In four total meetings with the Marshall Thundering Herd, FAU football had never won a game. During that time, the Owls came within one possession of winning the game twice, including being held to no points in the second half of their 27-21 loss to the Herd in October 2016.

This time around, FAU (6-3, 5-0 Conference USA) got its one score victory. With another strong game from sophomore running back Devin Singletary, the Owls held off the Thundering Herd 30-25 on Friday night.

Singletary, who ran for 111 yards and a touchdown during the last meeting with Marshall (6-3, 3-2 CUSA,) beat his previous numbers by the end of the first half with 127 yards. He would finish the game with 203 yards and a touchdown.

“Anytime you do something that hasn’t been done before, like beating Marshall for the first time, it’s exciting,” FAU head football coach Lane Kiffin said. “This is about these players. It’s exciting for me to work for these guys.”

Singletary would also catch his first ever pass touchdown, but not from redshirt junior quarterback Jason Driskel. Senior wide receiver Kamrin Solomon threw a pass to Singletary for a 60-yard score to give FAU a 23-16 lead.

“I don’t know how to calculate passer rating, but I imagine his is pretty good now,” Driskel said of Solomon.

The sophomore ran for over 200 yards for the second straight game, but he wasn’t the only Owl who had an impact on the ground.

Driskel ran for a two-yard touchdown with 9:50 left in the first quarter, and freshman wide receiver Willie Wright ran 19 yards on a reverse for a score with 6:32 left in the first. The pair would finish with 5 and 14 net yards of rushing respectively.

Marshall did not go down without a comeback attempt though. With 12:10 left in the third, Thundering Herd quarterback Chase Litton threw for a five-yard touchdown to wide receiver Ryan Yurachek to make it 16-10.

A play later, Marshall kicker Kaare Vedvik kicked and successfully recovered an onside kick. With possession again, running back Keon Davis ran for a one-yard score.

Vedvik would miss the extra point though, matching Owls graduate student kicker Greg Joseph’s point after miss with 6:32 left in the first quarter to keep the score tied at 16.

Marshall’s chances at a comeback ended when they failed to get another score after a 15-yard receiving touchdown by Yurachek with 5:16 left in the game.

Litton finished the game with over 253 passing yards and two touchdowns, but he did throw four interceptions, including three to junior safety Jalen Young. The total brings the team to 18 interceptions giving them first place in the FBS over the University of South Florida’s 17.

“It wasn’t until I was on the sideline that someone told me,” Young said. “I was like ‘Oh snap.’ But I’m already on to the next week.”

Young tied the program record for interceptions in a game with his three.

With the win, FAU is now bowl eligible for the first time since 2013. They are also 5-0 in Conference USA play for the first time ever.

The Owls will next travel to face Louisiana Tech on Nov. 11 at 3:30 p.m. This will be the first meeting between the two teams.

Ryan Lynch is the business manager of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @RyanLynchwriter.