Marshall overtakes Florida Atlantic in 27-21 win

 Keion Davis ran in two touchdowns, including the winning score late in the fourth quarter, to lift Marshall past Florida Atlantic in a 27-21 win Saturday night.

Trailing 21-19 late in the fourth quarter, Marshall (2-4, 1-1 Conference USA) drove 80 yards in 14 plays to set up Davis' go-ahead touchdown run from the 1, and Chase Littonconnected with Josh Knight for the 2-point conversion. Florida Atlantic then drove to Marshall's 10 before Jason Driskell's pass to Kalib Woods fell incomplete on fourth-and-3 with 1:11 left, and the Thundering Herd took over on downs to seal the win.

Litton finished 27 of 39 for 330 yards passing, including a 65-yard touchdown throw to Knight in the second quarter. Knight had 128 yards on nine catches. Amoreto Curraj had two field goals.

Florida Atlantic (1-6, 0-3) got 111 yards rushing and a touchdown from Devin Singletary and 109 yards rushing from Greg Howell, who also had a touchdown.

Charlotte narrowly escapes FAU 28-23 for 1st C-USA win

 Hasaan Klugh threw for three touchdowns and ran for one, Kalif Phillips rushed for 132 yards and Charlotte narrowly escaped Florida Atlantic 28-23 on Sunday for the 49ers' first Conference USA victory.

Charlotte used a 12-play drive to eat up nearly 6 minutes of the clock late in the fourth quarter, but Robert Washingtonfumbled at FAU's 28-yard line with 40 seconds left. With no timeouts, FAU marched down the field and Jason Driskelfound Kamrin Solomon in the end zone for a touchdown. But after a replay, officials ruled that Solomon was out of bounds.

Charlotte (2-4, 1-1) is now 1-9 all-time in C-USA games.

Austin Duke made six catches for 111 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown, for the 49ers. Klugh went 14 of 17 for 223 yards passing and added 54 yards on the ground, and Phillips caught two passes for 42 yards.

The 49ers opened the second half with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Klugh's 3-yard touchdown pass toJustin Bolus for a 28-17 lead.

Gregory Howell Jr. rushed for 100 yards and become the first player for FAU (1-5, 0-2) to rush for three scores since Nov. 26, 2011.

The game, which featured five lead changes in the first half, was rescheduled from Saturday because of Hurricane Matthew.

McGough rallies FIU to 33-31 win over FAU

 Alex McGough ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, Austin Taylor kicked the go-ahead field goal and Florida International beat Florida Atlantic 33-31 on Saturday in a game that featured five lead changes.

FAU (1-4, 0-1 Conference USA) led 24-14 after Azeez Al-Shaair intercepted McGough's pass on the first play of the second half and returned it 30 yards for a score.

Anthony Jones replied with a 3-yard TD run to cap FIU's next drive, then McGough's 26-yard TD pass to Thomas Owensmade it 27-24 FIU.

FAU's Devin Singletary scored on a 1-yard run to regain the lead 31-27 for the Owls, but Taylor capped two FIU drives with 37- and 32-yard field goals.

McGough was 15 of 30 for 199 yards passing for FIU (0-4, 1-0).

Gregory Howell Jr. scored on a 68-yard run, Jason Driskel hit Marcus Clark on a 9-yard TD pass and Greg Joseph kicked a career-long 50-yard field goal for the Owls.

Ball State rallies in second half to edge FAU 31-27

Riley Neal threw two touchdowns and ran for two more, including the winning score, as Ball State rallied in the second half to edge Florida Atlantic 31-27 on Saturday night in a game that was delayed several times due to lightning.

Neal was 23-of-37 for 252 yards passing for the Cardinals (3-1) and rushed for another 74 yards.

Neal ran for the game-winning touchdown from short yardage, capping a 10-play, 70-yard drive with 1:47 left to play.

Florida Atlantic led 24-17 at the break.

Following a lengthy game delay midway through the third quarter, Neal threw a 29-yard touchdown to tie it up, 24-24, with 1:46 left in the period.

In the fourth, a 41-yard field goal put FAU back on top 27-24 with 9:18 remaining.

Jason Driskel threw for 324 yards and a touchdown for the Owls (1-3). He also ran for a score.

Kansas State rolls to 63-7 victory over Florida Atlantic

 Winston Dimel ran for four first-half touchdowns, Kansas State took advantage of four Florida Atlantic turnovers and the Wildcats rolled to a 63-7 victory in their home opener Saturday.

Jesse Ertz added 117 yards passing with a touchdown, and Dominique Heathreturned a punt 75 yards for another score, as the Wildcats (1-1) bounced back from their season-opening loss at Stanford .

Kansas State scored on its first four possessions, including a pair of one-play drives set up by Florida Atlantic (1-2) turnovers, and cruised to a 42-0 lead by halftime. Backup quarterbacks Alex Delton and Joe Hubenercompleted the route with touchdown runs in the fourth quarter.

Greg Howell had a touchdown run earlier in the fourth quarter for the Owls.

Jason Driskel threw for 125 yards, but the Florida Atlantic quarterback also tossed two interceptions and lost two fumbles deep in his own territory. Kansas State turned those turnovers into 21 points.

The Wildcats were playing their latest scheduled home opener since 1992, and also christening the most recent renovation to Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The $15 million project to fully enclose the lower bowl provided new space for the marching band and the visiting Owls with plush new locker rooms.

THE TAKEAWAY

FLORIDA ATLANTIC: Owls coach Charlie Partridge said this week that he is trying to emulate the way Snyder built his program. But he clearly has a long way to go. The Owls are coming off back-to-back three-win seasons, and could have a hard time getting to that mark if they play like they did Saturday.

KANSAS STATE: The Wildcats cleaned up a lot of the issues that popped up in their loss to Stanford, and get another chance to clean up the penalties against Missouri State next weekend. Things get tougher after that with a visit to West Virginia to open the Big 12 schedule.

UP NEXT

FLORIDA ATLANTIC: The Owls return home to play Ball State next Saturday night.

KANSAS STATE: The Wildcats wrap non-conference play against the Bears on Saturday night.

Walton runs for 4 TDs, No. 25 Miami tops FAU 38-10

Mark Walton saved Miami against Florida Atlantic last year.

He was even better in the rematch.

Walton rushed for career highs of 155 yards and four touchdowns, and No. 25 Miami shook off a slow start to beat Florida Atlantic 38-10 on Saturday night.

He ran for three touchdowns against FAU a year ago, and this time became the sixth Miami back in program history to rush for four in a game.

"I'm not a stats guy," Walton said. "It's great for me. Great for me to be the sixth or whatever. I'm not big on stats. I just go out there and play and my ability showed tonight."

Walton scored on runs of 7, 3, 16 and 30 yards. He was suspended for much of the offseason after a drunken-driving arrest, a charge that was dropped, and said he's had a chip on his shoulder since returning.

"He just plays with a lot of passion and heart," said Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya, who completed 17 of 31 passes for 191 yards for the Hurricanes and was picked off twice. "He shows up every day and gets after it."

Miami (2-0) set a school record with 108 points in the season's first two games, breaking the previous mark of 104 set in 1998 and matched in 2002.

"I just want to score enough to win, truthfully," said Miami coach Mark Richt, who is the 10th coach to win his first two games on the Hurricane sideline. "I like when there's not a whole lot of drama."

Greg Howell rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown for FAU (1-1). Jason Driskel completed 18 of 36 passes for 167 yards for the Owls, who punted on their first seven possessions. Kalib Woods caught nine balls for 121 yards.

"We came here to win. We didn't accomplish the mission we came here to accomplish," FAU coach Charlie Partridge said. "The good news is these are all very fixable things for a very young football team - a very young, talented football team."

Joe Yearby ran for 121 yards and a score for the Hurricanes. Miami outgained FAU 470-214, and forced nine punts for the second consecutive game.

"I thought our defense played spectacular," Richt said. "Very obvious how great they played. They would not let it get interesting at all."

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida Atlantic: The Owls had chances early, getting into Miami territory five times in the first half but only coming away with three points. Driskel was poised against Miami's rush, but his offensive line failed him - and Howell, who managed only 16 yards on nine first-half carries. The FAU defensive front caused Miami's experienced offensive line plenty of problems, a good sign for the Owls.

Miami: The Hurricanes regressed in the first half, plagued again by the mistakes that doomed them in past seasons. There were drops, a missed field goal for the second straight week and silly penalties - roughing the punter most egregious among them. Kaaya threw multiple interceptions for the first time since Game 6 of his freshman season, though he got clobbered on one. But Miami found what worked in the second half.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Miami might not be a lock to stay in the AP Top 25. Florida's big win over Kentucky could get the Gators back in the ranking, though No. 22 Oklahoma State's "loss" - the Cowboys fell to Central Michigan on the last play of the game, though officials later said the winning score should not have counted - may be enough to keep the Hurricanes ranked.

UP NEXT

FAU: The Owls visit Kansas State next Saturday. It's the only time FAU leaves Florida in the first six weeks of this season.

Miami: A dangerous game awaits at Appalachian State next Saturday. The Mountaineers are 18-3 in their last 21 games, and the biggest crowd in the history of Kidd Brewer Stadium is expected.

Florida Atlantic outlasts Southern Illinois 38-30

 Jason Driskel passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another, and Florida Atlantic scored 17 consecutive points in the second half to beat Southern Illinois 38-30 in the season opener for both teams on Saturday.

Driskel's 2-yard run on fourth-and-goal capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive out of halftime and gave Florida Atlantic a four-point lead. After a Southern Illinois punt, Driskel found Tyler Cameron for a 4-yard score. Greg Joseph's 40-yard field goal made it 38-24 with 10:38 left.

Gregory Howell Jr. rushed for two TDs and 128 yards for Florida Atlantic.

Sam Straub, who replaced Southern Illinois starting quarterback Josh Straughan for one play when Straughan's helmet came off, made the most of his limited opportunity, finding Kyle Newquist for a 20-yard touchdown and cutting the Owls' lead to 38-30 with 2:41 remaining.

Southern Illinois fumbled on its next possession.

Straughan threw for 367 yards and one touchdown.