Football – UGLY DAY: UL gets first Sun Belt loss

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • November 16, 2008

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Already battered and bruised physically, UL took an even bigger hit on Saturday.

Florida Atlantic played like the defending Sun Belt champions, dominating the banged-up Ragin’ Cajuns on both sides of the ball for a 40-29 win at Lockhart Stadium. The Owls scored the game’s first 19 points and never looked

back as UL lost for the second consecutive week despite holding the ball for nearly 38 minutes.

"We came out too relaxed throughout the whole game," said UL strong safety Derik Keyes. "I guess we were thinking we were going to win and that they were going to lay down."

But that didn’t happen.

Here’s what happened: The Cajuns committed four turnovers, got out-gained 523-432 and scored only seven points in the game’s first 47 minutes in their first league loss of the season.

On defense, UL started two freshmen linebackers and played without leading tackler Daylon McCoy because of injury. FAU took advantage as quarterback Rusty Smith passed for 290 yards and four touchdowns. The reigning Sun Belt player of the year hit the tight end nine times for 168 yards and three scores. Running back Charles Pierre ran for one touchdown and 109 of his team’s 216 rushing yards.

Now UL (5-5 overall, 4-1 Sun Belt) must wait until next weekend for a chance to become bowl eligible at Troy. The Cajuns fell into a first-place tie with the Trojans in the league standings, setting up a showdown at 6 next Saturday night at Movie Gallery Stadium.

The Owls (5-5 overall, 3-2 Sun Belt) extended their winning streak to four games. After opening the season 1-5, FAU is now one of the hottest teams in the country.

"It was wonderful to be the coach of a team that prepared well, executed better than we thought we could and that won a monumental game," FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger said. "It gives us courage that we can keep the upward spiral.

"I was proud of all of them."

On the other side, UL coach Rickey Bustle was embarrassed with how his team played in the first half. Running back Tyrell Fenroy finished with 92 rushing yards and one score and quarterback Mike Desormeaux ran for 70 yards in the game on a sprained right knee. But Desormeaux threw for only 84 yards and was picked off twice before being relieved in the fourth quarter.

UL, which is third in the nation in rushing, ran for 228 yards – 62 yards below its season average.

"We let people go run all around the field," Bustle said. "Rusty threw the ball, and we weren’t within 10 feet of him. Offensively, we didn’t move the ball. There was no consistency.

"I’m glad that we came back in the second half and played better, but you can’t play in this league against teams like that and expect to come back."

Still, not all hope is lost.

UL can clinch at least a share of the league title by beating Troy. A win over Troy and Middle Tennessee on Dec. 3 would give the Cajuns their first outright conference title since 1970. That would also help them secure a berth in the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 21.

But before looking ahead, the Cajuns must forget about their second consecutive loss to FAU. The Owls rallied last season for a 39-32 overtime win in Lafayette.

"We had our eye on FAU because we knew they were a good team," said UL wide receiver Jason Chery, a Delray Beach native. "I felt like we owed them from last year. I wanted to beat them so bad because I’m back in my hometown.

"But we just didn’t do our part."

FAU did its part pretty much all night.

After Pierre’s 6-yard scoring run 95 seconds into the game, Smith threw touchdown passes to Chris Bonner and Rob Housler. That gave the Owls a 19-0 lead early in the second period.

Fenroy finally got UL on the scoreboard when he scored on a 14-yard run with 7:22 left before the half. FAU responded with 21 consecutive points on Willie Rose’s 10-yard touchdown run and Smith’s scoring strikes to Housler and Jamari Grant to make it 40-7 with 13:02 remaining.

The Cajuns fought back with the game’s final 22 points, but the early mistakes left them with too much ground to make up with too little time against a fired-up opponent.

"We didn’t play hard and just laid down in the first half," Fenroy said. "It’s really embarrassing because we worked too hard in practice for it to happen like this."

Desormeaux was nearly left speechless after UL’s performance.

"We just didn’t show up tonight," the New Iberia native said. "I don’t know what the problem is.

"But we’ve got to grow up as a team."