, resulting in FAU taking over inside of the Panthers’ 40-yard-line.

Jeff Copp’s defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing drive, with the FIU defensive coordinator dialing up a safety blitz on Lane Kiffin’s fourth-down attempt, resulting in Chris Robison’s pass falling incomplete.

The next set of errors would come two drives later when after the defense forced a 2nd & 20 outside of the FIU redzone, back-to-back offsides penalties from the defensive line would spot FAU 10 yards, moving inconsistent FAU kicker Vladmir Rivas from a potential 43-yard field goal attempt to a more reasonable 33-yard try, which Rivas hit to put the Owls’ ahead 10-0.

Sixth-year senior Napoleon Maxwell would give FIU their first score of the game, busting off a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive. Maxwell would finish the game as FIU’s Shula Bowl MVP and their most productive offensive player with 95 yards and the touchdown run. The play was the longest run by a Panther in 10 seasons - since T.Y. Hilton’s 80-yard score against Troy in 2010.

On FIU’s final drive of the first half, the Panthers would embark on a 10-play, 56-yard drive to the FAU 21-yard-line. But once again, their chance at taking a halftime lead would be torpedoed by their own doing. Left tackle D’Antne Demery was called for holding at the Owls’ 13-yard line, resulting in a 2nd & 17. The offense would have to settle for a Jose Borregales 38-yard field-goal attempt.

What ensued was a bobbled snap by holder Alec Hallman, followed by him corralling the loose ball, only to throw an interception to FAU cornerback Meiko Dotson. Instead of cutting the Owl lead to three points, It would be a six-point deficit at the half.

“It would have been a great boost for own emotions and psyche if we can cut it to three heading into half. We took the ball downfield, moved it and the fade route to Austin two plays prior was one of the best throws I’ve seen James (Morgan) make, we just have to execute there,” said Davis.

FAU opened the third quarter by going on a seven-play, 75-yard drive that was highlighted by a 45-yard one-handed grab by DeAngelo Antoine. The South Florida transfer finished the night as the game’s leading receiver with nine catches for 125 yards.

Four plays later, All-Conference tight end Harrison Bryant hauled in his second touchdown of the year on a five-yard connection with Robison. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt was also caught by Bryant to make the game 21-7.

Robison finished his night 22-for-37 with 298 yards and one touchdown pass. For the redshirt sophomore, the game helped cement his status as one of C-USA’s top signal-callers.



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Atlantic Owls come into this matchup with a 6-3 record, and they will be looking to continue their success after winning their recent road game against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 35-24. QB Chris Robinson had a big game through the air for Florida Atlantic as he connected on 18 of his 29 pass attempts for 208 yards and 2 TDs. TE Harrison Bryant was the top target for Robinson and the Owls as he hauled in 6 catches for 74 yards. The Florida Atlantic Owls struggled on the defensive side of the ball against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers as they allowed them to score 24 points and rack up a total of 444 yards of offense. Junior LB Akileis Leroy led the way for the Florida Atlantic defense with 12 tackles, 2 TFL, and 2 sacks while also forcing a fumble. Junior safety Zyon Gilbert had a productive game from the secondary as he pitched in 7 tackles and 2 pass deflections while also hauling in an interception.

The Florida Atlantic Owls have been rolling ever since their losses to UCF and Ohio State as they are 4-1 in conference play, and they get to bring that confidence into a home game against their in-state rival FIU. Florida Atlantic has been solid on the offensive side of the ball this season as they are scoring an average of 33.1 PPG, and Oklahoma transfer QB Chris Robinson has been a big reason behind that as he has thrown 17 TDs to 4 interceptions. FIU has been unable to generate as much success on the offensive side of the ball this season as they rank 73rd in college football in points scored, and FAU has 13 interceptions on the defensive side of the ball which shows their turnover abilities. The Florida International Panthers are set to visit FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida for a C-USA clash against the Florida Atlantic Owls. The Florida International Panthers come into this matchup with a 5-4 record, and they will be looking to continue their success after winning their recent home game against the Old Dominion Monarchs, 24-17. QB James Morgan had an efficient game through the air for Florida International as he threw for 252 yards. WR Shemar Thornton was the top target for Morgan and the Panthers as he hauled in 6 catches for 125 yards. The Florida International Panthers were solid on the defensive side of the ball against the Old Dominion Monarchs as they held them to 17 points and a total of 233 yards of offense. Junior DB Rishard Dames led the way for the Florida International defense with 5 tackles and 2 TFL. Senior DL Teair Tart was able to get into the Monarchs backfield a handful of times as he pitched in 3 TFL while forcing a fumble. Senior DB Olin Cushion III hauled in the lone interception of the game for the Panthers.

The Florida Atlantic Owls come into this matchup with a 6-3 record, and they will be looking to continue their success after winning their recent road game against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 35-24. QB Chris Robinson had a big game through the air for Florida Atlantic as he connected on 18 of his 29 pass attempts for 208 yards and 2 TDs. TE Harrison Bryant was the top target for Robinson and the Owls as he hauled in 6 catches for 74 yards. The Florida Atlantic Owls struggled on the defensive side of the ball against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers as they allowed them to score 24 points and rack up a total of 444 yards of offense. Junior LB Akileis Leroy led the way for the Florida Atlantic defense with 12 tackles, 2 TFL, and 2 sacks while also forcing a fumble. Junior safety Zyon Gilbert had a productive game from the secondary as he pitched in 7 tackles and 2 pass deflections while also hauling in an interception. The Florida Atlantic Owls have been rolling ever since their losses to UCF and Ohio State as they are 4-1 in conference play, and they get to bring that confidence into a home game against their in-state rival FIU. Florida Atlantic has been solid on the offensive side of the ball this season as they are scoring an average of 33.1 PPG, and Oklahoma transfer QB Chris Robinson has been a big reason behind that as he has thrown 17 TDs to 4 interceptions. FIU has been unable to generate as much success on the offensive side of the ball this season as they rank 73rd in college football in points scored, and FAU has 13 interceptions on the defensive side of the ball which shows their turnover abilities.