Florida Atlantic University Owls football team (2-3, 0-1 AAC) regrouped after their substantial loss to the University of Connecticut (3-2). On Sept. 28, they defeated Wagner University Seahawks (2-3), 41-10, in a second-half rejuvenation.

Not only did the Owls host Wagner on Saturday, but the game was also a part of Owl Family Weekend. In attendance were local social media father and son duo, A.J. and Big Justice. 

“It’s really cool. We’re super excited,” said Big Justice (Eric Befumo) about getting to collaborate with the university. 

FAU sold chicken bakes and double-chunk chocolate cookies to bring an extra element of uniqueness to the day. The chicken bake and cookies, a Costco staple, is what helped project the duo to social media stardom with their food reviews. 

They attended multiple events, such as the Owl Walk and leading the team out of the tunnel. Big Justice said his favorite event was doing “the world’s biggest BOOM.” 

“The tailgate party was incredible,” said A.J. “It’s crazy to see what goes on out there.”

The star’s attendance brought in fans eager to meet them. In attendance was  23-year-old Ethan Scholl, who traveled to the game from Virginia. Scholl said the idea of traveling started as a funny tweet where he joked about coming to the FAU game. FAU Athletics reached out to him and paid for his game ticket. This convinced Scholl to make the journey. 

Scholl has been a fan of A.J. and Big Justice for about a year. “I’ve been seeing the videos on TikTok. I just love the enthusiasm. I love the boom,” said Scholl. His only prior connection with FAU was supporting their men’s basketball run to the Final Four during 2023 March Madness.

The Owls’ offense brought their own boom to the game. They had 567 total yards, 257 from passing and 310 in rushing yards. Five different running backs got their hands on the ball, something head coach Tom Herman liked to see from the backup offensive line. 

“I was proud of the backup o-line. I was proud of the backup tailback…When we put them in against FIU it wasn’t a real good slate and they came in and did their job for a couple drives. That’s big in a game like this, to get those young guys the experience they need,” said Herman. 

Other backups saw playtime too, such as quarterback Kasen Weisman. He stepped in after starting quarterback Cam Fancer fell down on his previously injured thumb. Weisman showed his redshirt freshman capabilities, going 7/12 for completions, averaging 8.2 yards and rushing a 4-yard touchdown.

In total, eight receivers touched the ball but Omari Hayes stood out from the bunch. He had six receptions for 145 yards, with the longest being 71 yards. Running back CJ Campbell Jr. got to show off his running strength again with two touchdowns and 145 yards off 15 carries. 

“The radio guys told me that our defense gave up 132 yards, 102 of them came in that second quarter. So our defense gave up 30 yards in three quarters, but they all counted. It’s always good when you win by 31 to have a spot that you can say, ‘hey that wasn’t good enough.’ But again, really proud of our guys for growing,” said Herman.

As the Owls’ head into their bye week before they start American Athletic Conference (AAC) play, Herman wants the team to celebrate the win but understand that the competition will be increasing and getting “stiff from here on out.”

Recap

Wagner won the toss and decided to defer the ball. The Owls’ started with the ball, and their opening drive only lasted 32 seconds as Fancher completed a 71-yard pass to Hayes for the first play of the game. The next play, Campbell Jr. took the handoff and ran into the endzone for four yards to gain an early 7-0 lead. 

“Getting that first explosive play on that first play, that was huge for us,” said Fancher in regards to confidence going forward in the game. 

The Seahawks first drive had two rushing attempts, each being sacked for one yard. On their third-and-13, quarterback Jake Cady completed a 8-yard pass to wide receiver Mark Didio, falling short of the first down and was forced to punt. 

Florida Atlantic took the opportunity to go down the field again. It began with a false start by Wagner to give them a first-and-10 at their 23-yard line. Campbell Jr. took the ball again and broke through the defense for a 30-yard run. But, his other two attempts were less substantial and a incomplete pass by Fancher resulted in a 51-yard field goal kick by kicker Carter Davis. 

“When you have a coach that actually believes in you and you feel that belief, you know… if you do make a mistake you know he’s not going to be too crazy on you because he trusts you and believes in you,” said Campbell Jr. “Coach [Herman] he’s really tough on us, but we need it. As you can see tonight, it all pays off in the end.” 

The first quarter ended with FAU leading 10-0 as they extended their lead even further at the start of the second. Running back Zuberi Mobley escaped the pocket and rushed 22 yards towards the left side of the endzone for his first touchdown of the game. The drive lasted 5:33 with seven plays and 77 yards, 17-0 and 11:52 left in the second quarter. 

Wagner took the second quarter as their opportunity to come to life. It appeared the Seahawks might go three and out, but Cady connected with wide receiver Jaylen Bonelli for 9 yards on their third-and-8. Cady followed up with a deep pass to right field to wide receiver Teree McDonald, gaining 43 yards. After a couple drops, tight end Chase Stafford caught a 6-yard touchdown pass to put them on the board, 17-7. 

After Fancher re-injured his thumb, Weisman got his promised start. “I was excited to be on the field. It’s the first time I’ve been on the field in a game-like setting in two years since high school,” he said.

Weisman struggled with completions on his first drive and the Owls went three and out. Wagner used this to their advantage as pass interference calls helped them to propel down the field. Cady made some short passes with his receivers, putting them in field goal range. The Seahawks kicker Matthew Schwindt nailed a 25-yard field goal kick to bring their deficit to seven. 

With 2:02 left in the second quarter, Weisman began his second drive. He made a completion with Hayes for 11 yards but on second-and-24 he faced pressure from Wagner’s defense and they forced a fumble to end the first half.

“Second quarter started off rocky, made a couple of good throws. Just got to learn how to throw the ball away. You know, don’t make stupid mistakes. This isn’t high school, this is college football. But yeah, I was proud of the way I came out in the second half and how our team responded,” said Weisman.

Coming back from halftime, the Owls seemed refreshed. Wagner opened with the first drive and FAU quickly sacked Cady for a loss of eight yards. A defensive holding propelled the Seahawks to their 39-yard line and a QB scramble got them into FAU territory. The Owls held strong and forced a punt. 

FAU began to find their offensive footing, specifically with their run game. Campbell Jr. took the handoff and rushed down the field for 27 yards. Wiseman got shot at with a blitz and began to scramble but as he came out of the pressure he found Hayes in the open field for a 15-yard gain. They continued with the momentum and ended the drive with a field goal, 20-10. 

The Owls’ began to step into their Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) standing, showcasing their strength compared to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team. In the fourth quarter, FAU had 125 total yards, 116 coming from rushing, while Wagner had seven total yards. Campbell Jr. and Mobley led the drives together. With 1:52 left in the third quarter, Campbell Jr. rushed 11 yards into the endzone to bring the lead back to 17. Following that, Wiseman got his own 4-yard rushing touchdown, 34-10 with 12:53 left in the fourth quarter. 

“It felt great. We all came together. Did what we were supposed to do and like I said it was all getting back to doing our jobs…If everyone does their job, it’s really hard to beat us,” said defensive end Chris Jones. 

Wagner’s offense began to struggle in the fourth, going on two three and outs, as the Owls’ defense began to play to their full ability. Florida Atlantic followed up with a drive that lasted five minutes and two seconds, reaching the end zone again but this time it came from a 1-yard rush by running back Gemari Sands to seal the Owls’ 41-10 victory.

Megan Bruinsma is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories email her at mbruinsma2022@fau.edu or DM her on Instagram @megan_bruinsma or Twitter (X) @MeganBruinsma.