Owls look for revenge, fourth straight victory
BOCA RATON — Lane Kiffin and the Florida Atlantic Owls (4-3, 3-0 in Conference USA) will look to win their fourth straight game and come closer to bowl eligibility today at Western Kentucky (5-2, 3-1).
Coming off a 69-31 throttling of North Texas in which the Owls recorded 804 yards of total offense, FAU now gets to test its potent offense against a team that has outscored the Owls 87-22 the past two years.
“We have a big test ahead of us. Go on the road against a team” that beat the Owls 52-3 last year, Kiffin said. “This is a big challenge. Really good quarterback. We are going to have to play well.”
Here are things to watch for as the Owls try to beat Western Kentucky for the first time since 2014 and move within a win of bowl eligibility.
1. Remember 52-3
In preseason, many FAU players were vocal about putting previous seasons and the losses that came with them in the past. Recent weeks have seen players take an opposite stance, speaking openly of desires to get revenge and take the field with a chip on their shoulder.
Facing Western Kentucky, the team that ruined FAU’s homecoming last season, provides another opportunity for senior Buddy Howell and teammates to exact payback.
“We know what happened, but we’re a whole different team now,” said Howell, who leads C-USA with 6.9 yards per rushing attempt. “We’re on a whole different level. Of course it’s another revenge game, a game that a lot of guys are amped up for.”
2. Get McNeal involved In DeAndre McNeal’s first four games with the Owls, the former Texas Longhorn had 18 catches for 298 yards and two touchdowns. During FAU’s winning streak, McNeal has four receptions for 25 yards and was held without a catch in last week’s win.
“I’m not sure, I’m trying to figure him out,” Kiffin said. “I’ve talked to him and he’s not sure what it is either. He doesn’t look quite the same. He looked a lot faster at the beginning of the year. I’m not sure what that is.”
If FAU hopes to ensure last week’s breakout performance by the passing game wasn’t a fluke, getting McNeal back into the offense would provide a definite boost.
3. Hit QB early and often With Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White having thrown for 10 touchdowns in his past two games, the Owls’ secondary is in for a true test, but it already knows the solution to stopping him. FAU shut down Mason Fine last week by getting to him early and forcing bad throws.
As simple as that seems, doing the same against perhaps the conference’s best quarterback will put FAU in good position to win.
4. Stay healthy
Perhaps the most surprising part of FAU’s season has been its health, as only three players expected to make major contributions — offensive lineman Matt Weiner (ACL), defensive tackle Ray Ellis (knee), and quarterback De’Andre Johnson (blood clots) — have missed significant time.
Though health is important for the remainder of the season as well, the Owls’ last loss came against Buffalo when they lacked both Howell and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
FAU likely will be missing cornerback Raekwon Williams for today’s game with what a source said is a knee injury.
5. Players to watch:
■ Kalib Woods, WR: After being reinstated late last week following a suspension for an off-field incident in the offseason, Woods didn’t do much against North Texas.
Kiffin said that with the team now having a full week to prepare Woods, the senior who was the leading returning receiver entering camp should have more opportunities going forward.
■ Andrew Soroh: S/LB: After losing his starting safety job to Zyon Gilbert in the preseason, Soroh began to see more reps at linebacker and has flourished.
Soroh has totaled 11 tackles during the three-game winning streak and continues to be an important voice on the defense.
“I kind of adapted to it fast,” Soroh said of playing linebacker. “I already knew most of the plays. I’ll go wherever my team needs me.”
■ Diashun Moss, CB: With Williams likely out, Kiffin said Moss will join Chris Tooley, Shelton Lewis and Korel Smith in the cornerback rotation. Moss had two tackles in last week’s win. TODAY’S TOP 25 SCHEDULE
No. 2 Penn State at No. 6 Ohio State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 3 Georgia vs. Florida at Jacksonville, 3:30 p.m. No. 4 TCU at No. 25 Iowa State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 5 Wisconsin at Illinois, noon
No. 7 Clemson vs. Georgia Tech, 8 p.m.
No. 8 Miami at North Carolina, noon
No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 N.C. State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 10 Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech, 8 p.m.
No. 11 Oklahoma State at No. 22 West Virginia, noon No. 12 Washington vs. UCLA, 3:30 p.m.
No. 13 Virginia Tech vs. Duke, 7:30 p.m.
No. 15 Washington State at Arizona, 9:30 p.m.
No. 16 Michigan State at Northwestern, 3:30 p.m. No. 17 South Florida vs. Houston, 3:45 p.m.
No. 18 UCF vs. Austin Peay, 5 p.m.
No. 21 Southern Cal at Arizona State, 10:45 p.m.
AROUND THE ACC Associated Press
Here are some things to watch in Week 9:
GAME OF THE WEEK: No. 14 North Carolina State at No. 9 Notre Dame. This is the ACC’s only game this week involving two ranked teams, and both started the season outside the Top 25. The Wolfpack (6-1) have six straight wins behind DE Bradley Chubb and the league’s toughest defense against the run, allowing
91.3 yards rushing per game. The Irish (6-1) — who play a handful of ACC schools every year as part of their league membership in other sports — rank sixth nationally in rushing, averaging nearly 318 yards to rank behind Arizona and four schools that run the triple option. N.C. State coach Dave Doeren calls it “a great headto-head, heavyweight battle.” Clemson’s run defense vs. Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense. The Yellow Jackets (4-2, 3-1) can run the ball, with coach Paul Johnson’s ground-heavy system ranking second in the nation with an average of 373 yards rushing. The seventh-ranked Tigers (6-1, 4-1) are undefeated when they hold foes to 133 yards rushing or fewer, with Syracuse gaining 162 yards in its upset two weeks ago.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Two of the best rushers in the
ACC are quarterbacks. Georgia Tech QB TaQuon Marshall (117.3 ypg) leads the league in rushing while reigning Heisman Trophy winner and former Boynton Beach High star Lamar Jackson of Louisville ranks third with an average of 108.5 yards — a fraction of a yard per game behind Yellow Jackets RB KirVonte Benson. No QB has ever finished a season as the league’s leading rusher. History suggests Duke might give No. 13 Virginia Tech a test. The Blue Devils (4-4, 1-4), 16-point underdogs, have won each of their past two visits to Blacksburg, Va. Up-and-down Duke followed a four-game winning streak by losing four in a row, and to pull another upset at Lane Stadium, they’ll have to solidify a defense that has allowed 11 touchdowns of at least 40 yards this season — including scoring runs of 79 and 92 yards in last week’s loss to Pittsburgh. Boston College has blossomed into one of the ACC’s success stories in recent weeks, pulling road upsets of Louisville and Virginia, and efficient redshirt freshman QB Anthony Brown led the way in the last one, completing 19 of 24 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns in beating the Cavaliers. Brown and the Eagles faced a home test Friday night against Florida State.