5 Keys to FAU Victory vs. UAB

Football season is finally here as FAU is getting ready to take the field at Legion Field. The term “house of horrors” is thrown around quite a bit when it comes to football but that couldn’t be truer for FAU when it sees Legion Field tonight. But the only positive with opening the season against a team that put up 56 points and 622 total yards against you is the fact that you get a chance to completely move on from an awful experience by showing your improvement on the field and not just talking about it. Lets take a look at the 5 keys to victory for FAU.

1. Get the ball to Van Camp: what may seem like the simplest part of the offense could be the most difficult as they prepare for week one. The biggest story line out of training camp has been the staggering rate at which FAU centers went down practice by practice. Game day though means that all the time for experimenting is over and somebody has to get it done. For FAU it doesn’t matter if it is Mike Nweze, Jimmy Colley or anybody else along the oline as long as they get the ball to JVC. 

2. Defense has to be angry: last year’s contest with UAB was an embarrassment plain and simple. This year the FAU defense has been preaching about how that game wasn’t FAU football and they are ready to show UAB that tonight. Coach Van is a man filled with emotions but has to make sure that all that anger and frustration is used in a positive manner tonight and not in ways that could jeopardize the team such as stupid penalties and blown assignments.

3. Force turnovers: the biggest difference last year for the FAU defense besides the fact that they ranked near the bottom in the nation in nearly all defensive categories was the lack of forced turnovers. FAU doesn’t need to be a top 10 defense to be successful (but it wouldn’t hurt) things will look very different though if they are forcing turnovers. If the D can help set up the offense a little bit tonight it could help take some of the pressure off the newbies on the offense.

4. Fuel up the Boca Raton Route of the A Train: Alfred Morris took the Sun Belt by storm last year going from backup fullback to Sun Belt rushing leader, this year he won’t be surprising anybody. His numbers may take a dip at the beginning of the year as the offensive line gets adjusted but that doesn’t mean that FAU should get away from feeding him the ball. This year Offensive Coordinator Darryl Jackson will also have Jeff Blanchard and Willie Floyd back and healthy to lean on when Alfred needs a break.

5. Stay out of the headlines: while the focus of the revenge game against UAB will be the defense getting redemption, they weren’t the only unit that struggled last season. For a team that missed going bowling by just one game, there still are a few losses that they can look back on and consider a win if not for some special team miscues. Changes have been made there as well with Joe Corozza taking over special team duties, now we have to see how it reflects on the field. While it would be great for Legion Field to witness the 1st FAU return kick for a touchdown, the Owls should be satisfied with just getting by being average on special teams tonight.

 

Brian Rowitz

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