SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 24, 2012
Louisiana-Monroe 23, Florida International 17 (OT): Kolton Browning's 15-yard touchdown pass to Brent Leonard, his 13th reception of the day, lifted the visiting Warhawks to the overtime victory.
The winning play came after Louisiana-Monroe (8-4, 6-2 Sun Belt) blocked Jack Griffin's 41-yard field goal attempt on the initial overtime possession for the Golden Panthers (3-9, 2-6), who had forced the extra play in remarkable fashion.
Freshman E.J. Hilliard tossed an improbable 58-yard touchdown pass to Willis Wright with only 14 seconds remaining in regulation after Florida International forced and recovered a Browning fumble while he was in the victory formation two plays earlier. Hilliard finished 22-of-31 for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Louisiana-Monroe's defense had provided the only second-half touchdown to that point, when Darius Lively strip-sacked Hilliard and R.J. Young returned the fumble recovery 36 yards for a 17-10 advantage with eight seconds to go in the third quarter.
Browning finished 31-of-38 for 218 yards and scored on a 2-yard run for the Warhawks, who rushed for only nine yards but managed to secure their first eight-win season since joining the FBS in 1994. They led 10-7 at halftime on Justin Manton's last-second field goal, which answered an 18-play scoring drive by the Panthers that Hilliard capped with his 11-yard strike to De'Andre Jasper.