SAN ANTONIO — Zakhari Franklin and Carlos Strickland II combined for 183 receiving yards, but Harrison Bryant caught 10 passes for 182 yards to help lead Florida Atlantic to a 40-26 victory over UTSA in Conference USA on Saturday night at the Alamodome.
Franklin hauled in seven passes for 98 yards and his third touchdown of the season, while Strickland caught five balls for 85 yards and his team-leading fourth score of the fall to lead the Roadrunners (4-7, 3-4 C-USA), who topped the 400-yard mark on offense for the third straight game with 401 yards.
Brenden Brady rushed for a season-high 86 yards on 15 carries and Sincere McCormick added 76 on 12 totes to up his season yardage total to 864 and move into the No. 3 slot on the school's single-season list.
Meanwhile, Rashad Wisdom registered 10 tackles to guide the UTSA defense. The true freshman from Converse Judson High School also forced a fumble and recorded one of the Roadrunners' 10 tackles for loss on the night, tying the season high and giving UTSA 84 on the year to break the school record of 77 set in 13 games during the 2016 campaign.
Trevor Harmanson and SaVion Harris posted seven stops apiece, while Eric Banks turned in four tackles in his 47th career game, matching the program standard for career appearances.
Bryant, a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award honoring the nation's top tight end, tied the UTSA opponent record for receiving yards in a game to help pace the Owls' offense, which tallied 526 yards, including 336 through the air.
Quarterback Chris Robison completed 27 of 41 passes for 336 yards and a touchdown for FAU, now 8-3 overall and the C-USA East Division leader at 6-1 in the league.
FAU got on the board first on Malcolm Davidson's 16-yard TD dash up the middle on the Owls' first possession. That drive covered 90 yards in just five plays and was highlighted by Bryant's 32-yard reception down to the UTSA 31.
Hunter Duplessis drilled a 41-yard field goal with 4:11 in the opening quarter to make it 7-3. The junior place-kicker's seventh successful kick of the season capped a 12-play, 51-yard drive that took 6:28 off the clock and was headlined by 13-yard scampers from Brady and Lowell Narcisse, who completed 10 passes for 86 yards and a pair of scores.
The Owls went back up by seven after Vladimir Rivas drilled a 26-yard field goal early in the second stanza.
FAU then turned a UTSA fumble into points, marching 65 yards in eight plays, the last a 9-yard TD dash up the middle by James Charles. Rivas' extra point helped the visitors take a 17-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Rivas booted his third field goal of the evening, a 28-yarder, to open the second-half scoring.
FAU then took advantage of its second fumble recovery of the game and two plays later, BJ Emmons broke loose for a 32-yard touchdown run to help push the lead to 27-3.
The Roadrunners responded with a seven-play, 80-yard scoring march. Brady got loose for a 24-yard scamper and Narcisse found Strickland on a 26-yard pass down to the FAU 17. Two plays later Narcisse hit Franklin on a fade route for a 16-yard scoring connection. The Roadrunners chose to go for two points and Narcisse crossed the goal line on a quarterback keeper to pull the home team to within 27-11 with 4:01 left in the third.
However, FAU answered with a scoring drive of their own that resulted in a 2-yard TD pass from Robison to Bryant with six seconds left in the quarter. The Owls' two-point try failed, leaving the score at 33-11.
UTSA cut the deficit to 15 after Narcisse found Leroy Watson wide open in the end zone on a 2-yard jump pass. Duplessis' PAT made it 33-18 with 8:42 remaining.
The Owls countered yet again, covering 66 yards in only four plays, the last a 5-yard TD dash by Emmons. The extra point pushed the advantage to 40-18.
Jordan Weeks, who came off the bench to throw for 123 yards on 8-of-11-passing, found Strickland over the middle for a 24-yard TD pass. Weeks then ran in the two-point conversion try to make it 40-26 with three minutes left to play.
UTSA tried an onside kick but FAU recovered and ran out the clock to secure the win.
The Roadrunners will close out the regular season next Saturday, Nov. 30, against Louisiana Tech (8-3, 5-2). Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. in Ruston and the game will air on ESPN+ and Ticket 760.
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