BOCA RATON, Fla. — Jaquez Johnson's 15-yard touchdown pass to Nate Terry with 20 seconds remaining capped a furious fourth-quarter rally over the final eight minutes and Florida Atlantic stunned UTSA by a score of 41-37 on Saturday night in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
Johnson, who was 24-of-34 for 295 yards and four total scores (3 pass/1 rush), helped the Owls (2-3, 1-0 C-USA) overcome a 10-point deficit in the final frame by completing a dozen passes for 175 yards and two TDs.
After Sean Ianno gave the Roadrunners (1-3, 0-1 C-USA) a 37-27 lead with his third field goal of the contest, a 27-yarder with 7:54 remaining, Johnson promptly led FAU on a 11-play, 75-yard touchdown march that culminated in a 21-yard scoring toss to Lucky Whitehead with 4:10 to go.
UTSA was unable to take much time off the clock on its ensuing possession, but Kristian Stern's 47-yard punt pinned the Owls at their own 7-yard line with 2:15 left on the clock.
Three consecutive Johnson rushes, including a 7-yarder on 3rd-and-4, netted 13 yards and put the ball at the Florida Atlantic 20. The junior signal caller quickly went to work in the air and connected on passes of 10 and 36 yards to Jenson Stoshak and Whitehead, respectively, which enabled the Owls to reach the UTSA 34. A Johnson 2-yard rush followed and he later completed a 12-yard pass to Alex Deleon to set up a 1st-and-10 from the Roadrunners' 20. Following an incompletion, a UTSA offsides penalty moved the ball to the 15 and Johnson hooked up with Terry on the next play to put FAU in front.
The Roadrunners had a chance to win the game with seven seconds remaining following Kam Jones' program-record 87-yard kickoff return, but Tucker Carter passes intended for Cole Hubble and Marcellus Mack from the 13-yard line fell incomplete and the Owls put an end to UTSA's five-game C-USA winning streak that dated back to last season.
Carter finished the night 20-of-39 for 272 yards and one touchdown and he added a pair of scores on the ground. David Morgan II led the Roadrunners with four receptions that went for 53 yards and Kenny Harrison added 67 on two catches, including a 53-yard TD with four seconds remaining in the first half that sent UTSA into the locker room with a 24-20 advantage. David Glasco II rushed 18 times for a game-high 85 yards.
Whitehead led Florida Atlantic with seven receptions for 79 yards and Stoshak added five for 95, including a 47-yard score late in the opening quarter. Jay Warren added 73 rushing yards on just 14 carries, while Johnson racked up 37 on 15 totes.
UTSA lit up the board first with the quickest score in program history. After Jens Jeters recovered a fumble on the Owls' first play from scrimmage, Carter connected with Morgan II for a 21-yard reception down to the FAU 1-yard line. The Roadrunners' senior signal caller snuck into the end zone one play later at the 13:59 mark of the opening quarter. That bettered Eric Soza's to 31-yard scoring toss to Jarveon Williams with 13:41 remaining in the first stanza last season against Louisiana Tech (Nov. 30).
Another forced fumble on Florida Atlantic's next possession led to points, as Ianno booted a 23-yard field goal with 9:26 left in the first frame.
The Owls used a little trickery for their first points of the evening. Johnson hooked up with a wide-open Stoshak on a 47-yard flea flicker with 24 ticks remaining in the opening period.
After Glasco II capped a 12-play, 72-yard scoring drive midway through the second stanza to extend the advantage back out to 10 points, Cre'von LeBlanc returned a Carter pass 76 yards to paydirt four minutes later to make it 17-14.
Florida Atlantic grabbed its first lead of the night with 22 seconds remaining in the opening half when Johnson ran for 24 yards, but Greg Joseph missed the extra point and the score stood at 20-17.
That left more than enough time for UTSA.
Williams returned the ensuing pooch kickoff 23 yards to the Roadrunners' 47 and Carter connected with a streaking Harrison, who came back to the ball to score a 53-yard touchdown with just four ticks left on the clock.
The edge swelled to 11 on UTSA's opening possession after intermission when Carter crossed the goal line for the second time, this time from three yards out. The drive, which covered 15 plays and 75 yards and was aided by four third-down conversions, chewed up the first 6:44 of the half, which was the second-longest scoring march of the season. In fact, the team's two longest scoring possessions by time this fall have occured after coming out of the locker room.
FAU responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive of its own on the following possession and Tony Moore made it 31-27 with his 2-yard run up the middle.
Ianno's second field goal of the night, a program-record 53-yarder at the 14:04 mark of the fourth quarter, stretched the lead to seven at 34-27 and his 27-yard boot six minutes later pushed the edge to 10.
UTSA will play its first home game in a month next Saturday, Oct. 4, when it hosts New Mexico (1-3) in the final non-conference contest of the season. The second all-time meeting between the programs is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m.