Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
FAU searching for Kiffin’s first win
Owls look to get back on track after Irma
The Lane Kiffin era at Florida Atlantic has had almost everything.
It’s had a conference-high salary, a top recruiting class, a fraud lawsuit, two scrutinized coordinators, scholarship offers to middle-schoolers, a viral unenthusiastic marketing video, a quarterback competition, three lightning delays, a nearly sixhour game, a road game at a top-10 opponent, a major hurricane and an extended stay in Madison, Wis. But it hasn’t had a win yet. FAU (0-2) has another chance to pick up its first victory of Kiffin’s reign when it hosts FCS opponent BethuneCookman (1-1) on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at FAU Stadium. The game will be televised on beIN Sports.
The Owls have never lost to a FCS school since it moved up to FBS, including a 38-30 win over Southern Illinois last season. Oddsmakers have not posted betting lines, but ESPN’s Football Power Index gives the Owls a 91 percent chance of winning.
Saturday’s game will install an aura of steadiness after an unusual week or so for FAU. Last week, Kiffin said he wasn’t
sure if the Owls would still play their scheduled game at Wisconsin due to the threat of Hurricane Irma. They ended up flying into Madison on Friday night and lost on Saturday afternoon 31-14.
But instead of returning back to South Florida immediately after the game, the Owls stuck around until Wednesday evening as the area recovered from Irma. They practiced at Camp Randall Stadium. They ate at Wisconsin’s training table. They lifted in Wisconsin’s weight room. They met in Wisconsin’s meeting rooms.
Madison became a football sanctuary for the Owls, even as questions surrounded if Saturday’s game against Bethune-Cookman would actually happen.
“Preparing for this week, it’s the same thing,” FAU running back Gregory “Buddy” Howell Jr. said. “You got to be focused. You got to be able to be focused on your assignment. You can’t really let your mind drift when it comes to football. Because when it’s football time, it’s football time.”
FAU announced late Tuesday night that the game would go on as scheduled. A university spokesperson said FAU Stadium suffered no damage that would affect the game, but the scoreboard did lose signage.
The Wildcats are also dealing with an unusual week. They stayed in Baton Rouge until Tuesday afternoon following their win over Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday. BethuneCookman practiced at Southern University before flying back to Daytona Beach.
As football brings a normalcy to Boca Raton, the Wildcats’ arrival will offer a sense of familiarity to FAU. The Owls have faced runheavy attacks in Navy and Wisconsin through the first two weeks. The Wildcats carry a spread offense to Boca Raton. They’ve passed 78 times and run 68 times.
“It is more similar to what we see every day in practice, some big splits some tempo, [run-pass options],” Kiffin said. “Hopefully, that will help. But these guys are really good. I know maybe people don’t think that.”
Bethune-Cookman hung around early with Miami in its season-opener, before the Hurricanes ran away for a 28-point win. The Wildcats put up 350 yards on Miami, including 121 on the ground.
“They played really good on offense,” Kiffin said. “For a couple of series they were hanging with them. A lot of broken plays. They kind of had Miami stopped and then those backs at Miami would just stop, run around everybody, make them miss and out run people. I thought they played them closer than what the score ended up.”
A win over BethuneCookman would calm nerves after an uneven 0-2 start and give FAU a shot at going 2-2 in non-conference play should it also beat Buffalo (losses to Minnesota and Army) a week later.