Florida Atlantic football (1-2) fell to Florida International (2-1) in the 23rd-annual Shula Bowl game for the first time since 2016 on FIU’s home field, 38-28. This victory gave FIU its fifth Shula Bowl victory in program history.

The “Shula Bowl” rivalry runs deep with its history dating back to 2002, when former head coaches Howard Shenllenberger and Don Strock, who played under former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula, honored his legacy with two South Florida foes.

FIU’s running game was a problem coming in, and one of the keys to the game. Running back Kejon Owens had 173 rushing yards and two touchdowns, which hurt FAU all night. FAU’s air-raid offense didn’t show up the way it wanted, with quarterback Caden Veltkamp throwing three interceptions, including a key one in the fourth quarter. 

Initially scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff, the game started with a two-hour lightning delay, postponing the game until 8:33 p.m. The Owls struggled early with an early interception, a turnover on downs, and a personal foul penalty, which led to FIU getting the game’s first touchdown courtesy of Owens.

FAU responded for most of the first half with Jayshon Platt and Gemari Sands carrying the load offensively. FAU took a 21-17 lead in the middle of the second quarter. From there, both offenses went back and forth until the final seconds of the first half, when Veltkamp threw an interception into the endzone, which hurt the momentum.

“Self-inflicted wounds, a ton of penalties tonight; we just got to get better overall,” FAU head coach Zach Kittley said, “We missed some stuff we got to have.” The interceptions hurt in that first half, but the Owls had 11 penalties in the game. This really held them back when it came to scoring the ball.

The Owls had 312 yards to the Panthers’ 130 yards in the first half. In the 3rd quarter, FAU had no answer for FIU’s running game, and offensively, Veltkamp felt pressure from both sides. The Panthers scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter and held a 38-21 lead.

FAU rushed to get back in the game, running the hurry-up offense to get back in it. This 21-play drive resulted in no touchdowns for them, though. 

The only touchdown they got in the 4th was off a blocked punt and a touchdown by linebacker Jarvis Johnson. There was some hope after forcing a stop on defense, which led to FAU having the ball with under four minutes remaining. However, what hurt them all game returned to haunt them in the fourth quarter.

Veltkamp threw his third interception with under two minutes remaining, which sealed the game and FIU took home the Shula Bowl trophy.

The Owls will take a week off and travel back home to Boca Raton to kick off their American Conference play versus the Memphis Tigers on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Anthony Ortiz is a Staff Writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email Ortiz at ajangus1331@gmail.com.