BOCA RATON, Fla. \u2014 Lane Kiffin\u2019s debut at Florida Atlantic lasted nearly six hours, featured three lightning delays and ended with almost no one left in the stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was unforgettable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was also unsuccessful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zach Abey ran for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and Navy spoiled the start of Kiffin\u2019s era at FAU by topping the Owls 42-19 in a bizarre game that ended at 1:47 a.m. Saturday. It took more than three hours to play the fourth quarter with the delays \u2014 and when the game ended, even the cheerleaders were long gone and cleaning crews were already at work inside the stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Navy scored five touchdowns on a six-possession span at one point, turning what was a brief 10-7 FAU lead into a rout. And even though the game seemed decided by the time weather interrupted play, Kiffin wouldn\u2019t concede \u2014 so the teams waited it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know any other way to do it,\u201d Kiffin said. \u201cI thought we were still going to win. … I would never do anything different, and I would never walk into the locker room with the players and tell them we would do it different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joshua Walker rushed for two scores for Navy (1-0). Abey also threw for a touchdown for the Midshipmen, who outgained the Owls 526-326.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel Parr threw a 95-yard touchdown pass to Willie Wright for FAU (0-1), a play that gave the Owls a brief lead in the second quarter. Parr finished 19 of 30 for 281 yards and two touchdowns, the other being a 62-yarder to DeAndre McNeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lightning started at the end of the third quarter, causing what was initially a 59-minute delay. Play resumed \u2014 for all of 67 seconds, with both teams getting a touchdown in that span before heading back to their respective locker rooms. The teams then returned for a warmup around 12:10 a.m., before being told to leave the field moments later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The game restarted for the final time at 1:20 a.m. The announced attendance for Kiffin\u2019s debut was 28,481, the third-largest crowd in FAU history. All but a few were long gone when it ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were hunkered down,\u201d Kiffin said. \u201cWe were staying for the long haul. That\u2019s just how we are. That\u2019s how our program is. That\u2019s how we want our players to think. If you love football, why wouldn\u2019t you want to keep playing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a most unceremonious end to Kiffin\u2019s long-awaited debut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kiffin got off the team bus about two hours before kickoff wearing a tan suit, sunglasses and having the headphones in his ears blaring something from the iPhone he carried. Not long afterward, he tweeted a photo of a box holding new sneakers \u2014 adidas\u2019 Yeezy Boost 350, size 12, part of the brand\u2019s collaboration with Kanye West, hence Kiffin\u2019s usage of the hashtag \u201cthxkanye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former Tennessee, USC and Oakland Raiders head coach \u2014 most recently the Alabama offensive coordinator \u2014 had his usual look on the field: white windbreake and matching visor. And when Wright took off down the left sideline for what became the longest play in FAU history, Kiffin ran in the opposite direction in celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Owls didn\u2019t have much else to enjoy over the rest of a long, long night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE TAKEAWAY<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Navy: The Midshipmen improved to 6-4 in openers under coach Ken Niumatalolo. … Navy ran 68 rushing plays, as opposed to 10 passes. … Abey completed only three throws, and still finished with 110 passing yards. … Navy held the ball for 40 of the game\u2019s 60 minutes and went 9 for 17 on third downs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Florida Atlantic: The Owls set school records with both the 95-yard TD pass and Greg Joseph\u2019s 54-yard field goal midway through the third quarter. … The Owls had only 40 rushing yards, though they lost 39 on plays that went down as team rushes following bad snaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AND YOU ARE?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monte Kiffin \u2014 Lane\u2019s father and part of the FAU staff \u2014 arrived at the press level about 15 minutes before kickoff and was asked by a security guard for his credential as he left the elevator. The security guard quickly relented when told who he was, and waved him through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UP NEXT<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Navy: Tulane comes in on Sept. 9 for Navy\u2019s home opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Florida Atlantic: The Owls visit No. 9 Wisconsin on Sept. 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lane Kiffin\u2019s debut at Florida Atlantic lasted nearly six hours, featured three lightning delays and ended with almost no one left in the stands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":76296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":71,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["military-sports","off-duty"],"primary_category":"military-sports"},"6":{"categories":["military-sports","off-duty","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"military-sports"}}},"categories":[101,71,26,13],"tags":[],"coauthors":[5232],"class_list":["post-40761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-military-sports","category-newsletters","category-off-duty"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"XX2RE4NB5VEE7EPQBKHDE67FMI","arc_canonical_url":"\/off-duty\/military-sports\/2017\/09\/02\/navy-tops-fau-42-19\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n