Owls facing key matchup with N. Texas
Kiffin hopes to keep team in contention for conference title.
BOCA RATON — Conference USA East Division leader Florida Atlantic (3-3, 2-0 in Conference USA) comes off its bye week tonight for a showdown with C-USA West leader North Texas (4-2, 3-0) at FAU Stadium.
With a win, FAU will have four wins in a single season for the first time since 2013, when the Owls finished 6-6. Under new head coach Lane Kiffin, the Owls are in a position to compete for a C-USA championship if their offense continues to dominate and their defense forces more turnovers.
“They feel good about the way they played the last couple of weeks in those games, but this is obviously the best conference team we have played so far,” Kiffin said this week. “Arguably, the best team in the conference by the way they are playing now on both sides of the ball. We will have our hands full with that, but we just have to keep getting better”
Here are five ways the Owls can move to 3-0 in C-USA play:
1. Make plays in the passing game
Both Kiffin and starting quarterback Jason Driskel believe the passing game has improved over the past two weeks of practice, but tonight will be an important test against the second-worst pass defense in Conference USA. While the Mean Green are only allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 50.5 percent of their passes, those completions are going for big gains as North Texas’ defense is allowing 262.8 passing yards per game.
“We’re getting more reps and we’re just executing better,” Driskel said.
With Driskel possessing so many dangerous weapons in the air, Saturday has the potential to be a breakout game for the redshirt junior.
2. Determine a role for Kalib Woods
While FAU wideout Kalib Woods is expected to make his season debut after serving a suspension to start the season following a June arrest, it is unknown how much last year’s leading receiver will play. Kiffin would be wise to have a role planned for Woods before kickoff as the first-year coach did with Kamrin Solomon, who served a similar suspension but made his season debut in a 45-0 win over Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 16 and made several plays from the slot position.
3. Rattle Mason Fine early
Tonight will provide a strength vs. strength matchup as the best passing offense in C-USA (North Texas and quarterback Mason Fine) takes on an FAU secondary that leads the conference with ten interceptions and is allowing the second fewest passing yards per game. As a true sophomore, Fine has become arguably C-USA’s top quarterback, completing 61.9 percent of his passes for 1,796 yards, 14 touchdowns, and only five interceptions.
“They have playmakers all over the field,” junior safety Jalen Young (Seminole Ridge) said. “We have to go out there, be on top of our game, and we can’t start slow . ... It’s a challenge. We have to man up to the challenge as a DB group.”
4. Contain Jeffrey Wilson Owls sophomore running back Devin “Motor” Singletary (American Heritage) may be on a record-setting pace in Kiffin and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles’ new offense, but the Mean Green bring C-USA’s leading rusher to Boca Raton in Jeffrey Wilson. If the Owls are able to contain Wilson, who currently has 749 yards with an average of 6.9 yards per rush and nine rushing touchdowns, the Mean Green may have to scramble and force more passing attempts, a strategy FAU has exploited several times this season. 5. Party like it’s 2007
If this year’s Owls are serious about contending for a Conference USA championship, they may want to learn from the 2007 Sun Belt championship team, which will be honored tonight for the school’s homecoming. Howard Schnellenberger’s 2007 Owls earned national praise for smash-mouth football and a high-octane offense which ranked 43rd in the country among Division I teams with an average of 31.2 points per game. Through their first six games, Kiffin’s Owls are earning national praise for smash-mouth football and a high-octane offense which ranks 37th in the country with 34.2 points per game.
That season, FAU took down North Texas on the road with a 30-20 victory. The Owls will try to replicate that performance 10 years later.