As the 1987 National Champions looked on, ULM was able to put away FAU 35-14 on Saturday night at Malone Stadium.

The Warhawks (4-2, 2-0) scored on their opening possessions of the first and second half, but sputtered for most of the game against an aggressive Owls (1-5, 0-3) defense. Although happy to be 2-0 in conference play, head coach Todd Berry knows his team will have to play better going forward.

“We were a little bit disjointed,” Berry said. “I thought we made some good half time adjustments but we’ve got to play cleaner. We missed some opportunities.”

ULM did most of its damage on the ground, rushing for 194 yards and averaging six yards a carry. Monterrell Washington ran for two touchdowns, including a 36 yard sprint early in the second quarter. Tight end Harley Scioneaux hauled in one of Kolton Browning’s two touchdown passes, making it his third touchdown catch on as many receptions this season.

Browning had a slow day through the air, but led the team in rushing with 59 yards on 10 carries.

“It took us a little while to get adjusted, but everyone did a good job of grasping what the coaches were telling us,” Browning said.

The Warhawk special teams scored their first touchdown of the year on a fumbled by FAU punter Sean Kelly that Mitchell Bailey recovered in the end zone. The Owls had no answer for ULM defensively, managing only 46 yards rushing and two scoring drives in the game–with one coming late in the fourth quarter. RJ Young led the defense with eight tackles, including two for a loss. The defense picked up five sacks in the game, with safetys  Mitch Lane and Gerrand Johnson recording the first of their careers.

ULM travels to Bowling Green next Saturday to face Western Kentucky. Like the Warhawks, the HillToppers also own a victory against an SEC opponent, and winner of this game will have leg up in the race to determine the Sun Belt champion.

“Obviously we have a big game,” Berr said. “We’ll have a good game plan and go out and play well. We will see if our best is enough.”