Boca Raton, FL -- (Sports Network) - Rusty Smith threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Florida Atlantic Owls to a 40-29 triumph over the UL- Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns in Sun Belt Conference action.

Charles Pierre added 109 rushing yards and one touchdown on 10 carries for Florida Atlantic (5-5, 3-2 SBC).

Tyrell Fenroy ran for 92 yards and a score in the setback for UL-Lafayette (5-5, 4-1).

Florida Atlantic led 12-0 after the first quarter on the strength of a six- yard touchdown run by Pierre and a 13-yard scoring strike from Smith to Chris Bonner. Ironically, both extra point attempts were blocked.

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Owls pushed their lead to 19-0 on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Rob Housler.

UL-Lafayette finally got on the board midway through the second quarter on a 14-yard touchdown run by Fenroy, cutting the deficit to 19-7.

With less than a minute remaining in the first half, FAU pushed its advantage to 26-7 on a 10-yard touchdown run by Willie Rose.

The only points of the third quarter came on a 23-yard connection between Smith and Housler, making the score 33-7 in favor of the Owls.

The final points of the game for FAU came with just over 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, as Smith tossed a five-yard scoring pass to Jamari Grant.

Trailing 40-7, UL-Lafayette managed three late touchdowns to make the game seem much more competitive than it really was. Brad McGuire tossed a two-yard touchdown pass to Ladarius Green, and Scooter Rogers returned a fumble 30 yards for a score. The final points came on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Chris Masson to Luke Aubrey.

UL-Lafayette lost the game despite a 10-of-16 effort on third down conversion attempts and a time of possession of over 37 minutes.