DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As No. 12/12 Bethune-Cookman prepares for its Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoff game this upcoming weekend against No. 11/11 Coastal Carolina, each day BCUathletics.com will revisit a former playoff game throughout the history of the Bethune-Cookman football program.
The four-part series continues with the 2003 playoff game – the second consecutive season for the Wildcats in the postseason, and the first time ever hosting an I-AA playoff matchup.
It was a Homecoming loss to eventual Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion North Carolina A&T that kept the Wildcats from winning their second-straight league title. Despite that loss, the Cats earned an at-large bid to the playoffs and a home contest at Municipal Stadium against in-state foe Florida Atlantic, coached by legendary head coach Howard Schnellenberger. The Cats defeated the Owls 30-17 the previous year, but one season proved to be the difference in this second matchup.
RECAP…
(Associated Press) Jared Allen threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns and Florida Atlantic survived a fourth-quarter rally to beat Bethune-Cookman 32-24 in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs Saturday inside Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Florida Atlantic (10-2), which is in only its third football season, will play either Northern Arizona or McNeese State in next weekend's quarterfinals.
Scott Austin threw for 191 yards and two scores for Bethune-Cookman (9-3), with Eric Weems catching 11 balls for 124 of those yards. Bethune-Cookman outgained Florida Atlantic 400-316 and sacked Allen six times, but couldn't overcome four lost fumbles, two interceptions and 16 penalties for 142 yards.
The Owls, who were making the school's first playoff appearance ever, scored 14 points in the first 2:28 of the game. Larry Taylor caught a 32-yard pass from Allen 39 seconds into the game for the first score, and Doug Parker scored on a 2-yard run for a 14-0 lead.
The lead went to 17-0 with 2:11 left in the opening quarter when Mark Myers connected on a 47-yard field goal.
Bethune-Cookman, which was ousted in the first round for the second straight year, got back within 17-10 on a 23-yard field goal by Jesus Cortez, followed by a 53-yard touchdown pass from Austin to Jonathan Summers with 11:12 left in the third quarter.
Florida Atlantic stretched the lead back to 27-10, following a 48-yard field goal by Myers and a 46-yard scoring pass by Allen to Brittney Tellis with 13:20 remaining.
Two quick touchdowns -- a 6-yard pass from Austin to Weems with 9:47 left and a 19-yard run by Brad Lee 7:24 later -- brought the Wildcats back within 27-24, but Bethune-Cookman's last chance stalled on an intentional grounding call in the end zone with nine seconds remaining.
POSTGAME NOTES…
THE LOSS – Concludes B-CC's season at 9-3 … Denies the Wildcats of consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time … Was just B-CC's fourth non-conference setback in the Alvin Wyatt era … Put B-CC 0-3 in post-season play under Wyatt and 6-7 lifetime … Gave FAU its second victory over B-CC; the Owls are now the only non-conference team to beat B-CC more than once under Wyatt … Was B-CC's third loss of the season decided by a touchdown or less … Was the first time this season B-CC lost even though it outgained its opponent in total yards (400-316).
PLAYOFF/POST-SEASON HISTORY: B-CC has lost four consecutive in the post-season dating back to 1977… The offensive points were the first since the 1977 Division II playoffs, where B-CC lost at Cal-Davis and Athletic Director Lynn Thompson was the kicker.
TURNOVERS – Six marked a season-high, surpassing the five against South Carolina State.
ERIC WEEMS – With 11 receptions, earned a spot on the school single-game receptions list, tying Leon Gonzalez, James Adderley, and Remi Watson for seventh … Finished with his second 100-yard receiving game of the season with 123 yards … Weems finished the season with 10 touchdowns.
STEVE BAGGS: With 2.5 sacks, broke the single-season sack record with 15, replacing Raymond Woodie's 1994 total of 14 … Finishes his career with a school-record 40 sacks and an NCAA single-season mark with 35 tackles for loss.
SCOT AUSTIN – Finished with 191 yards passing on16 completions, both a game-high for a B-CC quarterback this season (Suber completed 14 against South Carolina South and had 174 passing yards against Savannah State).
JESUS CORTEZ – Set the single-season kicking scoring record with 67 points, breaking the previous mark of 64 by Manny Manolas in 1985.
DARIUS BUTLER – Six catches for 67 yards were both season bests.
POSTGAME QUOTES…
HEAD COACH ALVIN WYATT - "We decided to go after them more in the second in the second half instead of sit back and let them do what they wanted to do with play-action … We realized they couldn't stop us in the blitz … we needed to make sure our kids got bumped from their receivers and destroy the timing between the receivers and the quarterbacks … we were able to put on a ferocious attack when we did blitz him [FAU QB Jared Allen].
“If we don't fumble the football down inside the 30, it would have been a different outcome.”
“Our style is to run the Wyattbone and what you saw today wasn't our style.”
“When we were down 17-0, I just told our guys to look back to last year. We've been down before”
QUARTERBACK ALLEN SUBER - “I played three plays after I was hurt. I decided to step out.”
"The team performed great after I left. It shows the character we have.”
LINEBACKER STEVE BAGGS - “I'm head-strong enough that once I've made a mistake, I put it in the back of my mind. That was an unprofessional play on my part in a key situation.”
“As far as taunting goes, a lot of things are said on the field.''
“It was a regular blitz coming off the edge. It's one of the plays once you push to the outside; you have an opportunity to finish the play.”
QUARTERBACK SCOTT AUSTIN - “For a big guy, I can move pretty well. I kept telling the coaches not to underestimate my speed. Everyone thinks just because you're tall, you can't move around. I can move with the best of them.”
SCORING SUMMARY…
1 2 3 4 F Record
Florida Atlantic 17 0 3 12 32 10-2
Bethune-Cookman 0 3 7 14 24 9-3
1st 14:21 FAU – Taylor 32 yd. pass from Allen (Myers kick) FAU 7, B-CC 0
3 plays, 59 yards, 0:33 TOP
12:32 FAU – Parker 2 yd. run (Myers kick) FAU 14, B-CC 0
4 plays, 46 yards, 0:49 TOP
2:11 Myers 47 yd. field goal FAU 17, B-CC 0
6 plays, 57 yards, 2:35 TOP
2nd 10:07 B-CC – Cortez 23 yd. field goal FAU 17, B-CC 3
7 plays, 20 yards, 4:21 TOP
3rd 11:12 B-CC – J. Summers 53 yd. pass from Austin (Cortez kick) FAU 17, B-CC 10
4 plays, 67 yards, 1:50 TOP
4:11 FAU – Myers 48 yd. field goal FAU 20, B-CC 10
4 plays, 3 yards, 1:08 TOP
4th 13:20 FAU – Tellis 46 yd. pass from Allen (Myers kick) FAU 27, B-CC 10
7 plays, 75 yards, 2:14 TOP
9:47 B-CC – Weems 6 yd. pass from Austin (Cortez kick) FAU 27, B-CC 17
11 plays, 90 yards, 3:33 TOP
7:24 B-CC – Lee 19 yd. run (Cortez kick) FAU 27, B-CC 24
3 plays, 37 yards, 0:37 TOP
4:42 FAU – Myers 30 yd. field goal FAU 30, B-CC 24
7 plays, 49 yards, 2:42 TOP
0:09 FAU – Team Safety FAU 32, B-CC 24
For more information on the Bethune-Cookman University football team, please log onto BCUathletics.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, stats and information regarding the Wildcats football program.
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