Karma came back to get the Owls for their recent wins.
After defeating North Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette in the past two weeks in their respective homecoming matches, FAU dropped their own, losing 27-20 to Middle Tennessee State at Lockhart Stadium.
Special teams was once again an issue, and the unit’s play cost the Owls (2-5, 2-2 in conference play) a much-needed victory. FAU had a blocked field goal and two blocked punts, one of which was returned for a touchdown by the Blue Raiders (5-3, 3-1).
“The defense played good enough to win, the offense probably played well enough to win,” said Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger. “Our field goal protection unit and our punt protection unit didn’t hold up, and gave [MTSU] enough gifts to sustain the win.”
Quarterback Rusty Smith went 23-45 for 304 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, but he suffered an injury to his non-throwing arm with almost six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
“There is no point of being mad or upset,” said Smith of his injury. “That is not going to change anything. Everything happens for a reason. I’m going to do my best to get as much treatment as I can and get back out there.”
Trailing by a touchdown with 5:31 remaining in regulation, the Owls had the ball on their own 16-yard line. With backup quarterback Jeff Van Camp under center, the Owls marched down to the MTSU 23-yard line, but on a fourth-and-3 the referees made a controversial call that decided the outcome of the game.
Wide receiver Cortez Gent caught a pass near the sideline and was pushed out of bounds. After a quick debate, the officials ruled the pass incomplete, claiming that Gent never got a foot in bounds.
“I thought he came down with it, but it was a close call,” said Van Camp, who finished the game 5-9 for 73 yards.
An instant replay challenge upheld the call, much to the dismay of the FAU faithful, and allowed MTSU to run off the remaining time on the clock to seal the victory.
The Owls are now 0-3 at home, losing those games by a combined 11 points.
FAU next plays the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers on Nov. 7 at Legion Field in a non-conference match.
