5th-year seniors covet C-USA title

BOCA RATON — When it comes to bowl eligibility, Florida Atlantic defensive end Haiden Nagel — one of the final players left from the 2013 Owls who went 6-6 but were snubbed for postseason play — has been there, done that.

Bowl eligibility is one thing, but the Owls (7-3, 6-0) need one more win to clinch Conference USA’s East Division and the opportunity to play in their first C-USA title game following Saturday’s 48-23 win over Louisiana Tech. And that fills Nagel with pride and awe.

“To be one of the last guys on the team from that season, so much has changed since then,” said Nagel, who had one tackle against the Bulldogs (4-6, 2-4). “I’m just really excited for the future of this program and for this season to keep on rolling.”

Following linebacker Nate Ozdemir’s spring departure to pursue a career in the Marine Corps, only eight players — tight end Dustin Bowens, running back Marcus Clark, guards Roman Fernandez and Jakobi Smith, center Antonyo Woods, wide receivers Bobby Mitchell and Kalib Woods and Nagel — are left from the 2013 Owls.

“We’re building a new culture,” Clark said. “We’re trying to get some of the older guys some recognition. It feels like the work is starting to pay off.”

Creating a winning culture is something players immediately bought into when Lane Kiffin was hired in December. After finishing the 2013 season with four consecutive wins, FAU won only nine games from 201416 under Charlie Partridge.

While the highs of Partridge’s tenure came with high-profile recruits such as linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, safety Jalen Young (Seminole Ridge) and running back Devin Singletary (American Heritage), the lows of blowout losses and poor attendance stuck with players.

“You can almost say it was like a Cinderella story,” Antonyo Woods said. “We finally made it, we finally accomplished our goal that we all sought and we all knew we could accomplish.”

Several of the fifth-year seniors had key, but quiet, impacts in Saturday’s win. Woods, a mainstay on the Owls’ offensive line, was vital in blocking alongside close friend Fernandez on Saturday as FAU totaled 415 yards of total offense in only 20 minutes of possession time. When tight end John Raine left with a knee injury, Bowens stepped in on two-tight end sets to block. Clark had an important block on Kerrith Whyte’s kickoff return for a touchdown. Whyte credited Clark for the touchdown on Twitter, tweeting #FollowClark in response to teammate Buddy Howell’s praise.

Kalib Woods, who returned last month after a suspension, caught three passes for 118 yards and a 77-yard touchdown Saturday. Woods also caught his second 2-point conversion following a third-quarter touchdown by Singletary.

FAU’s seniors will play their final regular-season game in Boca Raton on Saturday against rival Florida International (6-3, 4-2) in the annual Shula Bowl.

“The people that were in that room, the long-tenured guys that stayed, we were always focused on making sure we got to bowl eligibility,” Antonyo Woods said. “Now, we have to shift our focus to ‘Hey, now that we’re bowl-eligible, that doesn’t guarantee us anything.’”