Boca Raton, FL (Sports Network) - Rusty Smith threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Florida Atlantic Owls to a 49-34 victory over the UAB Blazers in a non-league matchup at Lockhart Stadium.

Charles Pierre added 138 yards and scored twice on just 11 carries for the Owls (1-1), while Cortez Gent hauled in eight passes for 146 yards and one score in addition to throwing for another in the FAU victory.

Joe Webb completed 26-of-48 pass attempts for 326 yards and two touchdowns while adding 66 yards on the ground to lead UAB (0-2) in the losing effort. Frantrell Forrest grabbed 11 balls for 149 yards and a touchdown for the Blazers.

FAU wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as the Owls capped a seven- play, 60-yard opening drive with a 33-yard strike from Gent to Chris Bonner.

The Owls added another score midway through the period, as Smith completed a five-yard TD pass to Lester Jean.

The Blazers cut their deficit to 14-3 late in the frame with a 27-yard field goal by Swayze Waters.

A five-yard run by Pierre early in the second quarter gave the Owls a 21-3 lead.

The Blazers responded just minutes later, making the score 21-10 on a 20-yard pass play from Webb to Zach Lankford.

UAB found the end zone once more less than two minutes later, as Webb connected with Forrest for a 19-yard score.

The Owls added to their advantage late in the period as Smith and Gent combined for a 30-yard score to give FAU a 28-17 lead going into the break.

Aaron Johns made it into the end zone on a two-yard plunge early in the third period, but a two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Blazers five points behind at 28-23.

FAU padded its lead midway through the frame, as Smith hit Jean on a 30-yard scoring play to give the Owls a 35-23 advantage.

Waters connected on a 43-yard field goal with under two minutes remaining in the quarter, cutting the FAU lead to 35-26.

The Owls took a 42-26 lead early in the final period of play as DiIvory Edgecomb scored on a six-yard run.

The Blazers responded with an 10-yard run from Justin Brooks, capping a 13- play, 73-yard drive and followed up with a two-point conversion run by Rashaud Slaughter.

Pierre, however, put the final touch on the FAU victory in the last minute of the quarter with a 73-yard run that put the Owls ahead for good.

FAU finished the contest with 554 yards of offense on just 60 snaps, compared to 482 yards on 83 plays for the visitors.

FACTS & STATS: Site: Lockhart Stadium (20,500) -- Boca Raton, Florida. Television: None. Home Record: UAB 0-1, FAU 0-0. Away Record: UAB 0-0, FAU 0-1. Neutral Record: UAB 0-0, FAU 0-0. Conference Record: UAB 0-1, FAU 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: The Florida Atlantic Owls will try to bounce back from a rough season-opener when they host the UAB Blazers this Saturday afternoon at Lockhart Stadium.

After two terrible seasons the Blazers opened the new campaign with high hopes, but those hopes for a change were quickly diminished with a 45-22 setback to Tulsa in the season-opener. It was the eighth consecutive conference loss for UAB, which has just three wins against league foes over the past two seasons.

As for the Owls, they are coming off one of their best seasons in school history, but the team's memory of success was washed away thanks to a 52-10 thrashing at the hands of the Texas Longhorns this past weekend. After this matchup the Owls will have a very tough road ahead of them, as the team will be away from home for five of its next six games, including three in a row.

This will be the first-ever meeting between FAU and UAB on the gridiron.

The offensive unit for UAB scored 22 points in the first half this past weekend against Tulsa, but the Blazers fell apart in the second half and were unable to post any points the remainder of the contest. Despite the lackluster effort, the Blazers have some positive aspects to rest on. UAB pounded Tulsa for 245 yards on the ground and averaged 6.8 ypc. Quarterback Joe Webb was the star of the show against Tulsa, as the athletic signal-caller threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, but also rumbled for 136 yards on 18 carries. Aaron Johns and Jim Mitchell also contributed to the ground attack, rushing for 48 and 47 yards, respectively. Overall, UAB collected 21 first downs and also converted an impressive 8-of-13 third down attempts.

Defensively is where the Blazers had plenty of problems, as the team surrendered a whopping 601 total yards. UAB was unable to stop the Golden Hurricane through the air, or on the ground, as Tulsa torched the UAB defensive unit for 361 passing yards, while adding another 240 yards on the ground. UAB was unable to force a single turnover, and finished the game with just one sack. Keon Harris was all over the field for UAB, as the linebacker grabbed 11 tackles and also collected 1.5 TFLs. Will Dunbar also had a solid showing, collecting nine stops in the setback.

From the start of their season-opening matchup with Texas, the Owls were overmatched, which would explain the team's 42-point setback. Surprisingly the Owls had success through the air, finishing the contest with 255 passing yards. Rusty Smith only completed 15-of-31 passes in the loss, but the signal caller threw for 253 yards and one touchdown. Jamari Grant caught four passes for 93 yards in the loss, while Cortez Gent grabbed three passes for 59 yards. Unfortunately the team did not have much success on the ground, as Texas limited FAU to just 37 yards on 23 carries. Overall, FAU finished with only 13 first downs and converted on just 6-of-16 third down attempts.

The defense for FAU was embarrassed by the high-powered Texas offense, as the Owls were leveled for 503 total yards. Texas rumbled for 232 rushing yards in the contest, and threw for another 271 yards. Last year the Owls were abused by the pass almost every week, surrendering 241 yards per contest on the season. FAU surrendered a whopping 31 first downs, while also allowing the Longhorns to convert all eight of their red zone chances. Frantz Joseph led the defense with 10 tackles in the contest, while Ed Alexander and Greg Joseph both tallied seven stops and one TFL.

This should be an interesting matchup, as neither team is very solid defensively. UAB will have to rely heavily on Webb if the Blazers have any chance of winning, and while the signal-caller should have a strong outing, expect the Owls to grab a high-scoring battle.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Florida Atlantic 38, UAB 31

Saturday, September 6th, 4:00 p.m. (et)