Florida Atlantic 38, Troy 32

1234T
FAU (7-5)70211038
TROY (8-4)6332032

Final

2:00 PM ET, December 1, 2007
Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium
TROY, AL

Florida Atlantic 38, Troy 32

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Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs2327
Total Yards432446
Passing291271
Rushing141175
Penalties3-268-75
3rd Down Conversions6-135-16
4th Down Conversions0-02-3
Turnovers03
Possession27:4632:14
Air/Ground Leaders
Florida Atlantic Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Smith23/3429120
Troy Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Haugabook35/4726520
Banks1/1600
Florida Atlantic Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Pierre1960114
Rose549141
Troy Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Haugabook2386013
Dawkins538123
Florida Atlantic Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Gent8155150
Harmon652116
Troy Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Banks875019
Tate769117
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERFAUTROY
TD10:34Diivory Edgecomb 1 Yd Run (Warley Leroy Kick) 70
FG05:06Greg Whibbs 34 Yd 73
FG01:03Greg Whibbs 45 Yd 76
SECOND QUARTERFAUTROY
FG05:13Greg Whibbs 39 Yd 79
THIRD QUARTERFAUTROY
TD12:11Charles Pierre 2 Yd Run (Warley Leroy Kick) 149
FG07:43Greg Whibbs 31 Yd 1412
TD06:12William Rose 41 Yd Run (Warley Leroy Kick) 2112
TD02:12Jason Harmon 12 Yd Pass From Rusty Smith (Warley Leroy Kick) 2812
FOURTH QUARTERFAUTROY
TD14:54Cortez Gent 13 Yd Pass From Rusty Smith (Warley Leroy Kick) 3512
TD14:03Zack Marcum 9 Yd Pass From Omar Haugabook (Greg Whibbs Kick) 3519
TD10:32Sean Dawkins 2 Yd Run (Two-Point Conversion Failed) 3525
FG06:23Warley Leroy 34 Yd 3825
TD04:25Gerald Tate 14 Yd Pass From Omar Haugabook (Greg Whibbs Kick) 3832
Associated Press

TROY, Ala. (AP) -- Rusty Smith passed for 291 yards and two touchdowns and Florida Atlantic had a late defensive stand to beat Troy 38-32 on Saturday, sending the fledgling Owls program to their first bowl game.

Howard Schnellenberger's Owls (7-5, 6-1 Sun Belt Conference) scored 28 points in a 12-minute span of the second half and held on to claim a share of the league title with the Trojans (8-4, 6-1) and a chance to play Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl.

Troy answered with its own rapid-fire surge to score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including Omar Haugabook's 14-yard touchdown to Gerald Tate with 4:25 left to cut the Owls' lead to 38-32.

Florida Atlantic, which added a field goal in the quarter, pushed the ball to midfield before Shawn Todd sacked Smith on third down to force a punt.

Troy took over at its own 28 with 2:45 left. Haugabook followed a 13-yard run with four straight short completions to give Troy a first down at Florida Atlantic's 32.

Haugabook then ran for 2 yards but his final three passes fell incomplete to end the comeback attempt.

Smith completed 23-of-34 passes, including two touchdown passes. Cortez Gent had eight catches for 155 yards.

Haugabook completed 35-of-47 passes for 265 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also rushed for 86 yards on 23 carries with leading rusher Kenny Cattouse only attempting one rush because of an ankle sprain.

The win and league title was another achievement for the 73-year-old Schnellenberger, who started building the program from scratch in 1998, 15 years after leading Miami to a national championship. The Owls had their first full season as a Division I-A (now Football Bowls Subdivision) in 2005.

Down 9-7 at halftime, they scored three touchdowns in the third quarter and another on the opening play of the fourth for a 35-12 lead. Two of the TDs were set up with fumble recoveries by Kris Bartels. The final TD was Smith's 12-yarder to Gent on the first play of the fourth.

Warley Leroy added a 34-yard field goal with 6:23 left, which kept the Trojans from being able to attempt a tying kick at the end after giving up three scores.

Troy is still hoping to receive an at-large bowl bid.

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, December 1st
Florida Atlantic 38 Final
Troy 32
North Texas 19 Final
Florida International 38