Owls are not looking ahead to UCF game
BOCA RATON — It would be easy for the Florida Atlantic football team to look past its next challenge.
After today’s game against Division I-AA Bethune-Cookman at FAU Stadium (6 p.m.), the Owls will have less than a week to prepare for their matchup at No. 18 Central Florida, which went undefeated last season. The Knights have the nation’s longest win streak at 15 games.
Still, the Owls refuse to look ahead. They are focused on the task at hand, which is defeating Bethune-Cookman.
“Coach told us to treat this game as the Super Bowl,” FAU cornerback Chris Tooley said. “Don’t come in thinking that it’s going to go light. Come in knowing that they want to beat us and knowing that they’re going to see this as their Super Bowl. We’ve got to come in ready, focused and locked in.”
The Owls are viewing this as more than just a tune-up. It is another opportunity to improve before beginning the most important part of the season. After the UCF game, they begin their attempt at a second straight Conference USA title. So don’t expect them to think back to last year’s 45-0 victory against BethuneCookman.
Coach Lane Kiffin said he expects to play the starters as long as possible because there is still much to work on. Two Conference USA schools — Western Kentucky and UTEP — have already lost to Division I-AA opponents this season.
In all, there have been six such upsets after just two weekends.
“If you think more people are going to play because of the opponent, that’s the wrong way to think,” Kiffin said. “[Six] of these teams have beaten teams already. Just because last year got out of hand, doesn’t mean this year is going to.”
The running game is among the areas the Owls hope to see improvement. It has struggled mostly because the offensive line had to replace three starters. Running back Devin “Motor” Singletary, who last year had a school-record 1,920 yards, has been held under 100 in both games.
“We know people are all up there [at the line of scrimmage] to stop us, making it difficult,” Kiffin said. “We’ve got to run the ball better.”
Singletary said it’s too early to panic. He was a non-factor in the opener because Oklahoma focused on slowing him. Last week, he would have topped 100 yards against Air Force if not for a holding call that negated a 75-yard touchdown run.
“It’s not surprising,” Singletary said of his slow start. “We’ve got three new guys. Everybody is still getting the feel of it. Everybody is still coming together. We’ve only played two games.”
The Owls also have some concern with the lack of turnovers through two games. Linebacker Rashad Smith recorded the only one with an interception versus Air Force.
“We haven’t gone after the ball well enough,” Kiffin said. “The first game, obviously, we weren’t tackling them to force a fumble. The next one we played a team that rarely turns the ball over. We’re not making any excuses. We’ve got to get after the ball better.”
The low numbers have been especially disappointing for the secondary. Last year, it set the school record with 20 interceptions.
“It’s a big concern,” said Tooley, who had four interceptions last season. “They’re gonna start coming. Ball’s in the air, it’s ours.”