College Football Star Does Something No FBS Player Has Done in 20 Years

Florida Atlantic escaped with a thrilling 51-49 win over Rice on Saturday in Boca Raton, surviving a shootout that featured 100 total points and 1,069 total yards. Rice jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but FAU responded with a blocked-punt safety and two touchdowns from senior wide receiver Easton Messer to take a 23-21 lead into halftime.

The teams traded blows throughout the third quarter before Messer delivered another big play, returning a punt 82 yards for a touchdown with just under four minutes left in the game to give FAU a nine-point cushion. Rice answered with a 71-yard touchdown pass and later got into field goal range, but a 55-yard attempt from Tommy Bauchiero fell short. FAU improved to 5-2 with the win and 2-1 in the American Conference, while Rice fell to 1-7.

But after the game, attention quickly shifted back to Messer, who finished with a whopping five touchdowns and 262 all-purpose yards. He caught 12 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, along with 18 rushing yards and two rushing scores on three carries, then capped it all off with the 82-yard punt-return touchdown. In doing so, he became the first FBS player in 20 years to record at least two rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, and a punt-return touchdown in the same game.

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Messer, a 5-foot-9 receiver from Louisville, Kentucky, began his college career in 2022 at Western Kentucky before transferring to FAU in 2025 to reunite with quarterback Caden Veltkamp and coach Zach Kittley. At WKU in 2024, Messer caught 55 passes for 793 yards and four touchdowns. He took a major step forward last season, his first with the Owls, finishing with 1,052 yards and six touchdowns on 104 catches, earning second-team All-American Conference honors.

Messer was already one of the most productive receivers in the country heading into Sunday. He ranked first in career receptions and second in receiving yards and all-purpose yards among active FBS players. Saturday's performance only added to what's been a strong college career for him.

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With Messer being a fifth-year player, this will likely be his last season playing college football. So don't expect to see his name pop up in transfer rumors at the end of the year. But he could still catch attention from NFL teams. This game alone likely won't make him a draft pick, and given his listed height, he would still have a lot of work to do to impress scouts. But the productivity is hard to ignore, and if he puts up more historic performances like this one, he could play his way onto an NFL team next year.