FAU defense has something to prove
Owls want to avenge last year’s 75-56 MTSU loss
BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic quarterback Daniel Parr felt there was something bizarre about last year’s game at Middle Tennessee State.
It stood out more anything.
“It felt cold,” Parr said. “That’s the one thing.”
The chilly temperatures were indeed awkward for a team full of mostly Floridians but it was hardly the weirdest thing about the game. The Owls lost 77-56 in one of the highest-scoring games in college football history.
The teams meet against Saturday at FAU Stadium with memories of last year’s wackiness still on their minds. Parr called it one of the “craziest I’ve ever seen.”
“It was wild,” Parr said. “It was back and forth. It was a shootout. But I think defensively we’re definitely a lot better than we were in that game last year. I think we’re ready to go.”
To recap, Middle Tennessee State set the school single-game record for points and total yards (757). Its 495 rushing yards also broke the NCAA Division I-A record. The teams’ 133 combined points were just four shy of the NCAA mark, set by Pittsburgh and Syracuse last year.
“I’m from Texas. You don’t even hear about 77 points in a college game,” said receiver DeAndre McNeal, who is in his first year at FAU. “I’ve been told that it’s kind of a like statement game, a rematch game. I told them don’t think of it that way. It’s just a regular game. They have football than players. We players.”
It is more than just a regular game for some, especially the FAU defenders. It was easily their worst performance of the season, perhaps in school history. The Owls allowed the video-game like numbers despite MTSU losing its starting quarterback early. Receiver Richie James moved under center and produced 406 total yards.
“The worst thing for us last year was probably hurting their quarterback,” Parr said. “They put Richie James back there at quarterback and he was just all over the place.”
The defense personally challenged itself to prevent a repeat. Accomplishing that will be easier if linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is available. He missed last week’s game at Buffalo because of an undisclosed injury. He and running back Gregory Howell Jr., who also didn’t play last game due to injury, are gametime decisions.
“It was an embarrassment last year,” Al-Shaair said. “It’s a new team. It’s a lot of faces there from last have football year’s team, so I just made sure that everybody picked up their intensity a little bit more this week so that doesn’t happen. … Seventyseven points will not be scored on this defense.”
Added running back Kerrith Whyte: “Allowing 77 points is unacceptable. That can’t happen. Defense, they’re doing their thing this year, so I know they’re going to shut them down.”
The FAU coaching staff has done all it could to prepare the defense for the multiple offensive looks it will see. MTSU utilizes an up-tempo, no-huddle approach that also includes a Wildcat package.
“It’s not as much as what they do,” FAU coach Lane Kiffin said. “It’s about what we do … We’ve got to get some turnovers. Last week we had none. We’ve got to be ready for everything with these guys. Like I said, they’re a wellcoached team. They’ve won a lot of games for a reason.”
srichardson@sun sentinel .com or Twitter @shandelrich