Owls are confident despite adversity

BOCA RATON — At this point, Florida Atlantic football coach Charlie Partridge could easily start thinking of wholesale changes.

The Owls are 1-5, with their lone win coming against a team (Charlotte) in its first year competing at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. Even with the struggles, the staff is thinking more tweaking than overhauling personnel or the playbook.

“It’s really just to continue to fight and execute at a higher level,” Partridge said Monday. “You may tweak a thing here or there.”

The Owls lost 33-17 to Marshall Saturday, dropping to 1-2 in Conference USA. One of the new wrinkles Partridge spoke of was inserting freshman running back Trey Rodriguez into the starting lineup. Rodriguez, who rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts, took the carries from starter Buddy Howell.

“We’ll continue to do some things like that, but all of our focus is on UTEP,” Partridge said.

With quarterback Jaquez Johnson still ailing from a high ankle sprain, there is a chance the Owls will start their third player at the position.

Johnson is day-to-day while backup Jason Driskel is now in competition with freshman Daniel Parr. Driskel has been solid in his two starts, but Partridge said Parr has improved since arriving last spring. As a high school junior, Parr led Palm Beach Dwyer High to the Class 7A state title.

Next game: FAU at UTEP, 7 p.m. Saturday, Fox College Sports