Akron loses big to FAU

Boca Raton, FLA. – The FAU Fighting Owls came prepared to the Boca Raton Bowl, and Akron Zips simply did not. Heading into the game, the Zips were the underdogs in the largest differential in a spread in Bowl history, with a spread of 22.5. The Owls were headed by first year head coach Lane Kiffin, and he capped off his first season in the same fashion that he played all year while leading his team to a 10-3 record.

The final score to the game was 50-3, and that was after FAU decided to let up on the gas with about ten minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Before that mark, the Fighting Owls had a firm grip in all three phases of the game. The standouts for the Fighting Owls were QB Jason Driskel, RB Devin Singletary, and WR’s Kalib Woods, Willie Wright, and Kamrin Solomon.

Driskel has had a spectacular season for the team, and capped the Bowl game off with 270 passing yards and a touchdown, and also included two rushing touchdowns with 67 yards on the ground. The feature back in Singletary lived up to all of his pregame hype will rushing for 124 yards, and three touchdowns. Wright was the prolific receiver for the Fighting Owls and he caught two touchdown passes for 71 yards.

The Zips stat line was not so impressive, but it did show promise for the young quarterback Kato Nelson and his future with the team. The issue was that the offensive line could not hold up, and Nelson ended up having 14 carries for only 21 yards. He only had 80 yards in the air as well, but he kept his composure when he knew his team was outmatched. The Zips leading receiver had a 2 catches for 28 yards, and that sums up the night for the offense.

Akron does have promise heading into the future, but will need to improve collectively with their roster if they plan on letting Kato shine. The Zips have made progress by making it to the Bowl game, but will need much more to win a MAC Championship or Bowl game in the near future.